THE
COMPUTER ROOM was
the third bedroom here at The Estate as I first saw it on
January 16th, 2004 during the home inspection.
It's a
small sized room and I thought it would be the most perfect
computer room. I knew it would be the perfect spot to hang
all my old car ads that I had on a few walls of my bedroom
back at my mom's condo.
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Before my computer got
here, this room made an excellent spot for my emptied boxes
and packing material...
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I also have a suitable
place for all my records now as well! At last count, I had
63 Steve & Eydie record albums alone! And as you can see
above, I have the much coveted Barry Sisters "SHALOM"
record too!
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Autumn 2005
Update
I had to add a
fourth shelf for the 1:18 car collection.... oh, and yes, there
are a few more records! Quite notable are the STARS IN GOLD - PETER
ALEXANDER record and the BARRY SISTERS "OUR WAY"! Both
of which I broke down and and paid real money for these on eBay!
It was totally worth it just for the fact that Myrna Barry has an
AFRO hairdo on the cover of the album! As I write this, I am not
sure what is scarier.... the fact that I have some Barry Sisters
records, or the fact that I can tell the difference between Myrna
and Claire!
As you
can see there's been a curtain change here in this room! I
got this lot of curtains, valances, and two matching pillow
shams at a Goodwill in Monroe, CT sometime back in 2004. I
wasn't ever really sure what I was going to do with them.
Early this year I was shopping at Railroad Salvage, in West
Haven, CT and they had this big bin of curtain tiebacks that
were clearly from yesteryear... and there in the heap I see
this hideous green.... and an Eagle? Could it be? Nah! YES!
Praise Be To Allah! The matching Tiebacks to my curtains!
I bought them at once and took this as a sign that they had
to be put up immediately somewhere in The Estate!
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In this picture above
you can see that the pillow shams have come in handy too...
this is where Ms. Jane Wilhite rests while I use my computer.
This happens after nine thousand nightly attempts to sit in
my lap while I am at the computer, accompanied by her yelling
at me repeatedly. She yells a lot. Really... a lot.
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Summer 2007 Update < <
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A lot has happened here
in the last room that has gotten my decoration attention.
It all started at the end of September 2006 when I was at
the Sal's in Bloomfield CT with Mrs. Sharona Mosby-Robison.
I happened upon a student's desk with very large drawers that
got me a'thinkin... a trip back to the Sal's later that day,
and I walked away spending $13.26.
Imagine my surprise when
I got the desk home that evening and found that it was an
Ethan Allen Custom Room Plan piece! Aside from that, I learned
that it was called a "Dresser Desk" (on account
of the larger drawers) and that it is worth around $300 on
today's market!
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A week later I
was perusing Craig's List and found a matching Stero Cabinet for
sale in Orange, CT for $150. So that weekend Michelle and I went
off in search of more Ethan Allen!!
The whole front of the Stero Cabinet
opens up. Jane Wilhite simply loves how well it stores all our computer
and stereo electronics!
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After we picked up
the Stereo Cabinet (which I ended up getting for $140), we
headed down to the Goodwill in Bridgeport and I noticed this
triangular looking thing in a maple color... could it be...
could it? It sure looked like it was part of the Ethan Allen
Custom Room Plan... but nowhere on it could we find the stamp....
and then Michelle lifted up the shelf-liner that was sitting
on the inside of the drawyer, and voila! There it was!
The desk was sanctioned
by two adorable Spanish Nuns who were in line behind me. They
struck up a conversation with me... and they thought my desk
was a piano. I am not sure why... But they were very nice
and told me to enjoy my desk as they left and I was tying
it down to the inside of Mr. Brown's truck.
All Michelle and I
could do was laugh because this room was taking shape so quickly
with all these E.A. finds. A pretty good feat given the fact
that this stuff is all from 40 to 30 years ago!
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The weekend after that,
I was up in scenic Stafford Springs with my mom, and we were
at the now deceased "Dealer's Choice" store on Main
Street. I noticed this piece at the back of the store. Long
story short, I got it for $35! It's not real EA, but a pretty
darned close match.
It needed some TLC
when I first got it, but it looks pretty good now after I
refinished the top of it.
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By this point in
time I felt as tho I had become the Maple Magician, returning these
abused Ethan Allen pieces to their former glory. So, when I found
the Music Cabinet for $15 at the Rocky Hill Goodwill, I was up for
the challenge. It was a complete mess, but of course I got it in
rather acceptable shape:
In April of 2007,
I found an ad on Craig's List for a Three Drawer Upper Cabinet Bookcase
and matching Shutter Door Cabinet base for all of $75! I took a
ride up there with my Mom, and got the lady down to $55 because
it was missing a knob! I knew I had one extra hanging around, so
it wouldn't be a problem. These things go for around $400 on eBay.
I think I got a good deal... best of all was it didn't need any
work! Just some cleaning and some Old English scratch cover!
Here's the matching
base. You can see I added a FIFTH shelf for the 1:18 Diecast cars,
and they STILL look crowded.
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I should mention
too that sometime around March 2007 I decided to pain the inside
walls here in my Computer Room a rich chocolate brown color to add
a little interest. I like it a lot!
Speaking of things
I like, I should mention that the Ethan Allen Bust has a little
story behind it...
I had been searching
and searching for a bust since I saw it in my Bible above.... The
Ethan Allen Treasury from 1968. Then, one day in June 2007 I happened
upon one in an eBay auction!!! I was determined to not be outbid
on this one! I did win the bid and waited and waited for my package
to come in the mail.
On Friday, June
the 13th, 2007 my package arrived. In a small box. On its side.
Without as much as the word "Fragile" on the outside to
indicate to take some care when handling. As I picked the box up,
I got to hear the clink-clink-clink of the pieces that had chipped
off of poor old Ethan during transit. Once inside, I opened the
box. He wasn't even wrapped up. Chunks were missing off the base,
and a whole tip of his tri-cornered hat was broken off. I was livid.
I e-mailed the
seller and she was very nice about it, and refunded me in full!
I picked up about $3.50 worth of craft paint at WAL*MART and touched
him up along with some old bronze craft paint I had. I can barely
tell where his flaws are now!
The point to this
whole story is that WE WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER!!! ha ha ha ;)
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Friends, well over a
year ago, Mrs. Kelly Elizabeth Lattal of Windsor, Connecticut
came to me with a very serious concern.
You see, she had been
visiting The Colonial Dream; The Early American Vision webpage
and she was rather alarmed that the area rug I had in this
room was COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE!
I searched for years,
but could never find anything suitable... until today! Michelle
and I were in the lovely Savers in Springfield, Massachusetts
and I found this braided for only $20!
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As
you can see, poor Jane Wilhite is still completely exhausted,
so please visit again, but next time don't stay so long!
:(
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* back *
21-Jul-2007
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