The Great Gift Challenge - part 3
Wed, 2 Dec 2009It's time for another edition of the great gift challenge (a special campaign with partners Martha Stewart and eBay), where Jo and I scour eBay looking for the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. This week the budget for the gift was $150 (excluding shipping). I purchased something last week for my twin sister Julia, so this week I thought I'd look for something for my younger sister Jen. She's in her late twenties and it was her wedding that I attended in Vegas last weekend. Her and her new husband Dave bought a house a couple of years ago and ended up running out to a couple of boring furniture stores and bought just about everything they needed to furnish their home. I was disappointed that they didn't go out and shop vintage to try and find some unique and funky pieces. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to find them that funky something. I thought mid-century items would suit their style so I went searching eBay and found quite a few items I thought they'd love:
Lighting is often neglected in a new home and the sputnik chandelier would suit so many rooms in my sister's home, and it's such so versatile. Speaking of versatility, the trolley is a great piece that could be used in a bathroom to hold towels and toiletries, in a dining or living room as a bar, in the office to hold notebooks and other office supplies. The Eames era wall shelves would be perfect in her office or in their media room in the basement to hold books and knickknacks. And lastly, the teak stackable tables, useful when she has guests over and needs little tables for drinks and snacks. I was totally stuck on which one to bid on, until I came across this:
It's a replica Kartell Componibili storage table that the seller picked up at auction and was told it was purchased in the 70s. I have always loved the Componibili but have never come across one here so when I found this one being sold by an eBay seller who is located here in Ottawa (they have an incredible mid-century shop near my home that I always have to stop at) I had to jump on it. It was listed as a Buy It Now for $199 with a "Make an Offer" option. So I went for it, and sent them an offer of $150 and it was accepted! The best part was I was able to drive the 10 minutes to their shop and pick it up, saving on shipping costs. Once I picked it up I realized this table would be SO ADORABLE in my niece's bedroom as storage for her toys and would suit her very vintage bedroom that my sister has recently been redecorating. So now I'm torn. Perhaps I will solve this problem simply by keeping it for myself. ;) This one will be tough to wrap due to it's size, so I'm thinking about finding a big red velvet "Santa sack" and putting it in that with a huge white or black bow tied around the middle. Another gift done! Stay tuned next week for Jo's $300 purchase. And don't forget that part of this challenge involves you! If you are a resident of the U.S., head on over to this site and enter to win a $1000 eBay gift voucher. Now THAT would be a blast to spend.
Reader Comments (4)
All nice gifts, but FYI a real Kartell Componibili costs less than what the knock-off was selling for.
I love Founddesign - beautiful store with great pieces for reasonable prices. I'm glad to see that Ottawa finally has some stores that are worth showcasing!
I'm finding this challenge so hard. Not because I can't find anything at the price points but because there is too much choice!
Found design is awesome ìndeed. Otawa has its little decor secrets....
I also see with a mixture of glory and sorrow that Kim shares my unrequited love of trolleys! I have three right now in my living/dining as well as a wheeled gateleg table - which is just a trolly in disguise. I will let other troll-a-holics (and potential troll-a-holics - there's always room for one more) know that there was recently (and might still be) a fantastic one on Ottawa Kijiji in a kind of retro golden oak as well a a "gorge" chrome one available at Structube for less that 200$. I love them - so many uses - so much storage. Also, White Elephant has a cure little round one (I still have my eye on that one though......)