Tuesday's customer inspiration - Christen's creative kitchen corner and re-purposed TV stand!

It's a bit late in the day so I'll get right to today's customer inspiration!  Here's Christen's email:

Hi Susan,  I promised (more than once) to send some photos of some of our recent purchases.  I've attached a few here.

The table we purchased was such a lucky find!  We were in the middle of remodeling our kitchen and had added bench seats in a corner near the windows.  We came into the store in hopes of finding a small round or square table that would fit the corner benches.  Imagine our joy at finding a table that fits like it was made for the space.  We painted it a lovely, pale aqua blue to coordinate with our white and vintage-y kitchen feel and we love the results!

The second piece of furniture we purchased from Jubilee recently is a former buffet, which we've turned into our "entertainment center" or tv stand.  We cleaned it up, punched a hole through the backside and removed one drawer so we were able to house our cable box, dvd player, etc., inside without cords overflowing everywhere.  We love the way if fills up the space and fits our tv perfectly.  (And it's sooo much more attractive than our old tv stand).

Thanks for all your incredible work at Jubilee and for always greeting us with a smile!  I'm sure we'll see you soon, as I'm always on the look out for more interesting and unique finds!

Christen, Frank & Crosby

Wow!  I LOVE the painted corner piece (which was really awkward in the store and yet works perfectly in Christen's kitchen) and how she and Frank re-purposed a buffet into an entertainment center!  Well done.

Have you purchased something from Jubilee Furniture that you'd be willing to photograph and email me with the hopes of inspiring others to see used furniture in a new and creative way?  If so, please do so at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org. 

Until Friday then, dear reader!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Lisa's lovely home!

After a few weeks without a single email from anyone with photos I was beginning to think Tuesday Customer Inspiration was dead.  Truthfully, we've arrived at this place several times in the last year and a half I've been trying to get customer inspiration off the ground and though there have been times when I've had three - and once even FOUR - emails w/photos ready to go - those have been the exception not the norm.

Yet, each time I've been ready to throw in the towel, some wonderful customer comes through - as Lisa did this week!

Before showing you Lisa's great photos, please allow me to remind you of the point of customer inspiration.  By showing you photos of what Jubilee Furniture customers have done with their purchases - either how an item has been transformed - or - just how amazing it looks in a customer's home exactly as it looked leaving the store - my hope is you might be inspired to rethink whatever you currently think about used furniture (unless you already think used furniture is fabulous and you'd never buy anything new even if you life depended on it - well, maybe if your live REALLY depended on it but you'd still have to think long and hard before consenting).

My further hope is you'd be inspired to specifically shop at Jubilee Furniture (we're open Fridays from 1 to 8 and Saturdays from 9 to 4) where the proceeds of everything we sell are helping to support the programs and services offered through Outreach Community Ministries (restoring hope and providing opportunities for those most in need in DuPage County, Illinois).  However, if Jubilee Furniture is too far from where you live or work - that you'd stop in at a local resale store where, chances are, their proceeds are supporting an equally wonderful not-for-profit.

If you've purchased something from Jubilee and have been meaning to take a few photos and email me, since Lisa has saved Tuesday customer inspiration for another week - you're in luck and can still do so (sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org) - but please don't tarry!

Here's Lisa's email:

Hi Susan!  Happy New Year!!!  Thanks for all the wonderful work you and your team do at Jubilee!  We LOVE Jubilee Furniture and have found some great pieces of furniture we love and use all the time!  So I have been meaning to email you and finally I am, not sure how to format it but hopefully the attachments work..or what to say, so you can add anything else but we love all the things we've found!!

The first is the long mission style cabinet we put our tv on (purchased for $60)

Second, are the Crate and Barrel couches with an ottoman we bought and then I found some turquoise flower pillows at Home Goods that matched perfectly!!!  I think the couch set was around $150 

 Third is the office chair and the table with books and drawers.  The desk we got from a neighbor but I've seen identical ones at Jubilee and it makes for a great little office (I think the chair was $20 and the table $30)

And lastly, our kitchen chairs!!! They're a light turquoise (which is the color they were when we bought them) and add a fun touch of color to our table (purchased for $75 for the four of them)!

Jubilee is amazing, thanks again!

Grant, Lisa and Jaedalyn

Wow - I love how Lisa re-purposed a dresser to put her TV on and how great it goes with the rocker!  The Home Good pillows really turn a somewhat nondescript sofa and chair into something fabulous!  Their home office makes me want to sit down and work knowing I'd work well in such an attractive and organized space.  And the light turquoise chairs add a touch of whimsy to their dining space.  Love.  It.  All.

I also love the number of exclamation points Lisa included in her email!  Makes me smile.

Thank you so much, Lisa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope to see you, dear reader, back here on Friday for my weekly update post!

Today's inspiration is courtesy of the Tip Junkie!

Inspiration comes in many forms.  Today's post is from the Tip Junkie site and features 16 second hand furniture make-overs (before and after) and one - or all - is sure to get you thinking about how you can transform something blah from Jubilee Furniture into something fabulous!

REMINDER our store hours for the next few weeks are as follows: 

12/16 Friday 1 to 8
12/17 Saturday 9 to 4
12/23 Friday 1 to 8
12/24 Saturday - CLOSED
Merry Christmas!
12/30 Friday 1 to 8
12/31 Saturday 9 to 4 (come ring in the New Year early with us!)

So plan now on coming out to the store real soon, dear reader! 

