Trolling Craigslist… Reno!

I went to Reno once when I was 13 and we stayed at a hotel that had a mall, movie theater, 4 restaurants and pools and a bunch of pools all inside the hotel. It was the first time I was near a casino and I remember thinking where are all the Michelle Pfieffer-esque pretty women in gowns and men in tuxedos smoking cigars?

As a girl from a small town in Oregon I remember thinking this place is nuts. Haven’t been back since, but based on the thrifting/Craigslist trolling I would go through. FYI I have the same relationship with Vegas – I firmly believe you have to be drunk in order to blind you from how depressing the strip can be. Although I had to go pregnant last year to speak at the design conference and I will say that NO WHERE in America does hotel amenities like Vegas does. Between the in-room spa and the in-room dining, I pampered the hell out of myself without leaving my pretty room (I stayed at the Cosmopolitan).

Digression … lets see what Reno has to offer us by way of Craigslist, shall we?

1. $45 Brass Side Table The base is pretty interesting while the top is not good. I feel like you’d want a piece of marble instead or maybe pretty walnut but neither of those things are easy to track down. In case you are curious just getting one piece of custom marble cut is strangely expensive and often cost prohibitive, at least in LA. I’ve tried a few times this year to no real success because it was too expensive (if anyone has a marble dude let me know …)

2. $85 Vintage Saarinen Style Table Always buy a vintage tulip table. They instantly modernize a space and go with every style.

3 $50 Vintage Brass Pharmacy Lamp If you need it, this one ain’t bad.

4. $75 Vintage Armoire I can’t tell what is happening with the hardware, but the shape of the armoire is simple and pretty and the price is great. Swap out that hardware, folks.

5. $50 Thonet Style Rocking Chair I love these rocking chairs – totally classic and perfectly engage a corner.

6. $75 Pair of Chinoiserie Lamps I’m not freaking out, but in the right room with the right shade they could be really pretty. That’s an ‘ok’ price.

7. $350 Tufted Leather Sofa I’m VERY curious about this sofa. It’s either hidious or totally amazing. Those lines are interesting and that color could be beautiful but it also could look like the color of ‘dead skin’ which is decidedly less beautiful. Someone please go look at it and report back. Thank you.

8. $75 Lacquered coffee table I’m interested. Hopefully the condition is good, although if you are into a good DIY job then this could be a great blank canvas for you. I don’t give a very good DIY job these days.

9. $250 Set of Authentic Thonet Chairs Always classic. Put them with that saarinen dining table and call it a day.

10. $220 Mid Century Desk For Reno this needs to be WAY cheaper. But if you can get it for like $120 then its a pretty great desk with good lines.

11. $45 Set of Vintage Rolling Chairs YES. Good office chairs can be expensive. These are a great price and are totally classic.

12. $80 Vintage Children’s Furniture This is good stuff, guys. I bought a bench like that for myself at the flea market in LA and had it reupholstered in a pretty slate blue (it’s in Charlie’s room that hasn’t been revealed yet because its stuck in publishing limbo at a magazine that folded but will come out in a different magazine in September.) It’s a storage bench which is always great with kids, but more importantly it has such unique/clean lines and a cute yet masculine shape. Get that.

13. $100 Vintage Settee If you have a place for this you should get it. I love little settees like this for a foyer or at the foot of a bed (if its queen or smaller) or in a hallway. It wouldn’t be too much to recover (maybe $120). The color of the wood doesn’t look bad to me, but could be painted, too.

Thanks for the good times, Reno CL. Where to next?