apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

one of my fave books

looks cool, but get that adirondack chair out of that living room.

My problem has always been that I never find any cool stuff. There are always going to be those people who that tell me that they "found" their original Knoll Saarinen Tulip dining set for $10 in a little antique shop outside of Lincoln, Nebraska, or that they pulled up the carpet in their living room to find beautiful, perfectly intact terrazzo floors, or that they found a pristine Jaguar E-type under a tarp in the barn of the farmhouse they just bought. I'm just not one of those people.

Yes, there is definitely a gene for finding this stuff. Some people have it, some don't!

my problem is that i can sometimes find things for great prices that work as-is (like the 6'x8' kilim rug i found on CL for $15 this week - ha!) but i am the worst at looking at an item and thinking of a way to change it (paint it, whatever) to make it work for me. so a lot of stuff ends up looking like junk to me, where other people could just spruce it up to the point of heartbreaking cuteness. my sprucing skills suck.

DarrenB, I feel your pain..every little old lady having a garage sale these days knows to ask near-retail on this old ashtray and that funky chair.

Exactly. eBay has caused everyone to think their stuff is worth more than it is, and also means that most of the time it's impossible to find bargains anymore - at least in Southern California.

DarrneB, I couldn't agree more. Its the same in New York City.

Montreal's Salvation Army is the motherload of Danish Modern -- a style my husband unfortunately hates because he grew up with it. Every time I go in there to drop off my Out Box, I invariably see some fabulous DM console or dresser for $20. Someone could furnish an entire DM apartment for a couple hundred bucks if they went regularly.

But the best tip for finding the treasures in any city is to go to thrift shops in neighborhoods where the locals (for cultural/socioeconomic reasons) consider it shameful to buy used furniture or clothes.

darren b, suziegoombs and Neutopian. i could not agree with you more!! its gotten to the point when your searching, esspecially on the internet.. you type in "mid century", "art deco", "spanich colonial" or "furniture from mars" and ikea stuff pops up, people are crazy.... but to follow up with what Darrenb said, my step father actually bought a horse farm a few years ago and there was a 1957 ford fairlane under a tarp!! totally unknown to him untill he moved in! thats just dumb luck

Lisa makes me wish I lived in Montreal

darrenb. aren't you in san diego? plenty of old (dying) people and military retirees (well traveled). i'd suggest early saturday am estate sales in la jolla or any of the other mature, but less hip, neighborhoods. also a weekly stop at st. vincent de pauls or the salvation army (some stores will even tell you which days are better for stock, but its usually mon/tues after weekend cleanups). where do you think boomerang gets it's stuff? and while the rose bowl flea market is not what it was pre-ebay, i'm sure there are still bargains. (i don't know the san diego flea market scene).

here in the bay area, we've got the east bay hills and the area around stanford with similar crowds....and i find stuff. not every time, but enough to still make it enjoyable. i can't visit friends in carmel without looking for an estate sale stop as it is as populated with "old and money" as harbor seals. ( believe it or not, their kids don't usually want their parents things either. ) and alameda flea market is my monthly junk hike.

also, i can't tell you how often i see things i like - but don't buy, because of shipping fees or the inability to eye, from la, palm springs, and orange county - on ebay. rent/borrow a truck and take advantage of proximity.

for me, ebay is the new fleamarket. my jens risom dining chairs were purchased as singles/pairs and shipped greyhound from florida, michigan, arkansas, and vermont (at less than $125 each). my 6 ft. risom floating bench came from north carolina, at 25% of retail (shipping included). i found carlo di carli lounge chairs in st. louis, toledo industrial stools in ohio, and really great american and danish ceramics from as far as australia and israel. i've also seen many things which sell and then show up 4-6 months later at wright20, treadway, and sollo/rago, only to resell for much much more.

granted this is a time consuming hobby with periods of slim returns. but it is doable. enjoy the hunt. there's alot out there for your already beautiful home.

Thanks for the tips, healthyhome!

I used to chill at the Bins in Portland--when I went on my own, it would be like, "Oh, look...here's a cute shoe...half-size too small...wonder if there's a match around here somewhere...guess not." When I went with a certain friend, it would be, "Oh, look, mint-condition Bruno Maglis in my size with their laces neatly knotted together!"

You've got the gift or you don't.

I have in recent years developed somewhat "expensive" taste.

There are a lot of used pieces well known to others that might be worth a lot of money. Despite me not knowing what they are, I have the eye to find them in a crowd, to want them more than anything else being sold. Even in sidewalk trash, I only spot a lot of crap. The worthwhile stuff is given or sold separately, so only the junk is thrown out.

Most of my great scores are from the family. I'm pretty sure at this point that anyone discouraging me from taking something they've always regarded as junk is wrong. If I want it, it's probably worth a lot more than they thought it was. To be fair, I don't scavenge my family for profit. I want and like everything I ask for an take and try to advise which of anything left is too good for the curb. If something I like is promised to someone else, at least I know it will have a good home.

I was thinking about this yesterday as I was using the Craigslist tips in a recent post... I looked up armoire (a scavenger post a while ago featured a really beautiful one and I decided that's something I'd like to have), and looking over the ugly ugly armoires that came up, I picked out a couple adorable ones. Of course, they were $850-3000. All that crap people were selling for $15-300, and I honed right in on the yummy attractive loveable armoires. People usually seem to know when they have a quality item because they see me coming and make sure I can't afford it.