Shopping with. . . Design Expert Cinda Boomershine

By Amy Flurry
April 9, 2010

“I hate to admit how much time I spend on eBay,” says Cinda Boomershine, founder of the Atlanta-based design company cinda b. and a frequent co-host of television decorating shows including TBS’s Movie and a Makeover and HGTV’s Deserving Design. “It is like going to the best estate sale—but you can do it at any time of the day, any day of the week and you don’t have to get in line at 7:30 on Friday mornings! Where else can you buy [everything from] a seventies Airstream motor home (guilty!) to a single yard of vintage fabric?”

Boomershine’s other favorite eBay finds include a vintage David Hicks necktie from the designer’s alphabet series—B’s of course—and Stotter animal placemats from the seventies. “Only two have ever come up on eBay in the last two years,” she claims of the latter.

For her interior design business, the 37-year-old turns to eBay for furniture, vintage lighting and accessories. Her finds allow her to stretch her design dollar. “I reupholstered these chairs [for the showroom dining room pictured below] with some Schumacher fabric I found on eBay for a fraction of the [retail] price,” she says. “Or I might use expensive glass bead wallpaper in a power room then buy seven dollar vintage light fixtures on eBay.”

"The plates on the wall of this showroom dining room I designed were purchased on eBay, as were the charis and the fabric I used to recover them in. The painting is by my husband, Mark."

Boomershine also finds inspiration in vintage items found on eBay for a line of weekend bags she developed in 2004. At the time, Boomershine was work from multiple locations and living out of the same tired old weekend bag she had owned since high school. When her search for a functional, affordable and stylish replacement turned up empty, she designed her own. Six years after its debut, the cinda b. collection is in over 500 stores nationwide and boasts a celebrity following that includes Jennifer Aniston, super-mommy Heidi Klum (a fan of the diaper bags) and Molly Sims. “They’re machine washable and waterproof,” Boomershine says of her bags. “So they can go from baby to beach and everywhere in between.”

City Satchel ($109), Resorter ($134), Hobo ($74)

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"My library, which is full of design books I purchased on eBay."

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Boomershine’s eBay searches are usually predicated by the project she is working on. Here are a few that get repeat action:

1. New Vintage Mod Flower Bed Sheet David Hicks Full Aqua Orange (winning bid, $9.99) “Vintage purses, clothing, linens and fabric: I design all the styles and fabrics for cinda b. I look to eBay for vintage items for inspiration.”

2. 1950's Air Stream Leo-O-Matic Folding Chairs (current bid, $26) “Chairs : I love buying chairs on eBay. Shipping can be tricky, but it is so much easier searching for what you need on eBay versus running all around town looking for a needle in a haystack. One of my quirky obsessions is Leg-O-Matic folding chairs. I think everyone should have a set. I love giving them as wedding presents.”

3. Pair of Mid Century Modern Cork Table Lamps (winning bid, $69.99) “Vintage light fixtures and lamps: Light fixtures and lamps can add so much character to a room and for that reason I steer clear, of anything typical or expected. eBay is one of the best places to find vintage fixtures and lamps.”

4. Vintage Interior Design Book David Hicks Easton Donghia (starting bid, $34.95) “Vintage design books for my reference library: Books from the 70’s and 80’s are my favorites.”

5. 5 Pieces Independence Chine Cane-Brown Pattern (buy it now price, $30) “China to use as wall art: I love doing arrangements of plates on walls as an alternative to art. I typically go for more contemporary patterns like the brown caned Independence...”

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