Last week, Chris found a vanity on craigslist that he wanted me to consider. It looked like it was real wood, was in great condition, and would work for our master bath. The base cabinet had ample storage in the form of six large drawers and one sink. [I know, the trend is to have a his and hers sink, but we're not really a two sink couple. I do not foresee any evening where he is anxious to shave that 5 o'clock shadow but has to wait for me to remove layers of make-up.] There was also an option to buy matching upper (his & hers!) medicine-cabinets, which was something I had hoped for.
The one downfall of the whole setup was that the cabinet doors have arches. And I hate arched cabinet doors, really. But what to do? Am I going to stamp a spoiled, little foot and refuse a good deal, cause us to spend more money, and ultimately delay moving into the house just because I hate arched cabinet doors? No. So I swallowed my aesthetically-minded pride, and Z and I went to take a look at the vanity yesterday, with the hopes that some day, I will be able to alter or replace the doors. (Just like the kitchen cabinets.)
We arrived at the Habitat Re-Store in Lebanon, parked the truck, and as I walked around the corner of the building in search of the entrance, a little mission-style set of drawers next to a grimy, old, jacuzzi tub caught my eye. I wondered about the price, but bent on my mission, went in search of the vanity. As I approached the vanity, I saw what I had feared in the back of my mind but refused to consider: a scalloped shell sink. Awesome.
Counter tops are replaceable, though, so I checked the vanity over. Nice, solid plywood. Really good condition. I want to move into this house pretty badly, and I don't think Chris will go for a temporary plywood counter floating a drop-in sink until I can build or buy my dream vanity, so here we go. We'll take it.
I approached the front counter, and as this store isn't run in the most professional manner, found I had a little time to kill, so went to check out the little set of drawers again. It was old, simple, and well built. Just like I like things. The drawers stuck a little, but some wax would help that. There was some water damage and wear to the top, but so what? I liked it. A lot. And it had a price of $10 on it. I went back inside to see if I could get some service.
Lately, I've been watching Market Warriors on PBS lately, and being the non-confrontational, introverted sort, I don't normally like to challenge some one's price. But the influence of Market Warriors has emboldened me a bit, and reasoning that it doesn't hurt to ask, after telling the lady at the counter that I wanted to purchase the vanity, asked her if she would take $5 for the little chest of drawers. "Oh, we just got that in today, and he had me price it at $10," she said.
As we went back to check on the item numbers on the vanity set, I noticed another woman wandering the store. Heels, black skirt, and hot-pink top to match the hot-pink slip cover of her smart phone. I wondered what she was doing there. We went back up to the counter to pay, and the check-out lady told the store manager what I was getting, then told him I had offered $5 for the drawers out front. "Sure," he said. I couldn't believe it. I probably would have paid $20. My insides felt like I had just won a million dollar prize.
I payed, walked out of the store, picked up the drawers, and headed to the truck. The pink lady was a few seconds following us out the door, and as she started to get into her SUV, said, "You know, I was going to buy that." "Sorry," I smiled at her. And my deal of the day seemed all the sweeter.
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