Think New. Buy Used.

I am in love with my new couches! They are not actually new at all but they are new to me. The pieces are from  Furniture For A Cause which is operated by SAMMinistries here in San Antonio, TX. The great thing about this establishment is when you purchase new or gently used furniture, 100 percent of that money goes to SAMMinistries to fund their mission of helping the homeless (and at risk homeless individuals) by providing shelter, food, employment and furniture for individuals and families when they get back on their feet. I'm able to walk out with a smile on my face and furniture without feeling guilty for buying yet another piece of furniture that I really don't need but HAD to have. I don't know if you've checked out any of my other posts but furniture is my thing. My favorite part of the store is the gently used section because they have a lot of cool vintage pieces. 

{Before}

I have never been a fan of jean couches. Look beyond the denim and you can see that these couches have great bones. The clean lines were a major selling point. Plus the couches were heavy which is a good sign the furniture has a solid wood frame. Luckily on the day we found these couches, there was a really nice chair on display in the front of the store that was upholstered by Mr. Joe Franks. We contacted him and he was able to do the job for us. 

{Before: 2 piece sectional}

Fabric Samples

His Sectional: Gray Tweed

Her Sofa: Gray Leopard Print

The most expensive part about this project was the fabric. I mistakenly thought I needed half as many yards of fabric the sofa required, so I went with the leopard because it was 50 percent off. At $26 per yard, it was still pricey but I was set on it by the time I was corrected on how many yards I really needed.  Luckily the tweed fabric cost half as much per yard so it wasn't so bad on the pockets.

{After}

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{After}

Mr. Franks really did a fabulous job on the upholstery! 

As you can see I've already begun to change things around. I didn't really like the black and white rug with the new gray set. I was looking for a softer feel and an eggplant color just kept popping up in my mind. 

{After}

We also picked up two really nice credenzas there a few months ago. 

Credenza I from Furniture For A Cause 

"Credenza I" has a crazy little story. The sliver mirrored piece on the right was damaged while being moved into the house (it was so heavy it took three men!). I thought I'd have a heart attack (drama queen, I know) when I saw how bad it looked. I was ready to give up the whole piece. Fortunately we decided to keep it and after a few hours of trying to come up with ways to repair it, the mister came up with the idea of going to a trophy shop and getting them to cut a piece of silver mirrored plaque metal and it matched perfectly. In the future, I plan on using this technique to jazz up another piece. Maybe on the legs of an end table or a chair. 

Below is the damaged side (left) and the trophy plaque metal to repair it (right). The new metal came with adhesive on the back but I added some heavy duty glue and used my heat gun so it would melt evenly over the wood. I then taped it in place with painter's tape until the following morning to make sure it dried good.

Credenza II from Furniture For A Cause

We purchased both Credenzas for $125 a piece. Both are very solid and heavy pieces. Credenza I is solid wood and Credenza II is mostly wood with some laminate (the top and legs are trimmed in laminate). 

When furnishing, don't be afraid to mix in old/used (or to be fancy, vintage) pieces in with new ones. All it takes is a little imagination to refresh and make them a unique part of your home.