Decorating with Ebay Finds

lady1.jpgI finally remembered to post my Ebay finds again. I have a weakness for gorgeous furniture. I love anything solid wood that has been crafted with passion. I guess I can say that I have a queen’s taste with a commoner’s coffers. ;)

I have been going to furniture stores to look around and I have only been disappointed with the quality with the high price tag. I really turn up my nose on glued up saw dust as some people call it MDF. So I turned to Ebay, when I saw the set with this chair, I knew it was love at first sight! I just had to have it. No one made a bid on it because the reserve price [Read more...]

Ebay Misadventure: Louis Vuitton Fakes

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I have been an Ebay member since January of 2001 and maintained my 100% rating. At first it was fun bidding on little items like handmade jewelry, books, CDs, etc. Then the white and brown Murakami Theda GM came into vogue(at this point I have not been to Asia for almost 3 years and didn’t know that knock-offs abound in the markets!). The handbags up for bid had a guarantee that they were authentic LVs complete with pictures(which I found later out the photos were also stolen). The handbags were not for my personal consumption but I thought that it was a good idea at that time to buy from Ebay and sell it to people that I knew because these bags are normally $2,400 in the LV stores. So I made a bid on a brown one and a white one(there were at least 10 of us bidding on each item) that’s why I thought that I was getting the real thing. The sellers even had a rating of 95% and above. When the packages arrived, I saw the contents were fakes! They weren’t even made of leather nor canvas! I was livid! I contacted the sellers and threatened to report them to Ebay.

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Ebay Find: Antique Solid Wood Buffet

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I found this beauty on Ebay. After checking out main stream furniture stores, I was turned off by either the use of MDF(medium-density fibreboard, engineered wood or I call it glued saw dust) or ridiculous price tag of higher end stores. My budget would have bought me the glued up saw dust, so I turned to Ebay. For $150(shipping included), I got this solid Cherry wood piece made by Pennsylvannia House flown from Florida to BWI where we picked it up. The craftmanship is superb. The subtle details were lovingly carved. It’s a timeless classic piece of art. It worked well with the new paint job.

 

DIY: I did a Venetian plaster(faux painting) for the walls. I used trowels instead of brushes. It’s a time consuming and labor extensive paint job- 1 coat of primer, 2 coats of Venetian plaster and 1 coat sealer then buff with a steel trowel. I also had to get rid of the paper boarders(I don’t like them). I was asking myself why I have chosen this paint midway the process. Actually, kicking myself for being crazy enough to do it. But in the end, it turned out nicely.

 

My husband cut-up the wood for the shelves and I stained and sealed them to match the buffet.