Tuesday's customer inspiration - today starring Valerie and Margaret

Each Tuesday I post photos of something a customer has purchased from Jubilee Furniture with the thought that seeing things outside of our dreary warehouse might inspire you to: 1.) stop in the store either Friday from 1 to 8 or Saturday from 9 to 4 because you're impressed with what can be purchased there; 2.) try your hand at transforming something that's been bought at the store from okay to fabulous; 3.) realize that repurposing and recycling furniture from Jubilee is not only good for the environment but can look stylish and hip in your home too; and 4.) remember you've been meaning to take photos and email me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org and you now feel guilty - again! Just kidding (sorta).

I love Val's email so much I have to share the whole thing with you.

Hi Susan - Love the blog at Jubilee. I read it religiously. Attached please find a picture of a chair that I got at your warehouse. I think it's ugly mustard color makes it charming. It's also really uncomfortable. Although it's true beauty is not apparent in the photo. It opens up into a soft cushy low-to-the-floor bed! I can host all three of my nieces to sleepover spa nights now that they have outgrown the queen sleeper sofa. It had gotten to the point that I would find one of them curled u on a chair or on the floor. Like I said, it's not very pretty but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, that is a blue leather watering can purse in the background. Doesn't everyone have one? Just shoot me if I walk into your storing using it as a purse; I will have lost my mind.

I actually think the chair looks great and I love the pretty throw pillow! Add in Val's wonderful sense of humor and I'm wondering how I can get invited to the next sleepover/spa night!

Next up are some photos from Margaret - a regular Jubilee Furniture customer and a previous customer inspiration!

Here's Margaret's email:

Hi Susan, Back when we bought the patio set, we also picked up this matching set of oak Broyhill tables. We didn't really do much to them, just changed out the hardware. You might remember that the hardware was the hanging kind; we changed it to the cup kind because it looks a little more sleek and is also harder for a toddler to pull down (I figured that one out later). They're great storage for coloring books, board games, and (mommy's) Wii Fit Board. The couch has recliners on each end, so it helps to have a coffee table on hidden wheels (nifty little extra) that pushes out easily every time you recline.

I'm also adding the picture of the pine hutch because I don't know when I'm going to get around to updating the curtains in the room (but who cares about the curtains for now?). The hutch looks nice as is and our previously empty front/dining room is now just about done. Again, all we did is change the hardware from white to brass knobs.

Wow - with minimum effort Margaret made the lovely pieces works well for her and her family!

Thanks to both Valerie and Margaret for allowing us into their beautiful homes!

Take care, dear reader and I hope to see you back here on Friday for my weekly update post!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Joy's creative crafty armoire!

So great to see you, dear reader, back for our customer inspiration post where I show you something a customer has purchased and how amazing it looks in their home - either exactly as it looked when it left Jubilee Furniture - or how it's been transformed into something even better!

If you've missed any past customer inspiration posts - just click on the customer inspiration tab and you'll find thumbnail photos and links to most of 'em (I left off the stupid ones from my own home since they: A.) aren't very creative and; B.) were just filler until all my fabulous customers started emailing me).

If you're a fabulous customer and have purchased something from the store and would be willing to take a photo (or two or three) of the item and email me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org - that would be super duper and I'd be forever grateful!

Now - onto today's very creative repurposing of a fantastic Hooker brand (high-end, gorgeous wood, great workmanship) entertainment center into craft-central!

Here's Joy's email:

Hi Susan, Here are the long awaited pictures of the craft armoire! It started out as an old entertainment unit, but I saw potential for something else!

The furniture is in excellent condition - the wood is beautiful and the piece is quality made. After a quick wash and polish, the wood was sparking!

My dad majorly helped me - he took out the old back and added pegboard. Then he built pull out drawers for extra craft supplies and a pull out piece of wood as a desk. I bought some pegboard organizers and baskets and moved in all my supplies!

It's been so nice to have - I can stop mid-project and not have a major mess to clean. And I don't have to keep my supplies in plastic tubs in the closet!

There was only one more think I needed to get - the perfect chair. The desk is too high for a dining room chair and most bar stools were too tall. I found this awesome tall chair at Jubilee last week and it's a perfect fit! It's the perfect height for the craft armoire. It's made of nice wood and heavy cast iron - it even swivels and has a foot rest! I had big plans to make the chair over, but the wood is almost a perfect match to the craft armoire and the white goes nicely with our room color. It's a perfect fit!

Thanks!

Joy

Wow - Joy it's wonderful! You can often find very expensive entertainment centers for fairly cheap (compared to the original purchase price) and do some amazing things - like Joy and her dad did - to repurpose them! We have one in the store which Jubilee Furniture Warehouse Manager, Dan Snyder, repurposed with adjustable shelves and turned into a mega storage piece for...whatever you need stored!

