FRUSTRATED ;-) at the Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon

Time to share a little bit more about myself than I do normally. For many, many reasons I’ve been practicing this year with frustrating myself. That may sound weird, but it has brought me a lot. Or rather, it has brought me nothing. Which is a good thing. Let me explain. I used to be a bit of an impulse buyer. I’d buy clothes, a new Playstation and even furniture without actually thinking through if I could afford it all. I know, pretty stupid. So here I am at age 46 and I’m teaching myself to step back, think about what’s going on in my head when I’m about to buy something and then see if I can stop myself. Last night at the opening party of the Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon proved to be particularly challenging. And I’m glad to report to you that I frustrated myself enough to leave empty-handed. Let me show you all the stuff I almost bought but didn’t.

PS: Just because I’m practicing not buying stuff, doesn’t mean you can’t splurge once in a while. In fact, I hope you spend lots and lots of money at the Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon until the end of January.

FRUSTRATED 😉 at the Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon

Gevonden op Marktplaats founder Julien Rademaker (and allround nice guy) and Olivier van Duijn of Marktplaats.nl. On the left: the 275 euro Kuni Sugai print I did not buy.

Lots of cool people and even more cool stuff that I didn’t take home with me.

This is the vintage white credenza that would have been perfect for my living room. I did not buy it. And don’t EVEN get me started on those framed prints. Or the vase. Or that red lamp.

These multi colored dining room chairs were a steal at 75 euros a piece, but again…didn’t buy them. Oh and LOVING the prints over the chairs – but alas, my wallet said no, no, no.

I could already see this Eighties lamp at home. But because I couldn’t decide on where I’d put it (not that that ever matters, to be honest), I decided not to buy it.

Boy, oh boy! Only 149 euros for this amazing high kitsch Cleopatra-ish lamp. And there were two of them. Once again, I resisted the urge to splurge.

Pink and black Radboud van Beekum Pastoe chairs. Still for sale when I left the building last night. God, they would have looked great here in my living room.

With a price tage of 1750 euros, This Ibiza dining room set by Janos Fischer was way outside my budget. A minor detail that never used to stop me but now it did. And now that I’m looking back at this photo, I’m wondering just how comfortable these chairs would be after a two-hour dinner party.

A very affordable 25 euro jade green vase and a 15 euro gold desk accessory (perfect for pens and a few postcards – remember those? – as you can see) that were still in the store when I left.

Was never really into African masks, but I was last night. And yet, I didn’t buy any of them. Oh, and what about that kelim rug? The elephant coffee table?

Rietveld chairs and some very cool prints. I could already imagine them at home. No sale.

Not buying this Radboud van Beekum chair for Pastoe was the biggest challenge for the night. But I won – and still have 550 euro’s in my bank account.

PS: If you like vintage furniture, you don’t have to wait for a future edition of the Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon. Nope! Just hop in your car and make your way to the Belgian town of Ghent for a trifecta if great vintage shops. Find out what they are right here.