Shopping an Estate Sale

Thrifting WonderlandHoliday decor, Ireland, Photography, Tablescapes23 Comments on Shopping an Estate Sale

Going to an advertised Estate Sale is an opportunity to pick-up anything from furniture to china with lots in between. This particular sale was going to last for three days and they ended up extending it for a fourth day. There were a lot of items throughout the house and I was interested in some of the china and linens. Usually, at an estate sale the last day has any remaining items on sale for 1/2 price. I usually go the first day and Buy anything that I would regret not taking home. Then on the last day, if the sale is close to home, I might go back and see what is left for 1/2 off.

Why shop Estate Sales? I’m a big believer in recycling and reusing items especially items that are beautiful and still have a lot of use left in them. Why wouldn’t you want to save something from going into a landfill and polluting the planet for years. Recycling from Estate Sales and Thrift Stores might be a small way to make a change but there are lots of people out there shopping those sales and all those people add up. We need to do everything we can to conserve energy and curtail waste. Every time you bring home a treasure and give it new life you are working towards that goal.

So what did I find at this Estate Sale that I was happy to bring home? The first thing that caught my eye were these reversible placemats in black and cream. I loved how the patterns could be used in two different ways or even mixed and matched in the same setting. They were nicely quilted with no marks or stains. I have plans for them for an October tablescape.

This is a beautiful white linen tablecloth in perfect condition and newly laundered and starched. Love the detail in this cloth. It will fit my dining room table perfectly. I can picture a formal setting with crystal and china perhaps around the holidays.

This set of china is by Noritake and is part of their Ireland series. The ivy is in several shades of greens and browns with a simple vining pattern on the inner rim. I picked up four, three-piece place settings. There was a set of eight complete with cups, saucers and serving pieces but I decided on just the plates and bowls. Sometimes sets of china will be sold as a whole set. In this case they priced per piece so you could buy just what you wanted. Right behind me was a lady who bought the rest of the set.

The last purchase was a set of eight place settings with cups and saucers, sugar bowl and creamer and a serving plate. The pattern is another one in the Noritake Ireland series that depicts pheasants and mallard ducks on various pieces of the service. You can see the Ivy plates in the background. I loved the more formal look of these eight place settings. The border is quite lovely in rich, forest green with gold accents. The dinner plates and bowls depict the pheasant motif and the salad/dessert plates have the ducks. Cups and saucers also feature the ducks.

I shopped for these on the half price day so they were pretty inexpensive. Everything was in pristine condition and the set was probably reserved for company. Since sales are usually posted with pictures online, you have a good idea of what’s available before making the decision to attend. estate sales.net is a good place to go to find out what’s available in our area.

Estate sales are great for filling in your collections or obtaining new pieces and it’s fun to look at the homes as well.