Retro CoMO

End Table.  The seller says that this is a slab of granite and weighs 175 lbs, which is crazy heavy for what look like thin tapered metal legs.  The seller also says that it rotates.  Weird!  Cool!  I like it.

$125 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Modern End Table.

Kitchen Table.  Vintage Formica table with chrome legs.  Looks like a drop-leaf style.  Seller says it has no marks or scratches, and the price is good for this style, even without the chairs.

$40 in Jefferson City.  Here’s the link: Vintage Kitchen Table.

Table and Chairs.  These pictures suck, but the price is pretty good despite the apparent condition of the chairs.  Black vinyl and what I’m guessing is a fake woodgrain tabletop.  I still like these chairs even if they’re in bad shape.  Hey, $15!

$15 in Kirksville (from Kirksville Craigslist).  Here’s the link: Table and two chairs.

Retro Bed/Couch Combo.  Looks like a sectional to me.  Must have some kind of convertible bed thing going on.  This is perfect for your basement, but if you buy it, you are now obligated to call your basement the “rumpus room”.  I’m sorry, but those are the rules.  Also, invite me over and we can drink Dr. Pepper and play Sorry.

$195 in Columbia at Hardt’s Used Furniture.  Here’s the link: Retro Couch/Bed Combo.

Vintage Cooler.  I think it’s an ice bucket, actually, but I love red Scotch plaid.

$10 in Lake Ozark.  Here’s the link: Scotch Cooler (on Lake of the Ozark Craigslist).

Herman Miller Chairs.  Polypropelene stacking shell chairs.  Seller lists three of them, but only two are pictured.  Seller says they’re in average to fair condition, but prices them at $150.  These do fetch a good price, though, and the seller is willing to ship.

$150 in Rocky Mount (near Eldon, about 1.3 hrs from Columbia).

Here’s the link: Herman Miller Poly Stack Chairs (on Lake of the Ozark Craigslist).

Hexagonal End Tables.  Yes, this one gets two pictures, but that’s just because I’m a sucker for 70s hexagons and it’s just poorly photographed enough that you can’t tell what you’re seeing.  I think it’s slightly weird that the seller didn’t empty out the middle of the end table when photographing, but that’s par for the Craigslist course.  Here’s what they’re perfect for:  interstellar docking stations for your Astronaut Barbies.  While acting out Alien or Space Odyssey or something very minimalistic and spooky.  All good Barbie stories end in tragic deaths.  Or, you know, store stuff in there.  Like your bong collection.  Whatever.  God, I want these.

$20 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: 70s Retro Table.

Welcome to 2010!

I found a few odd items on Craigslist this week that I thought I would share.  Maybe you are in dire need of something like this!

Something like a Detecto Baby Scale!  Maybe you have a plethora of babies that you need to weigh on a regular basis.  I don’t know your life.  It has a 30-lb capacity, so maybe you could weigh small dogs and cats and random household objects.  I just like that it’s blue and kind of stylish and has the name “Detecto”.

$50 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Detecto Baby Scale.

Hutch.  This looks like a nice piece with the glass and the tapered legs, and a bottle of Restor-A-Finish would probably clean up most of the dings and scratches without too much trouble.  And these don’t come up that often in this area, though the price still seems a little high.  But I am not a dealer.

$300 in Eldon.  Here’s the link: Hutch.

Drainboard and Sink.  I recently saw something like this installed in a beautiful new kitchen.  It was integrated seamlessly into the countertops and cabinetry, and looked really cool.  There’s a lot to be said about a nice sink like this with the drainboard.  We had one growing up, and there was never any fear of water ruining the countertops around the sink.  Something to think about!  (And if you buy this and put it in your vintage house, you better send me the pictures.)

$125 in Jefferson City.  Here’s the link: Antique Vintage Drainboard Kitchen Sink.

Waterfall Bedroom Set.  I have a love for the cheap waterfall bedroom sets of the 1930s & 1940s, mostly because I have a set in my own house (some of the first furniture I ever bought for myself when I was in college).  This stuff is hard to refinish because of the veneer, but mine cleaned up beautifully with Restor-A-Finish.  Included in the set is a highboy dresser, a vanity with seat, and a full size bed.

$450 in Hannibal.  Here’s the link: 30′s/40′s Curved Front Bedroom Set.

End Table.  Tiered, with veneer and tapered legs, but I like the hourglass shape to the supports on the top.  Nice!

$10 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage End Table.

Here’s a roundup of items from the last few days on Columbia Craigslist!

Vintage Blond Dresser.  Not in great shape, and it looks like the handles are replacements (but they’re from Anthropologie, so they’re bound to be as cute as they look).

