Linda has given very good counsel. I would add that the quality & appropriateness of the auctioneer is critical to a true market sale. Don't choose a farm auctioneer to sell early American antiques! His "cult following" auction goers will NOT pay fair value. So, Linda' correct again when she advised to start learning what you have. Your profile doesn't say what part of the country you live in. That will also make a huge difference in price. My husband and I are decades long collectors of early American antiques (late 1600's to 1850). We live in New England. If you are located in the northeast, let me know & I can give you a couple places to visit where you can learn as much as the effort you're willing to put into it. Also, do your parents already have an insurance appraisal for a rider on their HO's? That would give you at least a basis of knowing what things generally are. Also, for Heaven's sake...talk to your parents now while you can. They are a good source of initial information. However, a word of caution...family "stories" about antique pieces are generally incorrect so don't rely on those. There's normally a piece of something accurate but not the whole picture. Things get confused down through generations. Ask your parents if they have receipts for purchases. The receipts should describe the item which will be a big help if you don't know what everything is. I have the receipt for EVERY antiqu we've ever purchased...including ones we've sold over the years. I keep those for reference purposes. You can also go to the library. There are many very useful books available. They will NOT give you value but you'll learn relativity to other similar items, styles, eras, prominant names/manufacturers, provenance of distinct styles, information on reproductions, etc. I would also advise to take your time on liquidation. If the collection is large & varied, you will probably do better liquidating through several different channels that specialize in the type items you have to sell. For example, do not try to sell Brilliant Cut Glass in New England. It's everywhere here & the price is always depressed compared to, say, the Denver market where it always seem to do well. Denver's a big Victorian market due to the Molly Brown thing. Have fun & enjoy the process. But, be careful! You just might find yourself getting "hooked". If you do, there's no going back!

I love the sconces that you all posted! My chandelier is actually bronzy looking and the link to pottery barn had the finish that matched it. One thing I should probably say about my photos is they really don't accurately reflect that my chairs really do pop against the walls. For some reason they do blend in in the photo. I am afraid if I put up beadboard, my jelly cabinet would just look kind of dingy in front of it. I do love beadboard. In fact we have it in our mudroom, kitchen, and three bathrooms ttodd- I love the Sturbridge Yankee Workshop which is where I purchased George and Martha. I am glad you like the rug. Today I was looking at it and I was thinking how I do love the graphic nature of it. I have taken my rooster pillows down and I think I want some pillows with some reddish ticking . Going to paint the ceiling to tone it down. I'm also looking for a lamp or two for the jelly cabinet. Once I get a new table, will the get things for the top of that. I so appreciate everybody's help with this room.

We moved in two days ago Kim :) It's taken this long to get the internet working (and it only works on the back side of the house LOL) More work to do I guess. Thank you :) We do love the house and grounds, although the sheer size is intimidating as you think about cleaning it LOL More so as we've moved in somewhat. Probably more so after we have 20 overnight guests next weekend. It was the oldest B&B in the pacific northwest, (35 years) prior it was an apartment building and prior to that a hospital, and then the original owners had it until their deaths. (early 20's) We are lucky that the folks who did the big restoration in the 60's and 70's didn't follow current fashion (painting all of the wood for instance) and they were sensative to the home. In addition, when the bathrooms were added in the last 20 years (another owner who was also sensative to the house) it was done incredibly well, taking a few feet of space from each room, but integrating them well (some B&B's cheap out and put the tubs and sinks in the rooms). They will be easy to upgrade to more victorian features (is that an upgrade backgrade?) There are three buildings on site. One is considered the carriage house (but really is the base of a 3 1/2 story water tower we will eventually rebuild). The other is the original gardners cottage. They take up one lot and the gardens take up the other. Talk about intimidating...too much garden LOL And on top of too much garden...I have 400 house plants (maybe not that but five or six per room). The poor things are doomed in my care. I'm thinking of a sidewalk give away very very soon to save their lives! Poor dears...even my husband feels sorry for them. I tried to convince my mother that they are guest gifts and that guests (her) must take one each time they visit but she hasn't gone for it yet (I sometimes think if she were senile my life would be much easier...) Today we turn the old office off the kitchen (our future family dining room after we remodel the kitchen, but that's a few years off) into a play room for DS. I hope this grand old home likes thomas the train LOL Oh here's a funny....we get about a dozen visits a day asking if we have a vacancy! It was funny but is getting annoying LOL They want tours and won't always take "private home" for an answer LMAO. "Oh dear...no rooms? Well can we just see it?" No go knock on the neighbors house and ask for a tour heh heh Oh let's see...nope not a B&B (I'm not nice enough since DS was born and keeps me up all night) :) And how many bathrooms? Sigh...12 Do you think the B&B potential guests might think that the tour includes a once in a lifetime opportunity to clean a victorian bathroom? I might let them in....

Antique silver (remind me to share pics of the lawyers cabinets I am trying to fill with silver lol) I never thought about those knifes the way you did. They came down day one because we have a small child...and because they were dull as butter knives lol That back porch is original to the structure and will be a much needed mud room (probably more for me than the kid and dog). Rococo, thank you for the cabinet recommendations. I'll be sure to talk with crown point. It's nice to hear from someone who has seen them. As well as the peacock cabs, which I've researched to death. I do like their people. Customer service is job one there as far as ive seen. Holly that scrap will be saved and unfortunately after trying to find a replacement I have found that its just not possible. You will be happy though to hear that in the servants dining room (right off the kitchen where we eat most meals) I did find a nos linoleum carpet for the floor in turquoise, pink, gold and blue. That china cabinet you are picturing (and the one in the current nook) will be restored with appropriate drawers and a turquoise paint job inside its white exterior to house my white ware collection (ok I have one piece but I have a couple of years to work on it). That large piece will be put in the servant's dining room which wil be done in similar colors to the "carpet". Very soft and sweet, 1930s and 40s feel under the alabaster light fixture and white tin painted ceiling that remain from the days it was built. We will also have a butlers pantry between the kitchen and the main dinng room for the china and silver and stuff one feels one must horde if they have a Victorian :). As to the gardens....I couldn't get the current pics to load. All viable plants and bulbs were saved and relocated around the property. Now when you walk between the gardeners cottage and the main house you do so through a sea of hyacInths which progress through the season to a taller sea of iris complimented by fall hydrengea and roses that bloom through the summer. Not a bulb went to waste. The bad thing about the pic you were charmed by is that the wind knocked the late summer blooming iris down with the first wind far before their blooms were spent. Their new location protects them from that sea "breeze" (monsoon) and allows them to last through the season. I've replaced them in that old location with paniculata hydrengeas which seem to like a good beating from the wind and don't mind the harsh sun in that location. They are all happy :). On a side gardening note....we found mr James diary and he particularly loved hydrangea and peonies so the current gardens are filled with over 60 different varieties of hydrangas and around 30 peony types. He isn't haunting me so I think he likes them lol