How to get a $7,000 sofa for $150

Baker sofa from Craigslist, originally uploaded by espeedy123.

OK so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. There is no doubt, however, that there are great deals to be had on the Craigslist “furniture for sale” ads.

Today’s steal is this Baker camelback sofa I snagged for $150. Is this great or what?!?!?!

The woman selling it got it from a mom’s friend, so she had no qualms about letting it go for a tiny fraction of its original cost. It doesn’t look so great situated here in the entry but alas, the old sofa has to go somewhere first. And yes, it came with the cushion which is sitting somewhere off camera.

Here’s a similar sofa on the Baker website that STARTS at $7,100.

If you have a great furniture piece from Craigslist please post a comment with a link to the photo so we can all share the great furniture vibes!

The painting secret that will save you time, money and effort

Paint tips, originally uploaded by espeedy123.

Painting is one of the most cost-efficient and novice-friendly DIY projects. I have a laundry list of things I want to paint, and I’ve built up a good collection of supplies like dropcloths, paint tins, and scrapers. Unfortunately I seem to never have enough brushes. Mine tend to die a slow death wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. That’s how I store them, especially the ones with oil paint on them, thinking that I’ll pull them out the next day to get going soon enough for them to not dry out. Instead, I tend to get distracted by other projects and arrive back at the brushes when it’s too late. It’s an expensive bummer to go buy another one at Home Depot but I kept doing it.

But now I’ve discovered the lazy painter’s way to clean and restore brushes. Drill a hole at the base of the brush handle. Fill a glass jar partway with brush cleaner. Use a pencil or a bamboo skewer to suspend the bristles in the cleaner, making sure that only the bristles are submerged.

It seemed too simple to be true that this would work so well, but thus far it really has worked out nicely. Apparently it’s the pressure on the bristles and not the chemicals that make it so hard to get one back in shape.

I’d love to hear other painting shortcuts if you know them!