Things I should have bought

We've planned on buying a piece of antique furniture to use as a linen closet since we moved into our house over a year ago. I like antiques, if they're built well; they're interesting and unique. I'm not afraid of pieces of furniture that need to be refinished. Unfortunately, our budget in the last year hasn't really allowed us to drop $500 on anything... 

So I've been popping through antique stores every chance I get. I've found a few in and around Bozeman that have decent pieces at decent prices. I've also found a few that are way overpriced. Like, hello, the real estate bubble burst. No one is dropping $5,000 on a small armoire these days. 

My way of flying these pieces past DJ is to snap a photo of them with my phone and see if DJ likes it. If you scroll through my phone it's a collection of Harlow and old furniture photos. I thought I'd share the furniture photos. 

In regards to hallway furniture, the space we have in the hallway is pretty small. The biggest the piece can be is 18" deep and 36" wide, and even then, it's kind of pushing it. 

I should have bought this one the first time I saw it. It was under $200 and would have fit. No shelves inside, but that's an easy add. 

This one is still for sale at a place downtown... if you're willing to drop $576 on it! It's the right size, but I'm not thrilled with the color, or the price.

This one is still at an antique store down the road, for $275. If we don't find something by the first of February, we might settle on this. It's the right size, at the right price, although DJ wants something fancier (but not the fancier price).

At a certain point it occurred to me that we could use a dresser in the hallway as an alternative, if it was the right size. Unfortunately, none of these would work:

Too big, but I love the mirror.$300 maybe? 

Also too wide, but could be a really cool as an entryway dresser. Or maybe a media cabinet? I think it's $300 or so?

This piece is also too big, but I loved it! For like $169! Funky shape, large, sturdy. Sadly, I had no place to put it... and it sold pretty quickly too.

I also really want a sideboard in our dining room. A little extra storage, something cool, etc. Of course, it's the least practical of all purchases right now, so this one is a ways out. Here are the two I most liked:

I think this was like $400. Cool mirror shape, nicely curved surfaces, in decent shape. 

This one is still my favorite. I seriously thought about buying this, before coming to my senses. Its $570 or so, and in really nice shape. I think the Arts and Crafts feeling would do well in our dining room.

In terms of our dining room, our current table is fine, but I'd eventually like to replace it with a round table. Our Living Room/ Dining Room/ Kitchen is very square. Square space, square furniture, square furniture arrangements. Something like this:

I also saw a dresser that I should have just bought for our bedroom. It was $700, but HUGE and well built. I'm still kicking myself:

I have also been looking for a nightstand/ bedside table for myself. I'm not neurotic about having furniture be matchy matchy. I just want stuff that is interesting and works well together. But I came across this set at my favorite used furniture/ antique store in Great Falls, and wish I would have bought it. The dresser might have worked in the hallway and the night stands would have been perfect. The set was somewhere around $300, but I would have had a hard time fitting it in my car. 

These last two are just funky items that I came across. I like the idea of a trunk ($49!) as a coffee table or media stand. The table i($69) s just cool, although it probably wouldn't work as a nightstand. 

None of these items came home with me in 2010, unfortunately. I kick myself about the big dresser that would have been good for our bedroom, and the first armoire. Hopefully we'll have the expendable income in 2011 to make some cool purchases!