A thrifter’s dream come true: You drop into the ReStore to take a quick spin, and are standing right there when the first piece of a big donation comes onto the floor. It’s your sister’s dream kitchen — a set of turquoise steel kitchen cabinets complete with a Frigidaire Flair range with hide-away range and a dishwasher. Oh, and all this on the eve of an anniversary that was going to be rough.
Jason wrote to me the day after his epic find:
I’ll warn you that this story is a bit of a tear jerker.
Generally I think people know that if I can do something for my sister I probably will. And if you know my sister you know she loves vintage stuff, particularly kitchens. Today would have been our mother’s 71st birthday — she passed away a little more than a year ago. It’s been a day full of tears, but not all sad ones.
I found this kitchen yesterday while on a random stop at a local Habitat for Humanity. I had just finished my workout and was walking around the ReStore because it is in the same neighborhood as my workout of choice. I happened by the first piece as they brought it onto the floor; the set was unassembled and nothing had a price on it yet.
To say it’s my sister’s dream kitchen is probably an understatement. I’ve occasionally read on design blogs about how someone randomly walking around a vintage store finds some incredible item right as they were putting it on display. They always catch it for some ridiculously cheap price on some momentous occasion, just to add to the lack of believability.
I found this set on the day before mom’s birthday, and I got it all back to my house on her birthday. Nobody knows for sure, but I’d like to think mom helped with that.
Thanks!
In our email exchange Jason added, “Eventually we will build my sister’s dream kitchen. It’s a few years off, but she’s absolutely blown away that we found her dream set.”
My sympathies on your mother’s passing, Jason. What a lovely gift to your sister. Thank you for sharing your story!
Robin says
Wow! Just curious what did you pay for the entire set? I know your mom would be proud!
Taylor Deere says
Wow! This looks like the same exact color of our St. Charles cabinets. But it has some really neat features that we don’t have. That hideaway range is too cool!! Ours is at http://midcenturymomblog.com/2018/04/23/mid-century-monday-1/
Keith says
I had a Frigidaire Flair years ago. We took it with us when we moved to a different state but kept it in storage. I wanted to use it eventually but donated it when we had a new house built (my wife wanted NEW appliances). I loved that range! I wish we still had it.