Thrifting...

Today was a thrifting day, I only got to hit one sadly, and I almost walked out empty handed. Until I saw something I had been wanting for quite a while!

A lazy susan made of Walnut

Designed by Ernest Sohn.

I has never heard of Ernest Sohn before so I looked him up and to my surprise he has designed a lot of the items that are on my wish list! A short post for a short thrift run. 

Yet another winter Estate Sale

I will just say, I think my hands attained permanent damage from the cold. Of course this estate sale had outdoor barns we had to go in... The wind was only over 30 mph giving a windchill below -5. You do what you have to do! This estate sale has some history behind it. It was a family farm in the middle of practically no where, the snow drifts were the worst I have ever seen taking these country roads during the horrible winter storm (I won't even go into the driving part of this adventure). The farm has been in the same family since 1867, which is significant because that's the year Michigan became a state. From the pictures online (645 of them) it seemed to be a HUGE sale. I think it was a little exaggerated, I didn't walk out with very much. 

I walked out with this retro pitcher with cool swirl design on it.

I also walked out with this small Tupperware set, which in all honesty I have never seen before, and I have seen my fair share of vintage Tupperware. 

And then there was this! What an amazing find, a Rembrandt lamp. This sleek looking lamp with the great detail on the neck was in the barn... It probably has been for YEARS. The brass plating is pitted badly, and the entire base has turned to a rusty brown. At one time this lamp was probably top of the line. I have yet to see the standing lamp, I have seen numerous table lamps on eBay that match.

I will of course be steel wooling this lamp up and restore it, of course I won't be able to get that brushed brass look, but it's better than pitted brass plating. Another summer project? I'm going to be overloaded. 

Mid Century Modern Room Divider

So... I have read a lot of MCM blogs, and I always see these great room dividers, and the first time I laid my eyes on one I wanted one. I have looked and looked and I have always fallen short, mostly because I'm not willing to pay the sky high price the seller is asking. But... My luck has turned and I saw an ebay listing for a room divider in my price range, well below my maximum price I wanted to pay. Of course there are reasons why it was marked down, it needs a little work, and when I say a little it needs quite a bit. It's missing one of its drawers, and it's full of scratches and it truly needs to be completely refinished. I look at it this way... Yeah the value is going to decrease by refinishing it because it's not the original finish, but... If I leave it in the condition it is in how much would it be worth while detereorating even more? At least I'm not paintin it right? Haha. 

I am contemplating refinishing it myself, I have had my share of projects doing that and I love doing it. It would be the largest and most structural project but not the most in depth or detailed I have ever done. My mid century shadow box with tons of ornate scrolling and waves was a fun job. Then again I'm also wondering with the amount of other things going on if I should have it professionally completed. I do have another project up my sleeve for this summer that I am still planning. 

It's too cold for this

The estate sale thing requires you to stand in line... Outside.... In Michigan that is not practical, especially this winter. It's pretty frigid, but when you brave the cold you find some pretty cool stuff! I found quite a few smalls from this estate sale I think the real highlight was this hostess tray. Aka breakfast in bed tray. It has the option of tilting with an edge on it to put a book on to read or write. How functional is that? 

I found this small hostess tray, I have yet to see another one.

Original labels still intact

Complete with a 24k gold undercarriage (ooooo....) and a cat?

Best Estate Sale Yet!

So some time before I created this blog, I had purchased a mid century bedroom set, so I actually wasn't searching for one any longer, until.... Yepp... I was browsing an estate sale pictures and this set stood out to me! It was amazing, it came with the bed (mattress and all) night stands a long dress and a high boy. WOW! So I knew that sale was a must. Got up at 3 am and made it to the sale at 5am to get a number... Darn, the sign up sheet was posted the night prior so people had already come to sign up, luckily my mom and I were numbers 4 and 5! Not too bad but pretty imperative to make it to the item you want fast. The house was AMAZING. A 1950s ranch with a carport.... Yes... A carport. What a cool feature. Atomic light sconces in built into the home, an Eames styled lantern in the 1.5 story front porch peak... It reeked of mid century modern. It's always amazing the people you meet at sales while waiting in line, I met some great people at this one. I ended up spending about the amount I thought was right for the set, and I spent more on vintage tupperware, some pottery, and some vintage linens. Better yet, the second day I came back with the uhaul truck to pick up the furniture I saw that some end tables I had been looking at were still available... A little high priced but they gave me a steal of a deal since I bought the bedroom set. 

Enough talking... The photos will speak for themselves. Amazing construction, dove tail drawers, wooden pulls, it's high quality furniture that will last me many many years. Okay seriously though here's the photos.

 

3 matching Mersman end tables from the same sale. 

Picking up where I left off?

I realize Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all have come and gone, school and work truly consume most of my life. There's such little time for blogging. I left off with a surprise furniture purchase....

I bought an amazing hutch it needed some cleaning up. The one end opens up and has an abundance of storage space and the other end opens and reveals drawers and even a flatware drawer that is felt lined. 

Of course there are the smalls I have picked up here and there from numerous estate sales:

An awesome desk lamp, can't you see this on a great old steelcase desk?

And then there's this guy, what an amazing find, a common style of pottery made by Haeger, but an uncommon color, usually you see the black panthers I have never seen this chartreuse color in person. Get this, it's not the planter either this is the tv lamp! 

His eyes light up when turned on!

I have so much more to share just such little time, more to come later. I haven't even blogged my best find(s) at the motherload of an estate sale in the fall.