Buying New (to me) Furniture

I have been on a mission. A mission to furnish our library on the cheap. I have been really lucky of late and found two matching chairs, a camel back loveseat, and a leather armless chair, all for under $150. Since I had the seating taken care of, I have been looking for a smallish table/desk in case I wanted to do some paperwork or be on the computer.  I have been scouring Craigslist often, and almost purchased three different desks, but somehow, I never was able to go take a look. Then I found this table. L.O.V.E.

Looks pretty rough, but the size was perfect and I really liked the curved foot supports. The ad mentioned that it needed refinishing, but I wasn't concerned because I had specifically been looking for a desk/table to paint a custom color.

Isn't it gorgeous? This baby is built to last, and is very strong and sturdy. the tabletop looked pretty rough, but nothing a little paint could not take care of. When I got it home. I cleaned it with a damp rag then rubbed in some lemon oil treatment because I knew this had been in a storage building for God knows how long. The man I purchased it from was one of those people who bid on the contents of abandoned storage units to resell what they find inside.  Anyhow, the table was dying of thirst, because it sucked up the zig zag stream of oil so fast before I could rub it in, it "stained" the table top and I had to spend the next hour trying to even out the color of the table.

After I was done, it looked just so lovely, I decided against painting it.  Even the ink stains added some character, like the table has seen some things. If only it could talk! As a side not, this table in a prior life was owned by the State of Texas Department of Health.  Why do I know this? Because it has a small brass plaque with a serial number on it together with the words "Tex. Hea. Dept." stamped on it. Unless that's abbreviation for something else? Um. Highly unlikely. And here it is next to the $39.00 camelback loveseat I picked up at Goodwill for $39.00. What a steal!  It looks brand spanking new, like it had never been sat on. The lamp on the table was purchased many moons ago at a garage sale for two bucks? It is solid brass, but the finish was tarnished and I did not feel like polishing it (again). I wanted a more contemporary look, so I spray painted it in satin nickel, and I think it turned out great. Oh, I paid $100 for the table. I thought the price was fair, considering it is solid oak, is very solid and has a lot of details not found in a new-in the store-made-in China piece. They just don't make it like this anymore. I will never, ever, buy any new furniture again, EVER!