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Friday, July 26, 2013

estate sale finds - dresser with a surprise

Of course I could not stop going to estate sales, even during my blog absence, and this dresser is my latest find. Originally I wanted to go to that sale because they had some mid-century modern pieces but I went there on the last day pretty much in the last hour. Obviously all the goodies I had admired online were sold already. Instead this dresser caught my eye because I think it is a great piece for a mini makeover project. The idea is to paint the dresser and swap out the hardware. Not sure what color I should paint it. Something more neutral like gray or go bold, maybe even try an ombre effect? I still have time to mull it over because I want to finish my door project first and that might take a while. After a little negotiation I was able to buy the dresser for $20 and when it was time to carry it out we noticed one side was heavier than the other. Upon further inspection I realized one drawer was filled with sewing accessories. P told me to just leave it but I thought the items might be useful in one way or another. Once we got home I needed to investigate what extra goodies I had purchased with the dresser and found out I was now owning two button hole feet for Singer sewing machines, an assortment of needles and snap buttons and an egg shaped thingy that is very heavy. Does anybody know what this might be? But the biggest surprise of the day was yet to happen. When I opened the pink box, which contains a sewing machine foot and flipped through the manual, a gold bracelet fell out. The bracelet is marked 14k gold and of course I had to google how much it might be worth. I put the bracelet on my kitchen scale and with the help of an online calculator determined the gold is worth about $170. Have you every watched Storage Wars? I pretty much felt like the Storage Wars crew when they find a treasure in their lockers.

Next step is to figure out what color(s) to paint the dresser. I might want to use my vintage white porcelain cabinet pulls (similar) on this piece that I bought at an estate sale a while back. If you have any suggestions please feel free to share and also if you have any ideas what this egg shaped thingy could be let me know.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend everybody! Do you have any plans? My plan is to keep the door project moving, which means cleaning off the stripper residue and start sanding.


18 comments:

  1. HA! You hit the storage wars jackpot! What fun! In other news these estate sale finds are SO depressing to me because I never find stuff I want (coffee table WHERE ARE YOU???), but it might help if I went looking! ;)

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    1. Ha, ha yes it would help if you would start looking ;) I always scope out the sales on this website, you can search by state and area. Maybe a nice coffe table will cross your way soon...

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  2. Whoa! you earner 150 dollars!
    From the egg shaped thingy came to mind an ironing cushion, at least that is somehow related to sewing.

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    1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailor%27s_ham
      Looks pretty same.

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    2. Oh, cool this actually looks like my thingy and I love that it's called taylor's ham.

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  3. Hmm, that egg shaped thing is a mystery! It has to be related to sewing, so I think the suggestion above me about it being an ironing cushion is probably spot on. What a steal though! You bought a dresser and basically got paid for it ten fold! That's awesome. I swear you have the best luck at estate sales! One day I will learn all your secrets. Can't wait to see what you do with this bad boy. xo

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    1. My secret is patience and already scoping out the sales online. I bet there are sales in your area too. Check out the link I posted in the reply below Lauren's comment.

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    2. And being always on the hunt doesn't hurt either ;)

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  4. The dresser is adorable Nina! And great find with the 170 USD add-on in it :-)

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    1. It's an amazing find. Haven't sold the bracelet and am still hanging on to it for now. If you like we can go estate sale shopping for your place, if you still need something...

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  5. love the dresser! you do have the best luck in the world. i can't believe that you got it for only twenty and then actually made money from it. that's the way to shop! i do watch storage wars btw. oh yes i do and you can never watch just one because it's always a marathon so i end up watching like 4 whenever i do watch.

    thinking the egg is for ironing sleeves or collars or something. but i love the fact that you found hidden treasures, that's my favorite. i think the ombre sounds like a fun effect. i wonder how hard that is to do?

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    1. Ha, ha I always get sucked into the marathons too and I can never stop watching. They keep me hooked with the previews for the next show and I always want to know what they will find...

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  6. I'd put money on it that it's a darning egg. I remember my grandmother using them to mend the heels and toes in wool socks. Like this: http://www.helpster.de/socken-stopfen-anleitung_16073

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    1. That could be! Thanks for the tip. I wish I could darn my old woolen socks but they always end up with clumps that rub in my boots...

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  7. Ich tippe auch auf ein Stopfei ;-)

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    1. Ja, Stopfei kann sein. Jetzt muss ich nur noch das Stopfen lerne ;)

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  8. Wasn't it so fun discovering treasure? Well, in addition to the lovely dresser. You always make out with such great finds at estate sales!

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    1. Oh, I wish I could find treasures everyday ;) It's so much fun :)

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