To learn more about how Joy turned a semi-boring entertainment center into a great place to craft - head over to her blog here! You'll also find other creative and fun projects!

Thanks, Joy!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - David's designer home!

Thanks for stopping by for Tuesday customer inspiration where I showcase something a customer has purchased from Jubilee Furniture and how it looks in their home - either exactly as it looked leaving the store or how it's been transformed into something better! Just email me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org with a photo (or two or more!) and I'd be obliged to you!

What a treat I have for you today! Here's David's email:

Hey! I'm a pro designer who lives Chicago...but I do love a nice voyage out to Jubilee. It allows me to both indulge in affordable furniture finds as well as make a pit stop at the Olive Garden...a place that does not exist in Chicago.

Here is a snap of my living room, furnished with a large amount of Jubilee finds. The love seat is a great piece from the 40s that was covered in a worn out fabric. It honestly looked like a disaster. I had it redone in a beautiful silk mohair blend fabric and it is ready for another 50 years of service. The little hand peeking out from the cushion adds a little bit of comic relief.


The coffee table was a pretty teak piece that had been used and abused for a lot of years; it was covered in cigarette burns and was sitting in the back of Jubilee marked $15. I had it refinished in a dark tone with the grain picked out in a cerused technique...quite striking.

The unorthodox "lamp" by the love seat is a chandelier that I found at Jubilee. It was suffering from badly discolored white paint on it. I spray painted it a matte finish black, removed the chain, put a plug end on the wire, and found some unusual bulbs for it. It never fails to get a reaction from people!

On one side of my family room is a great cabinet that is meant to be in a dining room. I could not resist the bubbly glass panes...nor could I resist the price when I found it at Jubilee! It is the perfect spot to hold my collection of hand made pottery.

This chair is my favorite Jubilee find. When I found it the seat was covered in hideous harvest gold colored vinyl..I wire brushed the teak frame and had it reupholstered in deep red colored fuzzy cow hide. It is also the cats favorite hideout and gives a nice informal note to my family room.

Here is my bedroom, with a great floor lamp from Jubilee and a terrific little side table that was spray painted gold when I bought it...I layered about 10 coats of dark brown glaze on it over the gold and came out with a piece that sort of glows. The curtains in the window are super inexpensive cotton panels, but the look is striking.

If you have an open mind, you can buy pieces at Jubilee, customize them in really terrific ways, and end up with something completely unique for less than a generic new piece at Crate and Barrel.

I hope this provides a little bit of inspiration!

After I sent David a gushing email (well, let's be honest - his place is amazing) he sent me the following:

Thanks for the nice compliment...I think not having a big pile of money makes me be a little bit more creative about things. I guess if I had less limited funds my place would have turned out differently.

I just wish that you guys were closer. Actually, on second thought...maybe having you outside of the city is good for my wallet!

Here are a couple of other pictures of my place...but there is no real Jubilee to be found in them.

I look forward to making the trip out there again soon...I am still on the quest for a few more things.

Unbelievable. Gorgeous. Fantastic. Yet the kind of home where you could plop down and put your feet up!

David - thank you so much for providing a photo tour of your fabulous - and very inspiring - home!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - stay tuned for tomorrow!

Though no one emailed me photos this week (sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org), I realized I could take photos of my "new" office which contains many pieces of Jubilee Furniture furniture and share those with you. However, I didn't think of this fabulous idea until late in the day and I don't carry my camera around with me - so I'll bring it in tomorrow and update the blog in the morning.

Sound like a plan? Sounds like a plan!

So, until tomorrow take care, dear reader!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Holly's back with her beautiful dining room!

Welcome to Tuesday customer inspiration where I show you something one of my wonderful customers has purchased and how fantastic it looks in their home.

Today we're returning to Holly's home, this time to see how the two yellow chairs she purchased from Jubilee look in her dining room. Spoiler alert - they look gorgeous!

Here's Holly's email:

Hi Susan! Here are some pictures of our lovely yellow chairs. I like the story of how we acquired them. I saw your blog and instantly loved the chairs. We were headed up to Wisconsin on Saturday through so I thought I had lost the opportunity. I showed Keith the pictures of the chairs as we were driving up to WI (I won't say who was driving:)) and we called my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to go check them out and pick them up for us. There were even more beautiful in person and we were excited to come home to them. I made pillows for them and we even re-upholstered our dining room chairs to match the pillows. They make our dining room complete and we love them!

I love how rich this room looks with the dark wood and red and yellow color scheme! Lovely. Knowing Holly has two young children, I'm impressed she hasn't turned every corner of her home into something more "kid friendly" (not that I'm against kid friendly rooms - I love kids - but you know what I mean?).

That's it, dear reader! Until Friday that is! Hope to see you back here then!