Belt Auction - What’s your favorite yard sale or antique store find and how were you able to restore this item?

What’s your favorite yard sale or antique store find and how were you able to restore this item?

While everyone can appreciate the beauty of antique furniture and family heirlooms, these hidden treasures are often left abandoned until someone stumbles upon them in their garage or attic. What are some quick and easy tips for revitalizing the look and feel of these items?

Public Comments

bed bath and beyond or linens and things
My favorite was the base of an old sewing machine. Beautiful iron work with rosettes and leaves. My sis and I sanded it, applied a coat of anti-rust paint, painted it old gold and after that dried we applied a thin coat of dark brown paint and used old rags to clean the excess and reveal the golden color, so the dark brown accentuated the beautiful metal work. We used polished stone as a table top and we kept a silver tray with antique crystal glasses. Everyone loved it.
I refinished a dressing table circa 1900-it had an ash body with oak and birdseye maple veneers. Someone had painted it off white with tacky gold accents. I bought it for $30 and spent about $40 more for stripper, stain, etc. It was neither quick nor easy but it sure turned out beautiful. Unfortunately I was young and poor and had to sell it later for $200. Wonder what it would be worth today.
I LIKE BUYING NICE OLD PAINTINGS WITH OLD FRAMING. BECAUSE ITS EASY AND FUN TO FIX THE FRAMING ON A PAINTING.
Hey, I watch enough Antiques Roadshow to know not to do too much to restore an item... at least on my own. Nothing like a bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap or Saddle Soap to clean something up but not mess with it too much. Luckily, most of my estate sale finds have been in decent enough condition to not worry about having to do too much with them. Oh yeah... my favorite. Not actually mine, yet, but mom says it's my inheritance... It's a table and two chairs made from the root system of some tree that's grown in the Phillipines... the way the air roots grow, they just find a section that looks like it would make a good chair or whatever and cut it out... not too much else was done to the wood... one of the chairs needed to have another chunk joined in to make it balance right, but it just looks like a mass of roots or something... The varnish is starting to flake, so I'm probably going to have to have it sandblasted eventually and revarnish it...
Which find was my favorite? Wow, that is tough as there have been so many in my 53 years. I am a thrift store junkie, a curb picker, dumpster diver (to a small extent anyway), have a built in antenna for garage sales, scour the free section of Craigslist numerous times a day, and belong to Freecycle. I haven't bought a brand new car in nearly 30 years. I buy my cars from police impound auctions--which is just one more place to turn someone else's discard junk into my treasure. But as for antiques--my favorite find would have to be a dresser I found for $5.00 over 32 years ago. It was uniquely shaped, but each drawer was painted a different color, and the frame another color. I painstakingly removed layer upon layer of paint. Fine sanded it and applied tung oil. It was bought more for the great price as I was pregnant with my first child and money was tight. The fact that it turned out to be a gorgeous piece of antique furniture was the icing on the cake. I still have this dresser to this day. As each grandchild is born they have used this very dresser in their nursery. When they reach 2 years old, the dresser comes back to me and awaits the next grandchild. Of all the moves this dresser has gone through, it remains unmarred and still has the original lock and key for the first drawer. Whenever I "re-new" an antique piece of furniture, I like to think about how the first owners felt when they first bought the piece. How much did they pay for it? Did they have to save up to buy it? It is interesting to find the pieces in antique catalogs (I have had the joy of doing this several times). I love saving old things from landfills. I love saving relatively new things from landfills. It is fun giving something a new lease on life.
I got two Lladro Statues at a garage sale for $3.00 each. And a first year issue Barbie in the the original box with the $1.49 price tag still attached for $4.00
I found a beautiful Diamond, Aquamarine and gold ring in a box of jewelry at an estate sale. It was covered in crud, almost as if it had been dug up and hastily thrown in the jewelry box. I rinsed it off and gently used a toothbrush to remove ground dirt. After a a trip to the jewelers, I found out that my purchase was worth much more than the fifty cents I paid for it! My wife really loved it. It turned out to be from the 1920s. My wife invested in a ultrasonic cleaner and stores it in her jewelry box. She also occasionally takes it to the jeweler make sure the prongs are tight on the stones.
