i know that with the high-end clothes, for example, a lot of people opt for consignment. I am sure there is something along the same lines for furniture. the other option is craigslist, where you can obviously negotiate pick-up/delivery with customers.

There are auction houses that specialize in estate sales. (Contrary to popular belief, "estate sales" can happen even when the person whose goods are being auctioned is alive and well.) I would contact one of these auction houses. They will arrange an auction at your home and do the advertising and collecting of money in return for a cut of the profits. The percentage they take varies by auction house. If you have high-end furniture, as you say, and don't want to go to the trouble of selling it piecemeal, contracting with an auction house is a good way to go.

Google this: "MyCityName" "auction house" "estate sale"
The first hits might not be exactly what you are looking for, but my guess is that if you call two places, they will advise you about what will work for you given the size of your house/your offerings. Good luck on your fresh start.

Natalie, all the best to you as you begin this process ... you're off to a great start posting your question here. All the best to you as you begin this new leg of your journey. It is a time-consuming process; but, ridding yourself of valuable items in a responsible way can be invigorating. I did the same thing in 2009 after selling my home.

Check out http://www.estatesales.net/estate-sale-companies . This site is a great resource for sellers and buyers. Estate sale seekers/buyers can subscribe to free email notifications of estate or tag sales in specific areas ... complete with huge photo galleries.

MCross' suggestion for keywords to google is a great idea. If you live in a suburb of a large city, I would google with that city's name as well. Real estate agents can be good sources of consignment, estate sale planners, etc.

Meanwhile, gather information & do some research. List everything you want to sell with description, manufacturer, model & collection names, receipts, age, etc.). Do some research with that info to estimate what each item is worth or would sell for ... best to know this before hiring someone to sell it all for you. This way, you go into the process informed, organized & ready to answer questions.

Craigslist is surprisingly good for some high-end stuff, at least in Chicago. I've had good luck selling and I'm always looking for hard furnishings from mid-to-high range stores (Room & Board and up). Well labeled, well photoed, and well described stuff can go really fast at a good price.

But it's a huge hassel to do right. If you have more money than time (which I didn't when I downsized in 2010), then estate sale organizers are a good way to go.

I just read this yesterday: http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-get-rid-of-all-your-crap.

I work for a firm, Winston Art Group (www.winstonartgroup.com), that handles these exact situations!

We get primary and/or secondary auction houses to do walk-throughs of collections, and to submit proposals on how to handle the sale. Sometimes we do a buyout - where a secondary auction house offers to buy the contents outright, and leave the place in broom-clean condition. Or, sometimes when appropriate, we advise on consigning top items to auction individually. Our company takes a small commission but the total commission is much less than you would pay going to a secondary auction house directly. Also, since the secondary auction houses know that they are in a competitive bidding scenario, they are motivated make their highest offer.

I can't really add much to what everyone else has already said other than you can usually put a reserve on things you sell at auction. The high end stuff you mentioned, so you don't feel like you will be getting ripped off. It might mean it doesn't sell but it will give you an idea of what it will go for in your area if you try auctioning again or decide to sell it on your own.

Good luck and have fun doing up your new place!

Weird to see a photo of my room even though I did not post this question.
www.jenchudesign.com/blog

I've gone through this and found it was a combination of Craigslist (a hassle lately with the scam emails, but you learn to weed them out), consignment and donation and TIME. Give yourself lots of time. Consignment stores usually like things seasonally (and they'll sell better. So plates, high end kitchen ware would have been better to sell in October-leading up to the holidays). There is also Krrb here on AT!

A few tips for CL-put in the ad cash only (people will print up fake money orders and try and pick things up on the weekend), don't respond to spam emails asking "is this still available". Just put in the ad, "if the ad is up, it's available". If you have more than one ad up at a time, you'll see who is spamming you because they'll send the same thing to both ads. Make sure people plan on meeting you in the light of day and have someone in the house with you when they come by. I have both found and sold things on CL and love it. But there are a lot of scammers lately. A lot of people are just looking to low ball you on everything. They've heard too many stories about "I got the million dollar antique on CL for $5" meme. They want the $5000 DWR couch that is a year old for $500 bucks, but once in a while there is someone with some sense who realizes what they are buying and will pay you a reasonable price.

