Two months ago I went to a thrift shop. I noticed a white fur jacket which I thought was rabbit. I dont know my furs. I tried it on and it fit which is surprising because I am a big girl. The lady said it looks nice on you. At the same time she was putting another fur coat on the rack - long brown. I asked how much for the jacket and she said $5 so I said what about the coat. She said $5. I took both of them. I tried the long one on when I got home. It fit even better. I took them to a local furrier. The long coat had originally come from there. They examined them and told me the jacket is tourmaline mink paw worth $1000 today. The long brown one is pastel mink worth $5000 today. The coat was in perfect condition. The jacket had a small tear at the pocket. They repaired that, cleaned them both, insured them for a year and will store them for me when I finish wearing them - all for $346. I am thrilled. I have never had a fur coat before and even if they aren't the rage anymore I wear both of mine all the time. I am in Canada and it was cold enough last night to wear the jacket out to dinner.

I urge you to stay away from price guides until you have a grounding in antiques! Price guides tend to prevent people from learning, thus are inadvisable until later. Stick with identification guides. I don't know any general id guides-they're mostly focussed on one area-but if you already have an interest start with that. Like lindac stated, you have to handle stuff. Find a reputable dealer and learn what you can. A good dealer will treat you very well, and never make you feel bad for not already knowing stuff. If a dealer acts suspicious of you or is secretive, find someone else. A truly reputable dealer is happy to help you learn. This dealer will be able to suggest references that support your interests, too. Join an antiques association. Local groups are often open to collectors and are a nice way to network and get the chance to handle antiques. These people will be a better source of price information than price guides. They already know the local market, which may be quite different to a price guide's mid-range figures taken from selected venues covering a huge territory. Subscribe to trade publications. If you're lucky there is a trade paper in your region or locality. Read it. It doesn't hurt to read some of the national and international publications either. These are your sources of current information. Learn about not just what you like, but know the social, political, and economic climate of the time in which it was made. The history is vital to understanding just why this was made with this material-for example, the history of porcelain manufacture in Europe began with a young man who'd marketed himself as an alchemist. He was taken to Augustus and kept under a sort of house arrest until he produced gold from base metal. Of course he didn't! The king's fancy turned to the porcelains imported from China-and wanted porcelain. Our alchemist now made effort to produce porcelain. Several years later, after trying and discarding many mineral additives to various mixtures of clays, he found the very substance in the earth that gave clay its rock-hard, vitreous, and translucent properties after firing-porcelain. These early porcelain objects gave rise to Meissen porcelains, still some of the world's most sought after antiques. Today, those earliest fired objects are worth tens of thousands! True porcelain was not manufactured in England until rather later-and its own story is nearly as fanciful. You won't get that information from a price guide. Learn to authenticate first, then worry about values. Another concern that price guides fail to address is your local market. You need to know just what your market is-what does your region demand in antiques and collectibles, and how much are people willing to pay for those items? Honestly, this all sounds like a lot but it's far more enjoyable to stroll into the saleroom with a practiced eye and pay what you're comfortable paying than it is to not know what's on the block and fearing that you'll pay too much or that other people will be laughing at you for bidding!

WOW what a great thread! I wonder how many of us if we were starting from scratch would decorate our homes and that might be the better question. Currently I think our styles in general are partially based on years of accumulating things and change in tastes,so you just go with what you have. If you were given a clean slate you might find yourself decorating in an entirely new way. I have never liked modern or very contempory furniture my entire life.I have always been a more traditional girl. Having said I was more traditional I have some antiques from my hubbys gm, which I would never part with and always work, simply by re-upholstering the piece. We have a huge painting the belonged to my mil which is old and I also love which had been over every dining room in our four homes. We simply reframe and change the matt etc and its like a new painting. A friend of my hubbys gave us as an engagement present a silk embroidered piece which was done by his mother and sister. Its the type you might see in an oriental restaurants.It too has always hung in the dining area, except for this house. Now we are re-doing the dining room and I think I will be able to hang my picture back up. So I think this goes along with the saying if you love something you will make it work by re-framing or whatever. Another example is the solid teak dr suite given too us from my mil. I would never in a million years buy something so contemporary,plus I have also never liked the look of light wood.But it is a beautiful suite and in this particular house we have a separate dr, so it works because it is separate from the rest of the house which is more traditional. I also like an informal style as opposed to rooms done very symetrically with matching end tables lamps.As for accessories I find a light sprinkling of dust bunnies on occasion adds to the informal look...wink wink.

Wow, really interesting reading all the posts. Re: ceiling fans, I haven't found them to be as functional in some rooms...I bought a house that had so many fans it looked like a fan factory - two in the living room, one in the den, two in the kitchen, fans in each bedroom, and one in a bathroom. Of all those, I've only used the one in a bedroom at night when it was hot. The rest of them I've turned on maybe ONCE. So, definitely fan overkill and I'm planning on removing the two in the kitchen. One is so near the stove it blows out the pilot light near the stove if I have it on high. Frankly, when it's hot enough to need them I turn on the AC. When it's cool enough, I don't need the breeze except in the one bedroom it's nice. So, fans are definitely something to think over carefully. They have their place but they should be truly functional and also I do prefer the sleeker looks, In the right setting, anything can work, but it has to be done right. As for non-conformity, I agree, we've become a nation of followers. I'd luv to paint one room in a pale lavendar/lilac with sheer white drapes, but a younger relative of mine shrieked and said, "omg, lilac? that's so oldddddddddd!" C'mon, violet and lilac can be exquistely elegant. I mean, what's "old"??? So, we all come up against these people who have a very narrow vision of design. I've also had a yen sometimes to be very Jayne Mansfield and do a room all in pink shag, very plush pink. I have a 60's era pink swag lamp that's awesome, and again I think if you want to do it, go for it. Sure, when you sell, you'll have to go "neutral", but it's YOUR house, so unless you're gonna sell in two years, decorate to fit your heart and vision. I have nothing against neutrals or contemporary....I also prefer carpeting to hardwood. I think hardwood is nice to look at, but horrible to walk on and slippery. Also, for older folks, hardwood can really be a tripping hazard, with area rugs that can be a problem, and if you fall and land on hardwood, OUCH, but carpeting has a warmer feel, and I've always preferred a nice plush carpeted room (especially bedroom - HATE hardwood in bedrooms). I had to almost beat my realtor over the head and told him repeatdly NOT to show me homes with hardwood, but he never got a clue and I fired him. So, I've had my share of dealing with the fashion police or whatever. I also freaked out my relatives by painting a very drab stone fireplace all white. They seemed addicted to the stone, even though it was worn and didn't do anything for the room at all. Once painted, they looked at it and went , "wow", although rather sheepishly. They couldn't believe how bright the room became and you could actually SEE the fireplace as a centerpiece instead of a bleh nothing that blended into the rest of the wall. So, just be yourself, use the best of all worlds and make it your OWN!