Army Cot Love

You guys offered up tons of great advice earlier this week (you're the best, by the way) and I'm happy to report that I'm now the proud owner of a vintage army cot. It looks old and raggedy but that's just the way I like it! Well, kind of. The canvas is a tad bit too old and raggedy so it will have to be replaced, but the base is perfection.

 Are you wondering how much I paid for it? I guess it's only fair to share this information since I asked you what you would spend, right? I emailed the seller and asked if $35- $40 was in the range of what he was expecting to receive. He responded that $35 was great. Done. It was mine! I was so impressed that he didn't take advantage of me for the extra 5 bucks.

In this shot you can see the stairs curving over head. It's going to be a cozy little area when all is said and done.

 Here you get a better perspective of the space. The zebra bench will be exiting, as will the doggie bed that's trying to camouflage into the bottom stairs in this shot.

I got even more excited about our new cot when I saw how fun they look when covered with amazing textiles...

Then, I realized what a steal I got as I searched around Etsy and found out these babies sell for a pretty penny!

$130 (with shipping) from AntikaGarage Etsy Shop

$205 (with shipping) from etsy shop, wooddesignsby

Thanks again to those of you who offered up your two cents!

Need your opinion...

I ran across this flickr image and thought it was super cool. I've been toying with the idea of building a built-in bench below our stairs but this seems like a really unique and much less expensive option. Plus, I won't be very committed if I get tired of it and decide to try something new in a few years!

So, I did a little Craigslist search for cots and it looks like there's a local one available...

Apparently, it was found in an attic so the seller doesn't know much about its history.

It looks like it's not in the best shape but it does have the wooden base I'm going after. So, there wasn't a price attached, the seller asked for interested buyers to make offers. Agghh! I can't stand situations like this.

I've searched a little and it looks like new cots run around $40 but have a metal frame. There's one vintage cot listed at $70 firm but it looks like it's in much better condition. What would you do? How much would you offer? I know many of you are craigslist experts, so go ahead and impart your wisdom!