As DD was getting ready to head on to her first all-by-herself apartment for grad school in Colorado Springs, I hunted everywhere for great furniture and decor for it. I found this desk for her. It was very ugly brown, but I painted it this pale turquoise (her choice) and added new hardware. It has been in her bedroom, with matching nightstands and coordinating dresser, ever since and she still loves and uses it. I also found the old window frame, painted it and added her chosen poster behind it. She wanted a peaceful view while studying she said.

that same week I found this fantastic coffee table for her living room. In perfect condition, it was a steal IMO. I love the detailing and the practicality of its drawers opening from either end. I’ve since told her that she can never get rid of it . . . except to me. I love it!

My cabs are SW Filmy Green.

Lynn, love the corner metal pieces that look like tooled leather on the coffee table!

Jinx, Thanks! I was just getting ready to post how much I LOVE your wonderful horse lamp!!! And your other finds, too!

I don't often do estate sales (I have not had good luck), but we are avid antiquers and I just discovered FB Marketplace several months ago. I bought two chairs, from a seller who happens to hold estate sales and she sales some items on Marketplace. I believe I paid $35 for each chair! Also finally found a large armoire for our bedroom. We had an armoire in there but wanted a larger one. We use it for tv storage and bed linens. I absolutely love it. That's the one in person I've made during the pandemic and the gal and her husband were medical personnel so moved the piece to just inside their garage doors and they as well as my husband and I were masked. Due to the pandemic we have not done much antiquing although I have bought a few small things on Etsy/ebay.

@Sueb20 love your cabinet color!

Thanks, Lynn! :)

I've never had much luck at estate sales either, and hit antique stores instead. You found some great things today! Love the chair. I have a pair of Hickory wingback chairs in a flame stitch fabric that look brand new. A lady came to see, but didn't buy. :-/

The bicycle planter:

Some of the mid-century art:

And the Drexel sofa right after we had it reupholstered (with the credenza in the back again):

Those "granny" chairs are amazing, I'm a big fan of them. The lamps, as well Peppapoodle. Such cool finds in this thread - that amazing detailing on the coffee table, the horse statue lamp and the painted cabinet... such a pretty color! I'm a big fan of light, cool colors... those kitchen cabinets are fabulous, Sueb20!

These chairs are my most recent estate sale find. $25, couldn't resist (had to repair the cane and refinish, as well as reupholster - but we love the end result).

Oh, almost forgot about my early Covid marketplace find — Stickley coffee table, complete with scratches that give it character.

I love all of these finds! They are all unique & whether it was the deal of the year or- represents you & your interests/ tastes. I believe antiques/vintage items give a home a personality.

Homegoods, PB, C & B, Ikea, target certainly all have their place for finds, but an entire room = a flat room to me. I’m not judging.....but I think that’s why I lost interest in the Home Decorating side, too much formula & I wasn’t finding soul in the rooms.

Tarta, I remember years ago, ppl were finding incredible pieces of CL- I found nothing. Estatesale. Net has changed my estate sale game, now I can see pics of inventory before wasting my time. And Mondays after 12:00, they often reduce by 65-75%

Can we continue w estate/antique store/ marketplace finds AND add in favorite family pieces??

This cab is one of my favourite finds. It was advertised online and I was scheming who I could con into helping me load it on top of the car when I realized the address was just 4 houses down. The bonus was that the owner had the most amazing home and was happy to give me a tour. I like how it looks with the pink flower painting and (out of frame) our turquoise dining chairs (that I seem to be mentioning a lot today).

The 2 little baskets I found a few months ago at a yard sale, trying to bring out the blue in the bird print.

Really, this -- THIS -- is heart and soul decorating! What wonderful treasures you have all found, and each piece looks to fit in just beautifully in your homes!

I'll have to wake up a bit this morning and look around to see what I may have scored. I can't think of anything worth sharing at the moment, but caffeine may give me total recall.

Here's a chest I got off CL and it was the seller's grandmother's from Nebraska in the early 1900s. Of course she was sad to see it go but I assured her I'd take good care of it. Nothing needed outside but a good polish, and the Container Store has this great fabric drawer liner, as the drawers did show the years of use. It now holds my table linens and is just the right size for the job. I think I paid $60.

I like going, but I haven’t bought anything big at an estate sale except for our kids’ wood fort (long gone) and our birdbath. And since I’m rarely looking for something in particular, the online sales just aren’t as much fun. Usually I pick up smaller things, like vintage sheet music that I swap out on the piano or in frames with the seasons or mood. This one seemed especially appropriate!

tried posting twice here. Is any one else having trouble posting a picture?

I did not buy this. I didn’t even go to the sale. But a friend did and then called me to look up the pictures, especially this “wainscoting“.

@cran, If these pictures post, then the answer is no, I’m not having trouble posting pictures. 😉

My best ever estate sale find is this headboard. I was in the left lane at a stop light when I noticed the “Estate Sale >” sign. I cut across 2 lanes of traffic! I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw the headboard. As you can see, I’ve raised it a bit. I think it is from the 70s or 80s when beds were apparently much lower than they are now. Sixteen years later and I still love it.

ETA: It is being re-upholstered in white linen within the next 2 weeks, I hope.

I’ve bought quite a few things for my lake cabin on CL. The greatest deal was the like new Hickory Chair sofa, chair and ottoman for $175. Also a wicker chair and side table and a wicker desk and file cabinet that’s in the loft for WFH. Also have a wonderful dining room cabinet but I don’t have a good picture of it.

