how to buy awesome furniture

If you live in the Chicagoland area,

check out Jubilee Furniture.

They're located in a big old warehouse-ish building 

on the corner of North Avenue and Schmale in Carol Stream.

And really, you should go there.

Did I mention you should go there?

Seriously... you should go there.

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon their blog,

or where I even heard about them,

but a couple of years ago, I wandered into their store on a Friday afternoon...

and I was happily, permanently hooked :)

The place is big, and it's filled with furniture.

Beautiful, used, discounted, heavenly FURNITURE!

Sure: because they're reliant solely on their donors, 

they've got a few couches with grandma-style ruffles that rock plaid like it's going outta style...

{nothing against plaid-and-ruffle-couches, mind you}

But, Jubilee also has brand-name, like-new furniture

that's absolutely gorgeous.

It'll make you kiss your overpriced-furniture-showroom-shopping-days goodbye.

And better yet {for all you bargain hunters out there},

they get new items in every week.

You can check out their blog at 8am on Friday morning

{like I do religiously/without fail once in awhile... if I remember...}.

Plus, anything you buy there benefits Outreach Community Ministries,

a wonderful Christian non-profit organization serving the western suburbs of Chicago.

{you know, in case you need a bit of leverage with your hypothetical husband,

who wants to know why you're buying -- yes dear -- another armchair...}

I should probably also say that I don't really know anyone at Jubilee,

and no one's paying me to say this

{although my mention of the grandma-style-ruffle-couches should speak for itself?}

...I'm just a big, nerdy fan.

Did I mention they have free cookies for hungry little one-year-olds?

Those cookies buy me at least five more minutes in the store,

which is awesome.

Here's a Room&Board chair that we picked up last weekend.

The pricetag? $125!

{we used to have a white chair in its place.

but, the color white and one-year-olds in general are horrible, ancient enemies...

hence, the brown, stain-hiding color of our beautiful new chair. ta-daa!}

We got this bedroom dresser from Jubilee about a year ago.

I can't remember, but I think it was $80? Maybe $75?

The handles were a brassy-bronze color,

so I took them off, spray-painted them a metallic silver,

and popped them back on.

Voila! Instant update!

And... remember this couch?

I went nuts on it when I was pregnant.

It was rockin' the tweedy-plaid pattern when we brought it home from Jubilee.

{I bought because it was a twin-size pullout, which is AWESOME!}

Anyways, I didn't like the plaid,

so I reupholstered it Sherah-style {i.e., I made it all up as I went along}.

It's weathered these past two years pretty well for a DIY upholstery job,

but,

again with the white.

{what was I thinking?}

And so...

I think another trip to Jubilee may be necessary in the near future.

{unless Marty decides to stage an intervention 

to save me from my used-furniture-loving self.}

:)

p.s. Jubilee is open on Fridays from 1-8pm

and Saturdays from 9am-4pm.

Happy shopping!