I BOUGHT A SWEET BLACK VELVET BULLFIGHTER PIC FOR 50 CENTS. NO NEED TO RESTORE IT THIS SWEET ITEM WAS IN PERFECT SHAPE. MY SECOND FAVORITE YARD SALE BUY WAS A RIDING LAWNMOWER AND AIR COMPRESSOR WHICH I TALKED THE LADY INTO SELLING BOTH FOR 40 BUCKS. BOTH WORK FINE SHE WAS JUST SELLING HER EX HUSBANDS STUFF.
I'm of the opinion that "restoring" antiques can drastically depreciate its value at auction. Therefore I do not advise in the restoration of antiques unless you plan to keep them.
i like random thrift shops, I'll just walk in and look for something interesting. Go into a thrift shop just dig through haha you'll be surprised the stuff you'll find. My grandma bought an antique lamp it was costly because it came from wayyy back. It was worth it. I helped pay for it since it was soo beautiful. She sadly passt away and had handed the lamp down to me. It's a precious gift from my grandma since now that I don't have her I will have the lamp as a memory of her. She loved the lamp since it was from her times. edit: If you say you have never been to a yard sale you're lying :D
I once bought a toilet seat, that turned out to be a MAGICAL TALKING ONE......it only spoke CHINESE though, it was very AWKWARD, because I don't know chinese, and it would always say something when I'm going #2.
A PeeWee Herman talking doll, the voice box still worked and i changed his gray suit to a pimp suit
I dont know if they count as heirlooms but I've always collected antique fire extinguishers and water cannons. Not too many people have them out but I've gotten quite a few by just asking if they had any old ones they wanted to get rid of. I havnt really "restored" any of them. I kinda like the look that they have when I find them. I did clean up an old brass water cannon once
I have a mantle clock [which is not working] hourly strike, it is in need of repair and redecorating but it is authenticated by a Heritage Jeweller in Australia as circa 1780 Anyone interested?
Great question.... I'm waiting to see some REAL answers to this question. While I don't make purchases from antique stores I do haunt a local thrift store year round and try to hit as many yard sales as my busy schedule allows. I look at a castaway and wonder how I can use it, but mostly I look at how I can use it for a purpose other than it was made for. I love ephemera and use it in my paper crafting: collages, handmade greeting cards, scrapbooks, wall hangings etc. Wood & metal frames are covered with a collage of costume jewelry. Glass salt & pepper shakers become vases with bead and wire hangers. Old ladies hankies are sewn into dainty coverlets. My last yard sale project was with 4 metal wall hangings. They look like tin ceiling tiles. They WERE black and gold with flowers painted in the center of the tile. I painted them all white and then cut squares of decorative (scrapbook) paper to fit in the center of ea. These coordinating tiles are now displayed on a wall (once bare) in a four square arrangement.... and the best thing is that I can take the paper off with each holiday or season and have a totally different look!
I bought a set of TV trays with a rolling holding case from a yard sale..they were made in the 50's or 60's..they were metal and each tray showed the same outdoor scene but from the different seasons..spring, summer, fall, winter..I bought them for $25 and than sold them online for $400.
I just like to pile up on junk that I don't need but may use in the future. however I do have a interest in buying John Deere stuff.
I have an even better story to tell than that.Thrift stores are nice and so are Yard sales but...Sometimes people throw out the darnest things.What really springboarded me in the direction of antiques was a clock.I was thirteen and working a paper route at the time when one afternoon I spotted something being thrown out at the curb while on my paper route.The people had stood it up at the curb.Well to my surprise it was an antique clock.I was really wowed by it.So I picked it up and put it on my handle bars.Don't you know that every stop I went to they were trying to buy it from me for fifteen dollars.All I kept saying was No!Got it home and showed it to my mother.The case was wood and it looked awful to most but not to me.One day my mom took it to a clock dealer and had it restored.Well,I couldn't afford to pay in cash for the job my future boss did on it.But it was beautiful when he finished.I worked off the debt all but about twenty five dollars when the clock shop owners wife told me I had to pay that amount or the clock would be sold off.That day I went home and cried.I thought that I would never see that clock again.Then one morning my grandmother came by to visit us and told me that she had something in the car that was too heavy for her to lift and that she needed my help.So,Being the helpful one that I am I said sure and when I got to the car and opened the door...I about fell over.I was so happy to see the clock.It was a gingerbread clock with pressed wood designs all over it.It was manufactured around 1910 and had an alarm.And like most clocks of that type it had a beautiful door glass with gold silk screened designs on it.That is my favorite story whenever anyone asks me what is the reason that I like to work on them now.