Keep in mind that your things are not worth what you paid for them. I see people listing "appraised at" and expecting a price near that. You'll never get it. That's insurance prices. It's actually very hard to get rid of stuff. Especially now as the baby boomers downsize. They're all selling their big homes and going into condos. You have to learn to let go. If you're on FB subscribe to a site called "becoming minimalist" as it will help you with the mental issues. Also read an article on NY Times article called "The Tyranny of the Heirloom". Things take up a lot of mental space and we spend too much time servicing them. Let them go and look forward to the mental space you'll have when the clutter is gone. :)

Woo, a good portion of my townhouse was furnished from estate sale auctions. Send the rest of us the good stuff.

There are people who do this for a living - usually for seniors downsizing or moving into a care facility. They are expensive because the emotional aspect of the job is very difficult. I would say a high-end nursing home could give you a few names, but that doesn't seem to be quite what you're looking for.

I'm wondering about 'entire contents'. All new furnishings for the new condo or taking the most prized pieces etc. of current home? One point overall, just because things are/were high end and expensive purchases, doesn't mean you'll get that $$$$ back; even close.
The reality is the move to a smaller place is coming. If things don't sell or sell for what you want on the first go, is there a plan to put things in storage? Hope whatever method is chosen first, it goes smoothly and to your satisfaction.

On the flip side, where does the furniture get sold? I'm good at finding medium/high-end stuff on craigslist, but I suspect there are people like you who sell their quality modern furniture through other venues. Where do I find it? Anyone have favorite modern furniture consignment stores in the San Francisco area? The few I know of, like Monument, are wonderful but more vintage-focused. Or is it all auctioned rather than sold in a store?

If it is still early, you could do it yourself with Craigslist and on your own, running around town and talking to dealers who might like to buy the stuff. You could have your own garage or estate sale.

Or, you could pay a top notch person who does estate sales 20% of the final sale tally.

More rewarding to do it yourself, I would think (I do think!).

I live in 575 SF, 1200 is still a LOT!!!

Thinking some more, some big takeaways for having done something similar:

1) don't leave money on the table!
2) think twice about family possessions: after that family member is gone, that memento or whatever (piece of furniture, glass, tea cup and saucer) become that much more precious.

A lot of estate sellers work with a cleaning crew who, at the end of a two or three day estate sale, come through and then pay you for everything left (lots lots less than it is worth, it should almost go without saying). They take it all away and clean up the house or space. You WILL get a lot less than what all that stuff is worth.

I would rather pay friends of family members to do it (in retrospect).

As someone else said: time and patience should be your best friends. Don't be in a rush.

I agree that contacting professionals if you can would probably be the easiest and most thorough way to sell off all your stuff. Just make sure whoever you hire is knowledgeable about the value of the particular kind of stuff you have. Sometimes they just want to take less money to make it easier for themselves -- it's a balancing act. Most of the stuff you own will sell for about 25% of what you paid (even in perfect condition), unless it is vintage/antique and has increased in popularity.

The other thing is to make sure the sale is advertised on craigslist. You want to cast a wide net. You could even list your sale here on the AT classifieds. I personally had great luck selling some pieces here on AT. The people here know the value of design a lot more than your typical craigslister.

One more note -- I think you should take good pictures (even consider hiring a photographer) of your existing house. You can even photograph dishes, clothes and other things you want to sell. You can have the photos made into a keepsake book. Personally, I prefer to do this rather than hang on to furniture and other things that have sentimental value, but that I don't actually have use for. You can make photo albums of things just like you do of family, friends and trips.

Try this: www.youbidlocal.com

You photograph your items in situ, post online, folks bid, and then come and pick up from you. Simple.

My parents did this when they downsized drastically. There are auctioneers and dealers that specialize in high quality furniture.

You'll have to detach emotionally if you haven't already, because it can be upsetting to see how little value is placed on high-quality vintage items. Their flawless USA-made 35-year-old Henredon dining room went for pennies on the dollar, no more. People would rather go to Macy's or even Restoration Hardware and buy low quality made overseas because it's new.

Heathonist : This website is about design, furniture, space planning etc There is nothing wrong with the question that is posted. Keep in mind the old saying, " If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Afterall, you may be in the same situation in the future.

