While most folks are busy making room for all those new acquisitions, it can be a great time to score some fabulous cast-offs.
Our friend Roberto found this gorgeous antique French armoire literally left out in the cold following last year's post-holiday purge. We thought such finds were the stuff of urban legend, but with the help of a public works pick-up schedule — and some brawny buds — you, too, can take advantage of your neighbor's household reorganization.
What was your best sidewalk score, and how did you haul it home?
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Comments (13)
i found a chest that i believe was used for children's toys on the side of my street one day while rollerblading, so, even though it was considerably weighty, i picked it up and rolled it home! i re-painted it a shiny white, and it's my night stand now, with blankets inside!
I found a set of silver drums (from a deconstructed drum set) waiting by the trash bin at a house around the street; I'm using them as bedside tables. I also found a door at a house that was being rehabbed around the block and stripped and painted it to use as a dining room table/desk.
I hauled 'em home in my truck and laid them on the blanket I keep in the back for such occasions (and to keep some sand out after beach runs)!
that cabinet has got to be the mother of all scores. it is beautiful!
eames lounger with matching ottoman in a back alley garbage!
lots of great shabby vintage, including a 12'x14'
hand knotted oriental rug (c.1920) w/expected (and beautiful) wear.
Also a white 6-drawer malm dresser in great shape, with a note saying a few drawers had corners that
had been gently gnawed on by a parrot.
Carried it home w/ a little help. It was only a few doors
down from my home.
But that cabinet... sigh.
When I was a kid in the early 70's, Mom spotted an old pedal sewing machine out at the curb. She stopped and with the help of my sister and I, she managed to get that thing in the backseat of her VW beetle and still have room for all three of us. This was before the laws about kids sitting in booster seats in the backseat, of course. What an adventure!
I like that French armoire very much!
i have looked for something tall like that except thinner, and they are sooo expensive even used, so i guess i will have to stick to (cardboard)? bookcases, oh well,
well what ever those fiberboard bookcases are called.
from washington state.
That is a great score!
We are dedicated trash pickers. I found 4 beautiful teak chairs with woven seats, great condition, that we use in the dining room. 2 bigger mid century chairs that we reupholstered. Before and after shots here: http://paperdollsforboys.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/before-after-more-before/, a couple of wooden peg-constructed side tables in Harvard Square, and I have found several vintage sewing machines over the years. Happy hunting all!
http://paperdollsforboys.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/before-after-more-before/
Last link not working, let's see if this one does.
I found a fabulous 50's Formica table on the sidewalk a few years ago. It was in great condition and the perfect size for my small place. Two tiers, round with 3 hairpin legs. I stuffed it into my convertible and brought it home. What a find!
2 days later my cat jumped up, landed on the very edge of the 3 legged table and pulled it down on top of her, breaking her leg! It cost me over $500 at the Vet and she was in a lot of pain.
The table went back out on the curb the next day.
That armoire is the most unbelievable score I've ever heard of.
My neighbourhood is great for finds (though never quite in the same league as that armoire). In the past year, I have snaffled a vintage wooden table for my daughter's room, a wooden dolls' house, a puppet theatre, a 1920s Lloyd Loom cot, a vacuum cleaner, a vintage Windsor chair that matches my roll-top desk perfectly and various other bits and pieces. My husband says I have the best peripheral vision he's ever encountered, because I am always yelling for him to stop the car because there's something put out on the kerb down a side street.
Hmmm, I've found some very nice old doors, a buffet and other smaller items. My latest was left on the curb by the neighbor across the street...and my builders who are working on the remodel of a back room on my house, stopped work long enough to help me carry it home. :o) Photo can be found here.
http://sparky-youngbloodstudios.blogspot.com/2009/10/settee-in-waiting.html
Last year, I found a winged back armchair on the curb. It was in great shape, except it needed upholstering. At first, I drove by it and thought...where am I going to put it? It kept calling to me and turned back around and put it in the back of the car, with much manipulation and moving of stuff. I had it recovered and is sitting in my sunroom. I was really proud of myself that day.