just mesmerize its beauty
If these hidden treasures are truly or suspected as being of value, do nothing to it. Value is lost when what we think is a ugly surface and we destroy or mar its patina or shape, for therein lies the value. On antiques, revitalize nothing, before checking with the experts on such an article. Found what I thought was a modern Queen Anne Lowboy Dressing Table at a shop. Sanded it down and painted it a nice ivory. Wrong move,found out later it was Eighteenth century. I still like it though,
i was able to restore an old 70's JCpenny record/8-track player i bought for $5, it was in great condition and all it needed was a new needle!
I bought an old cookie jar that was in MINT condition. It is a Shawnee, the pig. The lady still had it in the box and just put it out saying, "I know its old but I don't have any use for it if you want it." Only $10!!!! I was as happy as a fat kid with a Hershey bar!! Needless to say its worth way more than what I paid and I have it displayed where NO ONE can touch it. That's my story :)
I got this clerical table from the 1930's made of Narra or Philippine Mahogany at a garage sale. I never did restore it. Just gave it a good cleaning. My father always said that when you restore antiques to its former glory, then it's not an antique anymore. The more beat-up, the better...
I bought a 1950's kitchen booth because my kids were always moving the chairs in the kitchen and getting on the counter. The booth seats were red padded and the table was a yellow formica and looked like a baseball diamond. It was ugly. I grew to appreciate it more when I was able to decorate my kitchen around it. I started off by laying a black and white checked floor, painted small shelves that I purchased at a garage sale white and trimmed them in red and used them to put soda fountain glasses on that were purchased from a second hand store. There was a corner shelf on the wall, where the booth was that I placed a replica juke box on that worked as well as a Mickey Mouse phone rotary dial that came from Disney Land that I found at a garage sale. I also found MIckey Mouse border paper to add color and character to the white walls. To complete the decor, I was able to find red and white striped balloon valances, three of them and hung them small rod on top and larger rod on bottom to give the appearance of red and white canopys over the doorways. This was the talk of the neighbor hood when I was done with it and was known as "Debbie's Diner".
21 years ago I bought a child's roll top desk at a yard sale, the seller said her husband used it as a child at that time he was 35 so the desk has to be at least 50+or- years old. It now sits in the home office. Purchase price $3. I did a gentle sand and gave it a clear coat, left all of the carved holes and ink spots on it replaced the canvas in the roll top with new untreated canvas. It wasn't bought as an antique it was bought to use by my youngest granddaughter. Not much longer and it will be a true antique. EDITED:Dumpster dive find Musician; Charles E. Warner I also am the proud owner of a music satchel with original written sheet music the library of congress certificates all of the memorabilia of a marching band composer who wrote one of the songs for the Barnum and Baily Circus that was played for many years. That includes that particular piece of original written sheet music before it was published. Have done nothing to restore it. I keep it in acid free folders and the satchel in acid free container.
Our house is over 100 years old. Before we purchased it, the previous owners had remodeled the entire house, replacing antique fixtures and trim with "modern" ones. Over the course of several years, we have slowly returned it to it's glory by purchasing vintage light fixtures at flea markets and garage sales, rewiring them, and replacing the ones in our house. One of my favorites is a brass chandelier that we found under a table at a flea market and purchased for $2.50. It now welcomes everyone to our home hanging from our entryway ceiling. Also, baseboard and door trim has been salvaged from old houses being torn down, and used to bring our home "back to date". All of the hollow core modern passageway doors have been replaced with old four panel oak doors with vintage hardware. It requires a lot of paint stripping and refinishing, but it is well worth the effort.