Natalie: I agree with the others that an estate sale or auction is the way to go. Arrangements can be made with companies in my area that anything that doesn't sell goes to charity. You don't ever have to see it again, Selling it all yourself sounds like a never ending project! Also, larger pieces of furniture can take longer to sell. I would check in to consignment stores for a few of those pieces. Focus on getting it done. Don't worry about getting the best price. You have too much stuff for that and it could be upsetting. In my area, getting 50% of retail for newer items is a great sale. Most things will sell in the 10% - 25% of retail.. Best of Luck.

It cant be said enough,you will NOT get what your stuff is worth! People who shop these venues dont care if that table was $1500 a year ago when you bought it. At best,expect 15% of its value.If your lucky.

Estate sale or auction. Don't part with anything you can't stomach getting less than 10% of what you paid for, though. Because that's the nature of resale right now in this economy. You'd be better off storing super high end things or working them into your new home than selling if you really need the money or can't stand a loss.

Good discussion. I learned a lot. But please, it's a no-no to grab pictures from someone else without permission or crediting. A good photo like this takes forethought, planning, staging - having the proper exposure, the proper lighting, etc. Don't be shy about asking the photographer for permission. If they are amateur photographers, they are likely to be flattered and will be happy with your use as long as you credit them. This is probably not the case with professional photographers, but it won't hurt to ask. It might hurt not to ask.

Can't delete my previous comment. So here goes: upon second inspection, the picture used in this post is NOT the same as in Jen Chu's post. The bedrooms are very similar but NOT the same. To compare for yourself: http://www.jenchudesign.com/interiors/jensbedroom/

I apologize for believing Jen that you grabbed a picture from her site without checking carefully myself. Kudos on a good photo.

So the least amount of hassle will be to contract with a professional estate sale company. That is also probably the most expensive solution. You could also easily run your own estate sale, it is really just like a garage sale just inside. Most people that come to estate sales are looking for bargains and typically want to pay 50% of current retail, especially if they are dealers. Unless I really love something that is all I am paying for it. You can run a cash only estate sale but it is also easy to sign up for Square (squareup.com) in order to accept credit cards, great way to get people to spend more.

Also if you run a sale yourself the longer the sale goes the steeper the discount should get. So if you run a 3 day sale it would look like, no discounts day 1, 20% day 2, 50% day 3. A one day sale might be full price first 4 hours, then 20% then 50% the last hour.

Sorry to say, but I think your first impression is more likely. It appears to me that the same image from Jen's site was grabbed and 'photoshopped' - i.e. cropped and colors adjusted. If Jen Chu owns the rights to that image, as would seem likely, and has not granted permission for others to use it, then it's use here -- edited or not -- would not be allowed, under US copyright laws.

However - we don't know how the image was sourced. There are many scenarios where it's use here would be completely proper (for example, if it had been posted on Flicker with the most permissive CC license). Jen expressed surprise at seeing the image here. If there's a problem with permission or credit, I'm sure Jen will follow-up with AT to resolve it.

I don't have a ton to add to everyone else's suggestions, but I have to say that unless your pieces are iconic classics or really antique, you probably won't get as much for them as you'd like, even though they cost a lot and may be beautiful sturdy investment items. Nobody cares how much you paid for it, they're shopping for used furniture at used furniture prices. Say you paid $3000 for a couch... you're not going to get a decent percentage of that back because somebody could buy a new couch for $500 from IKEA.

I have had luck selling nicer furniture on CL with really beautiful photos staged editorially. You have to price fairly, but for something that looks almost brand new and is 50% of the original price there is usually a lot of interest. I have often had multiple offers within the first day of posting. If there is any wear or damage you have to be upfront about it and price accordingly.

I you have large furniture in your master bedroom that won't fit in your condo, you might have bedroom furniture in a kid's room or guest room that will work in a smaller space. Oh, you could try e-bay to sell the rest. I would make it local pick-up only (no shipping) and a buy-it-now option. There's some protection with sales with Paypall.

@pauli.price. The two images are of the same room but taken from a slightly different angle, I.e. two different images. It is extremely hard photoshop light reflections and perspective changes on the framed artwork above the bed as well as the ones on the shelf opposite the bed. At any rate, I agree your comment that Jen should follow up with AT to resolve any copyright infringements.

Good discussion about how to sell high end pieces en masse. Would love to hear how it all went and what worked best.

I know this room! Saw A tour on spacesTV on youtube. LOVE IT!