Just wanted to quickly mention that my Guest List interview is up on West Elm’s Blog – Front & Main.
Yes, that West Elm! The place with all the nice stuff.
Check it out if you have the the time or inclination, just remember that I love you. Now you kind of have to read it (because of the guilt).
Thanks to Aaron and West Elm for putting up with me – loving the new blog!
OK. Auction-wise what did I win?
Turns out my big splurge of the evening was a matching pair of Lyby Møbler Danish highboy dressers.
That’s right. Not one dresser, but TWO.
Whoops.
Problem is, I don’t need two of these teak lovelies, but still somehow stupidly fell in love with the set. The auction house wasn’t selling each one separately, so obviously why not go a little nuts and buy the pair.
I’ve had that super cute and thrifty Swedish highboy in the bedroom, which is nice, but I always carry around a ‘someday must have’ list of vintage pieces in my head. You know, those amazingly awesome or super nice and usually expensive perfectly classic designy pieces that are so dreamy it hurts.
This list always included the quintessential mid century danish modern style highboy dresser for the bedroom. Until now, I just never came across one that I loved and could also afford.
So, when I spotted this Danish set at auction it was kind of like falling in love. I had to have one.
Didn’t help things that, during the course of the auction, I kept being beat out by the same dealer dude for $20 or $50 on stuff I also liked. When these came up on the block? The time had come to throw down and win.
And I did. And it cost me some money.
These things happen. I knew what I was doing, I had the cash and I ponied up despite my cheap little heart.
But I love this dresser. LOVE love love it.
Its the perfect scale and one of those forever pieces – classic, functional and gorgeous. Funnily, and hard to admit, but it felt kind of great to splurge and get something perfect instead of a stand-in piece. Somehow weirdly satisfying…
Good thing I bought this vintage wool camp blanket for like $1 at the thrift store, since that’s how I prefer to roll.
With the addition of the new dresser, I’m really loving the teak / olive / white / black palette happening in the master. Things are finally getting to a good place. Now for a bedframe, a few plants and the right accessories and maybe we might be done?
Otherwise, I moved my Eames rocker in here after getting that black safari chair and then threw a kilim pillow in for extra fun. I’d like to get some larger art and maybe a giant cactus to happen at some point, but our next big DIY is going to be a bedframe.
Anyways.
Since I had my big auction splurge, it looks like I need to sell a few things. Things like : the matching twin to this Danish highboy, my thrifty Swedish dresser, the Arkana safari chair and then many many other awesome vintage goodies. Holidays are always the worst time to turn my inner dealer on to try and sell stuff, so I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out what approach makes the most sense. Wait the holidays out? Big sale? Ebay? Big Cartel? Craigslist?
I don’t know! I’m busy! It gets dark early! Shipping is hard! Also, the dark thing!
White dudes love auctions. LOVE.
Well, I love auctions too, even if I have to spend the whole day psyching myself up for the sizing up stares, crazy quick bidding and dollars about to be spent. This particular auction was heavily MCM, which meant the local dealers were out in force and ready to throw down cash. I almost didn’t go after spending the day obsessing about how nutty and competitive these auctions make me and the inevitable painful losing that happens.
BTW, want people to look at you with anger and suspicion? Whip out a big camera at an auction preview. It’s not awkward at all.
Their eyes. Their judgmental eyes.
Maybe somewhere in the background you can spot my big spendy purchase of the evening?
Yes?
Yes you can.
Great dining set I didn’t buy but desperately wanted to.
I forget how much they ended up selling for…a lot…
There were loads of good chairs, but the perfect pair of well worn Falcon chairs (a personal favorite – but also designed by Sigurd Resell in the 1970’s for Vatne Möbler) initially beckoned me to the auction.
FALCON ENHANCE.
Sweet, sweet Falcon action.
Only got this one terrible picture of a single chair on account of my camera shame, but trust me, they were amazing and ended up selling to some dealers for something like $1600. Not to me. NOT TO ME, dammit.
This set of Plycraft armchairs (designed by Norman Cherner and also a personal fav) got a good deal of looking over from folks pacing around them in desperate circles of desire. Clearly, they were going to be the big battle of the evening.
The auctioneer mentioned the set came from an estate in Banning – which can’t be true, right? Have you ever been to Banning? Only shame and shattered lives come from there.
Along with the mid century stuff, there was a large estate of oil cans and gas station type signs being sold that would have made those American Picker guys get wicked half chubs.
It was mind numbing sitting through the oil can auctions.
A moment of memoriam please. Let’s reflect once more on those Cherners.
As expected, they ended up being the big battle of the night – to the shock and amusement of most the crowd. The guys sitting behind me had an insightful running dialogue about how crappy all this stupid crappy crap was. Anyways.
They sold for $2400.
Goodbye you gorgeous beasts.
Well, what did I get? A few things. Above is a little preview.
DUH. It’s a rug.
Also, I might have outbid someone who reads the blog on this puppy. A fact which became clear when she told me as much as we waited to pay. It’s hard to explain the wave of guilt and anxiety that then exploded in my brain…so I apologize. I’m sorry. I looked terrible. Oh man. Auctions turn me into a monster.
More crap to come.
