I Love, Love, LOVE Hairpin Legs

I've been searching for a console table for almost 2 years. Something simple that a stool can slide under. Something I like. Something that doesn't cost a fortune. Not an easy feat, especially in Cranbrook!

With no luck I started looking at DIY ideas and found this:

Photo courtesy of superette. Visit the blog for DIY instructions.

It was love at first site (of the table and the dog!). This simple table is exactly what I had been searching for and I'm definitely going to make one. I've found 28" high hairpin legs on Hairpinlegs.com and Etsy but I prefer the less common 3 rod style so I think I'll order these:

3 rod hairpin legs from Hairpinlegs.com

While searching online for legs I came across a lot of beautiful furniture with hairpin legs. Furniture that's not cheap! Similar (ok, almost identical) console tables typically sell for about $400-$600. Maybe I need to go into the hairpin leg furniture business? Now I want to use hairpin legs for everything. A new kitchen table? A bench for the mudroom? A bedside table?

Dining Table

Bench

Bedside Table

The options are limitless, but one project at a time. So on to the console, or at least the ordering of the legs. I'll post pictures when it's done.

New Kitchen Faucet

I accidentally ordered a new kitchen faucet yesterday and I'm very excited about it. Isn't she pretty!?

Kohler Simplice in vibrant stainless - model # K-596VS

Though it's not necessarily my dream faucet, it's the one I had my heart set on when we replaced our faucet a few months ago. I've used it in several clients' projects over the years because its simple design looks good in almost any kitchen and it's really good quality for the price.

Now being a designer I know there are certain items you shouldn't cheap out on and a kitchen faucet is definitely one of them. But with so many items needing replacing I cheaped out with this one a few months ago:

Big box pull-down kitchen faucet in brushed satin

Though it looks nice I'm putting it lightly when I call this faucet a piece of junk! It was only $80 but the sprayer can't be pushed in all the way and it drives me crazy. It was definitely a mistake but it''ll work just fine in our basement.

So when I saw that my mom had bought an equally cheap and poor quality faucet for her kitchen (long story, but we had previously bought & installed it too) I told her to return it and spend the extra money to get a good quality faucet. I took a quick look online to suggest a few options for her and found my faucet on Amazon.ca for $208.88 with free shipping! I had previously found it for about $275 but couldn't justify that price at the time. Now at such a good price my mom & I both ordered one.

Buyer Beware:

The same faucet sells at a major big box home improvement store for $365.60, which is the highest price I've seen for this faucet (and I've done a lot of looking around). Though big box stores offer competitive pricing on lots of items, don't assume that everything they sell is a good deal. I frequently find their pricing on plumbing & lighting fixtures is actually the highest in town. Do your homework and look around before you spend your hard earned money.