Good Customer Service...Or Bad?

If you've been reading for a while, you'll remember my breakfast nook. You know...the one that used to look like this:

that now looks like this:

It's super great, but I've been struggling with what to put in there for a table and chairs. The farmhouse table I built for my mom looked GREAT...oh yeah, it was for my mom.

Now that it is gone, I have our round pedestal table in there. I bought it three years ago at a Wood You store and stained it dark...really dark.

I'm committed to keeping the table (for a little while at least) because 1. it's not in the budget for a new one and 2. it's not in the budget for a new one. So this leads me to chairs for the awesome breakfast nook and super dark table. Here are some that I like:

French Bistro Side Chair

Banana Leaf Chair

Here is what I HEART but my checkbook does not:

Jackson Metal Tub Chair

I bought these at Ballards Outlet but the were too big and too white (I'm starting to sound like Goldilocks):

Provence Dining Chair

I was disappointed when I got home with them and realized they were not great, but Smurfette needed a desk chair in her room, so now they live (and look fab) in there. I then ordered these from Target.com:

Ok...let me back up. I ordered the chairs from Target before I bought the chairs from Ballards. I love ordering from Target because the selection on the website is much better than in stores and you can return it to their store without having to ship it back. Plus I got free shipping. Super! I was waiting for the chairs to arrive when Sarah and I made an impromptu trip to the Ballard Outlet. The plan was if the Ballard chairs worked, I would return the Target chairs. The Ballard chairs didn't work (can't return those), so I waited for the Target chairs. And waited. And waited. I finally received an email from Target that said the order was taking longer that usual to process and I could cancel if needed because it had been so long. Two days later, guess what? The chairs arrived!! We unboxed them, put them together, and...I'm not in love. I'm not really in like either. They are great, don't get me wrong, but the backs are a little high and they over power the area. Ok, I figured I'd return them to the store. The next day I get another email from Target...they are sorry, they have canceled my order because they are unable to fill it...hmmmmmmm...but I received my order!?! I checked my account online and sure enough my order has been canceled. No trace. No order number. Nothing. I check my credit card. No charge. Nothing. I call Target because I have no receipt and can't return the chairs I don't heart without a receipt. The nice man at the other end of this phone call had this to say...

nice man, "I'm sorry but there is no record of this order number."

me, "But I ordered these chairs and now they are here and I don't like them and I want to return them."

nice man, "I'm sorry but you can't return them."

me, "But I want too..."

nice man,  "Nope. Sorry."

me, "But Target made a mistake and it's not my fault and I'd like to return them."

nice man, "Well, just consider it your lucky day."

The conversation went on for 20 more minutes, but I'm sure you get the picture. I am now the lucky owner of some chairs I don't heart. He assured me I would never be charged and to consider this a gift from Target. So I really can't justify going out and spending money on my dream chairs when I have free chairs...

Rachel :(

Booyah!

There are times when words are not enough. Here is the evolution of the breakfast nook...

Just in case you WANT to read more, click here for where I found my inspiration:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/we-can-all-dream.html

here to read about the $50 bench:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/look-what-i-found.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/kitchen-progress.html

here to read about the gallery wall:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/gallery-wall-inspiration.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-of-gallery-wall.html

here to read about the $10 light fixture:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/light-for-kitchen.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/06/moving-of-light.html

and seriously...if you're still interested...this is what happened to the washer and dryer:
http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/it-all-comes-together.html

Enjoy!!!

Rachel :)

Working on the Bench...

Mr. T and I have been working hard taking our breakfast nook from this:

to look more like our inspiration:

We scored BIG when we found this for $50 at our local Habitat ReStore:

The custom bench that was custom for someone else's very large kitchen was 104" in length and 24" deep. The depth is perfect..exactly what we wanted. Our nook is 76" wide so we had to take some length off. The original bench had two drawers with two cabinets on either side. We took the drawers out (lots and lots of pulling and prying, they had seen better days) and removed the top along with the cabinet doors. Then we measured and got ready to make cuts...measure twice, cut once!!!

 

 

one side cut!



checking the measurements before we added end pieces



charlie brown approves!

After all the cuts were made Mr. T cut two new sides and used wood screw to attach them. At one point I want to do everything myself...well...one cut later and I gladly turned the saw over to the muscle behind our operation! I would much rather measure, draw lines, and bark orders...just kidding...not really! When the side were attached ( I primed them first), I got busy with the hand sander. A few coats of paint later we were watching the paint dry, ready to move this beauty inside! Time to get busy deciding on what was going on the back wall...

Rachel :)

Kitchen Progress...

Remember when our breakfast nook looked liked this?:

...and then it looked liked this...

I spent some time sanding and cleaning and got it ready to paint. I save all paint cans, organized on the tip top shelf in Smurfettes closet. I found the one labeled kitchen and went to the hardware store to get a quart. It went something like this...

Me: "I need another quart for this paint please..."

Man: "hmmmmmmmmm...Sorry, but we don't carry pastel bases anymore. I can color match, but it's not going to be the exact same color..."

Me: "Crappers..."

I thought I was being so good and staying so organized by saving old paint cans and labeling EVERYTHING! Who knew that paints change as much as fashion does...ugh... I ended up buying the paint that day. I decided to paint the two walls where all the holes had been patched and hope for the best. I painted from a wall crease to the end of the adjoining wall. So, it wasn't the exact color, but it was super close and I was happy!

3M Hand Sander...GREAT!

dust everywhere!!!

can you tell I don't get my fashion sense from Marlene?

who is really doing the work here?

 

awe...he's so cute...

Basically this is how my mind works. Which is why I have a million different projects going on at any given time. And since I discovered Pinterest, I have become ten times worse. I saw this quote today. I think I'm going to frame it and put it on Mr. T's nightstand...

She's crazy.

And just when you think

you've reached the bottom

of her craziness,

there's a crazy underground garage.

-from Will and Grace

Rachel :)

Look What I Found!

Ever since I read this post from Thirfty Decor Chick, I have become obsessed with our Habitat ReStore. Our local store is open Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 2pm. Sarah posted about her local store on a Sunday, so Monday morning I ran to ours first thing...Closed. I thought the sign said Tu...so I went back the next day...Closed. It was then I realized what the hours were...so I waited. Ever since then I have been once a week. I LOVE to look, but I never purchased anything until last week when I saw this...

That's right...it's a painted, wooden bench custom made for a bay window.. Hmmmmmmm....I thought...will it work? Can I make it work? Should I try to make it work? That was over a week ago. I thought about it for a few days and decided to take Mr. T back to take a look. We talked and looked and looked and talked and decided that maybe...just maybe...it was worth a try. But, I told him, this is a project I want to tackle by myself! My goal is to take this...

and make it look like this...



Aubrey + Lindsay

A few months ago when we started this process, Mr. T thought this project was going to cost a million dollars...seriously...has he met me?!? The bench had a price tag of $125, but we were able to talk them down to $75 fairly quickly. Still, it wasn't good enough...so $25 later we were down to $50 and I was happy. I still couldn't pull the purchase trigger, so we went home and I decided that if it was still there the next day it was meant to be. Don't you love my logic?

Well...it was meant to be! I am now the proud owner of a dirty, needs work, custom bench with an unattached top and drawers that don't pull out, that doesn't fit in our 1950's kitchen! It's great, it didn't end up in a landfill, and I didn't have to buy anything new! I'm ready to get started to make this custom for us!

Rachel :)