they sell all, you gain much

An estate sale.  The holy grail of yard sales and the easiest way to get quality items at awesome deals.  I visited one last weekend that literally may have been the best thrifty find outing EVER.

Ever been to one?  Much like a yard sale, home owners are trying to get rid of their stuff.  However, estate sales usually offer more of a fire sale situation.  The home owners need to get ALL of their stuff out of the house in one foul swoop.   Sometimes professional estate sale representatives from a management company are hired to oversee the sale.  They call the shots in this case, not the homeowner.

So what was scored this time?  So much my friends, so much for so little.

Check out this really cool old mustard yellow side table that was a mere $17.

Look familiar?  It’s the same mid-century modern style as the stereo console!  Black legs and all.  Such luck.  We still needed something to hold our record player so it was PERFECT.  Except… well, I tested it out in my studio as a sewing machine table:

It’s got storage and everything. 

I’m not sure if it’s going to make its way into the living room now 😉

What else?  Some photography equipment!  As it turns out, I happened to be raiding the house of a retiring professional photographer.  Check this stuff out:

Clearly, there’s not enough room for it all in my little studio nook.  Haha. 

Did you happen to see the computer in the room?  Well, that was the photographer dude’s desktop CPU as well.  I am here to tell you, the photography equipment AND the computer only cost $50 total.  Granted, the computer needed some work, but it was wayyy worth it.

TIPS

Pay special attention to estate sales in older neighborhoods.  The homeowners tend to have vintage furniture and/or accessories there.  Sometimes you can find stuff right under your nose that would sell for 5 times as much at an antique store!

Attend estate sales twice in one day.  Once in the first couple of hours it is open to check it out.  Is it worth your time?  THEN come back in the last hour of the event and expect the prices to be super discounted.  Disclaimer: of course you risk losing something you saw in the beginning, so get the must-haves in the first visit of the day.  But trust me on this, the 2nd time I visited this most recent estate sale, they were yelling “half off everything” at me as I walked in the door.

Happy estate sale shopping 🙂

Share your finds with me!  I’d love your comments and experiences.

another turn table?

Remember how I mentioned while on vacay last week we did a little yard sale stalking and thrift shopping?

Well, the hubs’ obsession with LPs has come to full fruition. 

Check out the newest addition, courtesy of a yard sale, in its new place on top of the china cabinet: 

It’s pretty rugged (and by rugged I mean dirty and rusty…), see?

But I love the pop of color and the unlikely item as decor.  Functional yet funky.

And did I mention that my favorite color is red?!

Storage and More

I’ve decided to spotlight my favorite thrift store/yard sale purchases.  We go ‘treasure hunting’ pretty often!

My favorite thrift store HANDS DOWN is Nettie’s Thrift and Consignment, and this TF just happens to come from there: 

These vintage crates arrived at Nettie’s the same day the hubs and I were there. What luck!  Shabby chic solid wood, one painted/one au natural, decades old with IBM Corp stamped on the side (did I mention half my family works or has worked for IBM?  Nostalgic coolness). 

For now, we’ve used one for throw pillow/blanket storage in our bedroom (below), and the other as a stereo equipment console under our TV.

The possibilities are endless with these things.