When I win the Lottery....

Over the last 8 months we have been decorating and furnishing our home. We started with nothing; except for my University leftovers, such as my collection of vintage My Little Ponies, and some bed sheets (The ponies have not yet made it into the house, and languish in my mother's attic. Any day now, when my boyfriend's back is turned, I'll sneak them in!)

We had a lot of help from friends and family, who donated furniture, friendly advice, and diy labour. So it was pretty easy to furnish the whole three bedroom house on an extreme budget, and still keep it to our taste. In fact it happened so quick, that the house is now full, and I have nowhere to stash additional bargain furniture finds. (Do three telephone tables seem to much to you? No? I agree.)

It may sound cliched, but the last 8 months have taught me that the monetary value of an item is inconsequential. Most pieces of furniture we now own have a story attached, and it's that meaning that they are appreciated for.

Photo by Redraspus

My favourite is our teak dining room table & chairs, bought on ebay, which my kind Stepdad collected from an eccentric guy in Birmingham. The gentleman had a life sized sculpture of the Silver Surfer in his front garden, and a garage papered with a collection of journalistic clippings and posters about fascist leaders. Because the table wouldn't quite fit into the car, they had to carry it back into this garage, where the man retrieved a saw.... and cut the table's sliding mechanism so it would fit. The table is beautiful, and my Stepdad returned unharmed. Phew. (The man was actually very nice and extremely helpful.)

I work part time for an Interior Designer, and as part of my work I source and purchase the furniture for our clients. It completely baffles me just how much money can be spent on furniture. It's not that I resent people spending that much on their homes, on the contrary, it's just that my brain can't quite grasp spending £1000 on a chrome floor lamp. (And then the shop assistant treating you badly - I might have to immigrate. I'm sure this wouldn't happen in New York).

So, returning to my original intention for this post! There will be a regular 'When I win the Lottery...' post every Friday. This post is reserved for the ludicrously expensive items I will never own, and probably wouldn't even want to own. These posts will provide me, and perhaps you, with a healthy outlet for the greed for beautiful, and obscenely expensive, furniture.