$45 in SW Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage dresser/chest of drawers.

Set of Black Bentwood Chairs.  I like bentwood designs and this one is a little unusual.  The paint looks a bit uneven, but that can be fixed.  I like the caning too.

$15 each ($60 for the set- don’t break them up!) in SW Columbia.  Here’s the link: Black bentwood chairs.

School Desk.  I like the lines!  Am I crazy, or does it have really cool lines?  I can’t see the base, but it looks like it would go well in a mid-century modern house, especially one with a child.  Or not!  Maybe you need a desk like this for your own art projects.

$20 in Holts Summit.  Here’s the link: Old desk/chalkboard.

End Table.  One sad, lonely end table all by itself.  I like the lines and the handle.  It would be a happier end table with a new coat of paint or at least some Restor-A-Finish.  But you can’t beat the price, especially if you’re already in Jeff city.  It would work in either a bedroom or a living room, too.

$5 in Jefferson City.  Here’s the link: End Table.

Typewriter Table.  I bought one of these for my office a few months ago, and it is perfect for my wireless printer with extra space to store a stock of paper on the side.  I like its vintage industrial style and also its very small footprint.  And if you ever need a tiny table for your laptop, that’s what this was made for.

$15 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Small Metal Table.

Last week was slow for anything interesting, but there were lots of new additions over the weekend!  Here are some of them from the Columbia Craigslist:

Bedroom Set (minus a bed frame).  I’m really impressed with this set- it looks like it is in nice condition.  The wood is beautiful.  It has the two pieces above (highboy and lowboy dressers) plus two nightstands.  I don’t like the handles (I can personally vouch for replacements from Rejuvenation instead) and the seller says that the hinges need to be replaced (probably on that top piece with the mirror or something).  It’s probably worth the price and you would pay more anywhere else.

$400 in Midway.  Here’s the link: Dresser w/Mirror, Chest of Drawers, etc.

Chest of Drawers.  Blonde wood.  Looks like a handle is missing, but I feel like we’ve seen a lowboy dresser companion piece to this recently elsewhere.

$20 in north Columbia.  Here’s the link: Chest of Drawers.

Wicker Fan Chair.  Nice!  You should buy this and that Thonet Bentwood chair that I posted about the other week (they’re still trying to sell it).  I love this seventies kitsch.

$20 in Tipton, which is southwest of Boonville.  Here’s the link: Wicker Chair.

Vintage Toaster Oven.  Seller says a knob is missing but it is in otherwise excellent condition.  The price seems high for something with a missing knob, though.

$45 in southwest Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage Toaster Oven.

Kitchen Table & Chairs.  More 70s!  Hexagon table, people!  Wicker!  Insane.  Comes with six chairs.

$50 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Kitchen Dining Table and Chair.

Lamp.  Definitely looks retro and pretty weird.  Retro floor lamps can be difficult to find, especially for this cheap.  Pretty entertaining!  This plus the fan chair or that bentwood chair, and love it.

$7.50 in Millersburg.  Here’s the link: Floor lamps.

Matching tiered end tables available for $10 in Fayette, Missouri (about a 30-minute drive from Columbia).

Sit these on either side of your couch or bed, and they’re mighty useful with a lamp on the top tier and plenty of space on the bottom tier for your books, cups, remotes, etc.

They’re very early-mid sixties with the tapered legs and brass endcaps.  They’d look pretty great in an eclectic vintage modern home.  The veneer seems to have a few chips here and there, but hey, $10!  If they end up being a little worn, they would look a lot better with some filler here and there, finished with a couple of coats of bright colored paint (just don’t paint that brass- clean it up with a solvent instead).

Here’s the link: 2 Endtables.

This is an example of why you need me!  This post was buried in the Craigslist postings yesterday and there’s nothing that identifies it as retro or mid-century so that it will come up in search terms.  Earlier this week was a Craigslist posting for a very collectible brand of mid-century furniture called Heywood Wakefield, but the poster mistyped it in the post as ‘Haywood Wakefield’.  If someone was using the Craigslist search apps out there to find Heywood Wakefield furniture, they would miss this (very well-priced) table.  Searches don’t always bring up the good stuff.  (I would have done a post about that table, but the poster did not put any pictures on the post.  Lame!  Could be a great deal, but it’s hard to say without a picture.)

I’m going to try to post a few things per week.  If the Craigslist/eBay dries up, I will do some entries about some of the great websites about mid-century modernism (some of which are local) so you can check them out and add them to your blogroll if you like.  We’ll see how it goes!