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Kari's gorgeous chair links!

It's Tuesday which means it's time for my customer inspiration post where I show you something someone has purchased from the store and how amazing it looks in their home - either exactly as it looked leaving our store or how it's been made even better!

This week there's a bit of a twist.  I received an email from Kari with a couple of links to some very inspiring photos of gorgeous chairs that look an awful lot like some we have in the store.  Here's Kari's email:

Hi Susan, 

I have been to Jubilee a couple of times and LOVE it! 

I saw those black dining chairs you have for $70/ea that came in a few weeks ago... there were still 4 there last time so I thought I'd send you a couple of amazing links I found to them online. Not quite the same as a reader makeover -but inspiring nonetheless!

(note we only have two of these chairs left for purchase)

Sweet and shabby white

(photo from Shanna Michelle Photography of Ashley Russell's beautiful Thanksgiving table)

 Gorgeous painted shiny red

(photo taken from Kiki's List by krista salmon of kitchen designed by Windsor Smith)

How amazing are both these photos?  VERY. AMAZING.

Thanks so much to Kari for sending the links my way!

Have you purchased something from Jubilee Furniture that you'd be willing to take a photo or two of and share with me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org?  I'd be grateful and you just might help inspire others to see used furniture in new and fresh way!

See you later in the week with my weekly furniture update post, dear reader!

Tuesday's customer inspiraiton - Naomi's stunning chair makeover!

Wow - what a makeover I have for you today!  I'm so excited - obviously so much so that I failed to tell you what Tuesday customer inspiration is all about (in case you aren't familiar with it).

Every Tuesday - if my wonderful customers take the time to snap a photo or two of something they've purchased from Jubilee Furniture and email me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org - I show you said photo(s) with the hopes of inspiring you to see used furniture in a new and creative way.  Not every post is a complete makeover - many of the things at Jubilee Furniture are fabulous just the way they are - but wait until you see what Naomi did to a very sad chair she found at the store.

Here's her email:

Hi!  I had been looking for a cute chair for my "crafting nook" to no avail (I didn't have much to spend, that always slows me down!) - I found your blog/website and was excited to read about what you do for the community AND some of the cute makeovers your customers had done.

My husband and I have a few goodwill finds we had made over - mostly painting furniture - but I hadn't done a chair before - so stepping into the store on Saturday, we were looking for something CHEAP (so if I ruined it it would be no big loss!) - we found the perfect chair FOR $5.50!  And took it home for a makeover!

I found some clearance fabric at Wal-Mart, so total, the project was less than $45!

So attached is my picture of the makeover (I saw you were asking for inspiration posts), I hope to come visit again soon for more furniture :)

I cannot believe how someone - with what sounds like no re-upholstery skills - was able to create a multi-fabric job with contrasting trim!  Wow. So. Impressed.  The chair looks amazing!

Thanks to Naomi for turning our ugly duckling chair into a swan!

Stay warm, dear reader!  See you back here on Friday!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Judy's transformed night stand!

Gosh, here we are again with another installment of Tuesday customer inspiration where I showcase something someone has purchased from Jubilee Furniture with the hopes of inspiring you to view used furniture differently than you might have before.  Some of my Tuesday posts show furniture looking exactly as it did leaving the store and others how the piece has been transformed into something even better!

Today's post is how something lovely became even lovelier with a simple color of white paint!

Here's Judy's email:

Good morning, I have attached before and after pictures of my most recent purchase at Jubilee.  I saw this little table while shopping for a couch for my son's first apartment.  I fell in love with the shape, and didn't know what I would do with it.  I even told the kids don't let me  buy it, because I have no where to put it.  But bought it anyway and thought is would look better white.  So that's what I did.  It is now in my bedroom as a night stand and just love it!

Thanks - Judy

I, too, was drawn to the shape of this piece and love what Judy did with it!  I wouldn't have thought of using it as a night stand but thinks it works really well in that function.

Hat's off to Judy and many thanks for the inspiration!

Reminder: Jubilee Furniture will be open this Friday (from 1 to 8) and Saturday (from 9 to 4) and I'll have my weekly post up Friday morning as always (my goal is to have it online by 9:00 a.m. CST - and I've made that goal for months with the exception of once when blogspot had an issue and there was nothing I could do about it but groan - and groan I did.  A. Lot.).

Until then, may your turkey be tasty and your potatoes mashed just the way you like 'em, dear reader!

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Melissa's back with another fantastic make-over!

Thanks for stopping by for Tuesday customer inspiration where I show you something purchased from Jubilee Furniture and how fabulous it looks in someone's home with the hopes of inspiring you to see pass our concrete floors and bad lighting to the amazing finds available for purchase every Friday from 1 to 8 and Saturday from 9 to 4!  Whew - that was a rather long sentence!  Did you catch it all?  Hope so!

Melissa is a semi-regular customer and one of the most creative people I've ever met.  If you click on the customer inspiration tab at the top, you can scroll down and find two other times I've showcased things Melissa has purchased and transformed from the furniture store.

This time it's a sweet roll-top desk and it actually started off looking pretty good.  Nice oak - not bad at all - but definitely lacking some pizazz!

It certainly has tons of pizazz now! 

To learn more about the transformation and see other creative and cool things Melissa has done, check out her blog here! 

Here's hoping you have a wonderful week, dear reader and I'll see you back here on Friday for my weekly update post (spoiler alert - unbelievable furniture donations this week!).