Among a number of estate sale or auction finds, these two chairs remain favorites. $50 for the pair about 30 years ago. (I sound so old!)

I've really enjoyed looking at everyone's finds! Great stuff here.

Me too!

Ruby, those are GORGEOUS.

So is the category here vintage stuff from Etsy, CL, auction, thrift, salvage or estate? Cause that's like a very large % of my homes!

Here is my latest, a vintage cocktail shaker:

Bbstx, I love that headboard, too.

Does anyone go to demolition sales? My old neighbors bought a beautiful kitchen, only a few years old, and since they were remodeling their house anyway they were able to use almost all of it. We have a stair railing and a beautiful porcelain laundry room sink from a demolition sale. Okay, it was the house I grew up in, the current owners were tearing it down. The demo service owner had bought the white-oak paneling for his own house. I wish I’d been in time to get the bluestone patio.

So is the category here vintage stuff from Etsy, CL, auction, thrift, salvage or estate? Cause that's like a very large % of my homes!

Mine too!

Does buying something from Mario Buatta's estate sale on Sotheby's count? It's a metal crow amusement park shooting target. Mom used to feed the crows on the kitchen deck, and now I do.

I’d have bought everything at Mario Buatta’s estate sale had I known!

@bpath, after I received the catalogs, I had a long list of items to consider. The online bidding websites suggested local shipping options, so larger items were a no-no for me with long distance shipping. I did covet his canopy bed and several penwork boxes. I bid on several things, and should not have stopped on a few. You only live once, right?! Mr Buatta had quite the sense of humor, and with Mom's connection to crows, I couldn't resist. DH said "I don't even want to know what you paid for it." Good! Because I wasn't going to tell him. Article on the auction.

My neighbor gave me this wicker table as it didn’t sell at her sale. If I had seen it I would definitely have bought it. It’s one of my favorite pieces. Love your chairs ruby.. what a find.

I did buy this portrait of my neighbors Aunt who had lived in the house previously for about 40 years. I thought it best to keep her in The neighborhood Before the house was sold.

I bought this authentic Victorian screen at a yard sale for $5 and it was ripped in many places but I cut it apart and framed various segments.

Bumblebeez - how wonderful that you had the vision to save parts of that screen so beautifully! I can imagine something damaged to the extent that it would just be overlooked and end up in the landfill. Great frames, too!

Thank you Oly! These are some of my favorite things in the house and I still have another piece or two I could frame.

I so enjoyed looking at everyone’s finds!! They just add so much & nice that there’s a story associated with them.

Bumble, I had a painting that was torn when moving (from an estate sale years ago), I threw it away. Now wishing I had saved because I could’ve framed parts of it, like yours. Genius!!

Sale this weekend has fatten chairs like yours, Ruby- gonna try to get them!!

I also found 8 bamboo/rattan folding chairs for $60 last year. So nice to have decent folding chairs for overflow instead of metal folding chairs

These finds are amazing, people. Love the lines on that chest, Talavaren. Soul is the right word for what these objects bring to a room, Peppa. Great thread! Looking forward to contributing at some point.

Peppa, I would LOVE to find 8 rattan folding chairs for $60! great buy!

Some of my goofy finds.

Table Talk Pies, remember those? Craig’s List find about 10 yrs ago.

I used to have this hanging next to my desk, now it’s just sitting on radiator. I might hang it on the wall in my new little home gym I’m making in the basement. Thrift shop find.

This leather “purse” from flea market in Zurich. I used to have it hanging on a wall in foyer of our old house. Now it’s in stairway shelving that displays some travel souvenirs.

If we can include CL, antique/ Second hand shops then you’d see 50% of my home. some case goods are mostly Inherited 1800 antique Chests, etc. Upholstery: Four club chairs are Baker, and Drexel , two Bergere styled chairs, a wing chair in its original white crewel, a French styled settee, all dirt cheap and all Reasonably reupholstered, excepting the wing chair. Etc etc!! When reading on the other side the pros suggested budget amounts, I just shake my head. It’s all such an unnecessary expense. And curated items picked up here and there add much more charm than a house filled with brand new purchases, IMO.

used wicker On patio

Pups lookout chair in entry, usually adorned with a towel.

old Ethan Allen kitchen Table painted white.

One of the used chairs, with a second hand Aussie

♥️

And Far too much more ...so little was purchased new.

I agree martinca that curated items can add charm and interest to the home. Looks like some wonderful finds. Especially love the red toile chair.

I'm with Tartan as I never see any of the wonderful things the rest of you have found. The only things I have that are comparable , are from over 40 years ago when we first got married and we would go to estate auctions. We bought some cabinets , a dry sink, and a few other furniture pieces there but since then, nada.

Peppa - good luck scoring the chairs this weekend! Will be looking for an update with your haul :).

I seem to be on the lookout for picnic baskets. These two are small ones i‘ve picked up. The decoy was made by my uncle and no longer needs a Christmas ribbon.

Crab, I’ve picked up a couple of picnic baskets, too. Well, six. They decorate my enclosed porch and also store my outdoor/patio/picnic things.

@martinca_gw sunset zone 24 I love those red toile chairs! Great find.

@Sueb20 I've never heard of Table Talk Pies?!

In cleaning out my parents house last fall, we found a very old picnic basket in one of the attics. None of us kids remember ever seeing it. I'm thinking my parents must have had it as newlyweds and not sure if it could have come from one of their families. It's not sitting atop the antique icebox in our greatroom.

As I notice with great bemusement, hold on to granny long enough and she becomes hip again . . .

My latest Facebook marketplace painting....I may have to slow down