Real Furniture!

Corey & I have bought some furniture before, mostly off Craigslist.  Almost all of what we have is free hand-me-downs.  Up until this point what we've bought has always been something I knew we'd resell/repurpose/relegate to the basement in a few years. I didn't want to spend lots of money on furniture while we lived in an apartment. For example we bought a used futon & a kitchen cart.  Both will probably end up in the basement once we redo the kitchen and buy a real couch. 

Besides our king sized bed & matching nightstands, this is our first piece of Real Furniture.  It is a buffet that will go in the dining room once we redo the kitchen, but for now is in the living room (where I'd like a fireplace to go one day).

It is made of real wood and was refinished locally. I do need to sand down the tops of the doors though because they keep getting stuck.

Underneath are frames for a gallery wall I want to do in the living room

Right now it is overloaded with decorate-y details, but once we get the hooks & bench built all that stuff will spread out.  The giant silver thing is our ice maker.

I love the wood top the best! It stands out against the painted bottom and is so gorgeous.  With our unpainted wood trim and future wood floors I have to be careful with wood furniture. I don't want the house to start feeling too dark & heavy. I'd rather showcase some wood and have it stand out.

As for how we filled it, I'll show you. The top left drawer has plastic kid dishes for when my nieces & nephews come over:

 The middle drawer has cloth napkins, placemats, & dish towels:

The right drawer has serving silverware and extra regular silverware:

The bottom left cabinet has a drink dispenser & some raspberry jam (our pantry didn't have enough room for the double batch).  The door was stuck so I couldn't get a shot.

The bottom middle cabinet has serving platters & bowls and extra glassware (I can't wait to have a bigger kitchen!):

The bottom right cabinet has a coffee dispenser for parties & a wine holder for picnics. Again the door was stuck so no picture.

It is so much fun to furnish & organize the house!