PROJECT CONDO: ANTIQUE CABINET

When I originally envisioned our dining room makeover, I thought about buying a long buffet table with cabinets at the bottom and having a bar cart area. The more I played around with different ideas and furniture options, the more I realized I wanted to go in a little bit of a different direction for our space.

Looking at our progress post here, you can see in the bottom picture that I was planning to purchase a cabinet to fit in the corner of the dining room space. After some vehicle size issues and switching cars with family members, we were finally able to pick up a beautiful mid-century cabinet piece from my favorite antique store, Kudzu. 

I love how it fills the space and I think it's a great contribution to the room! Buying antique pieces for your home can be intimidating, but I love how much character it can add. Here are a couple antique purchasing tips I've learned so far:

1. What do you have in mind? ---> Antique stores can be quite overwhelming, some have a small stock and others have 100+ vendors selling. The best way to go into any antique store is with a list of treasures you're on the hunt for. It makes it a lot easier to see what you're looking for and not get distracted. I usually have anywhere from 3-5 items on my "to-find" list so I don't get too overwhelmed. 

2. Not sure? Take a photo! ---> When purchasing the cabinet for our dining room, I actually ended up taking 7 pictures of other pieces I thought might fit in that space as well. Afterward, I went home, sat on the floor facing the dining room, and scrolled through the pictures to image what each piece would look like in the space. It was so helpful to get a better idea of what the piece would actually look like in the space. 

3. Take a good look. ---> Before making any major antique purchases, make sure you give it a good look over. Make sure the piece is sturdy and in good shape. If it's damaged, can it be fixed? Is that something you want to invest in or should you keep looking?

I can't wait to get some more projects checked off my list for the dining room! Luckily, Jon and I spent the entire day Monday finishing up our unpacking and doing some more settling, so we're in a good place to start some serious work on decorating. Slow but steady! 

Here is an updated list of what we have left to do in the dining room:

* Finish buying 1-2 pieces of art for the walls.

* Find mix-matched frames for "art wall".

* Buy console//buffet table for the right side of the room.

* Purchase a rug. 

* Get two more window panels for the curtain rod to give it more fullness. 

* Find giant antique frame for menu project. 

* Find two end chairs for the table.

* Decorate the cabinet, tabletop and buffet with pretty things. 

PS - I'm totally counting this purchase as my Thrift-Tiquing challenge for the month of August! ;)