I found one of the original tube radios in an estate sale in immaculate working condition. The owners were asking $15 for it. I had to replace a tube ($35) and that was it. A local electronic "mom and pop" store had the part for it after I convinced him to just take a look at it. (He didn't believe me when I told him what it was.) I kept it on my mantle for many years and finally resold it to a collector for almost $300.
a cedar trunk that was at a thrift shop, it was so dirty that I didn't realize it was cedar until I opened it, got it home and cleaned it up, discovered it had brass bands and after sending a pic to an antique dealer he said it was probably made in the 20's. I used Murphy's oil soap and lemon oil cleaner on the wood and brasso on the bands
I once found this beautiful dining table that had seen better days. I used sand paper to smooth rough surfaces and a bit of wood stain to give it a richer color, it turned out beautiful.
I have several pieces of Chinese and other Asian pottery and artefacts that range from the late 19th century to a few thousand years ago. My favorite would have to be a 19th century Burmese Buddha.
My favorite find was a beautiful old farm table for $100. It was in great shape. I don't know much about antique furniture, so I don't have any idea what era or style it is, but I love it and use it in the middle of my Kitchen for a workspace, and extra seating.
my ex-wife, and i resold her....:(
I bought an old vanity chair at the Goodwill, painted it black, and it looks pretty cool in my hollywood themed room :)
When my husband and I were first married he worked in a thrift shop and bought what he told me to be a fern table for $45.00 (which to us at the time was a small fortune). The table had about 20 layers of paint and was in about 10 pieces. I was so angry with him for buying this dilapidated piece of junk, that I didn't speak to him for a couple of days. He took the piece(s) to a friend (who professionally restores furniture) he glued them back together, stripped the paint and stained the table. When I saw it I had to admit it looked very nice. We also found out that it was a primitive piece, with handmade nails and hand turned spindle legs. It probably dated back to the Civil War. Needless to say I started speaking to him. The other piece we have is a rocking chair that we purchased at an auction. My husband told me he was going to only bid up to $200. I think we paid nearly $400. I remember I kept looking at him, trying to get him to stop. As we were loading the chair into our vehicle, this guy came running up, asking how much it went for. We told him. He asked if we realized what we had. He then went on to say that we had an ORIGINAL Gustav Stickley. He showed us the mark under the arm. He was an antique dealer that had scouted the auction out earlier, however it had started to rain and the auctioneer decided to go the other way. He said he was going to bid up to $1200. Lucky for us it rained. The chair's old owner (we also bought her house) told us that her son who did maintenance at an apartment building found the chair in the dumpster. Talk about other people's trash is other people's treasure.
My favorite is an old library table that's 9 ft in length by about 3 ft in width. It was the perfect find for a long narrow room that I wanted to use for family informal meals. We got it at Springfield Antiques show and washed it down with Murphy's Oil Soap. I use a runner based on the season and always have a flowers and candles in the middle. It was the best $150 I've spent in a long time (no pun intended.)
craigslist.com =]
Good question! My husband and I bought a large, beautiful cherry coffee table in nearly-mint condition (the only flaw was a small puppy-chew mark on one corner) with lion-paw carved legs for $20. It was able to be touched up with wood-putty. and wood-colored markers. I've also bought many framed prints from garage sales -- the best were two large Van Gogh's (framed) for $3 each. We also got an oval framed decorative mirror last weekend for $1.50. Garage sale finds are great!
I found my bargain purchase at an estate sale. I purchased an antique sewing machine in its original console, circa 1930's. I didn't refinish the console, because I thought the natural aged look suited it best. The heavy Singer sewing machine (black iron and gold filigreed accents), I took apart, oiled, dusted, and "tuned"......after I reassembled it, it worked like a dream. When I visit antique or consignment shops in my town, I have to smile to myself when I think I paid $15 for the cherry of a sewing machine I have.......when they are asking for $300!!
5 years ago i bought a 1960 seeburg juke box loaded with 45s out of the 50s and 60s for 50 bucks i found a guy to repair it for me for 100 bucks some of the songs in it are vintage elvis and rick nelson to name afew. it has been in perfect ever since.
When we lived in New York my husband and I came across an old school desk when at a garage sale for $5. It was a bit abused, but we sanded and refinished it and it is just gorgeous now. It is one of the things that most people will comment on when in our house. I love it. It sits by the front door and is where you can remove or put on shoes. We love it! I have found other things at garage sales, but this was definitely my favorite.
I bought two items recently. This is the first one and I bought it for $15 http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/hasemann/IMG_0184.jpg http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/hasemann/IMG_0183.jpg http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/hasemann/IMG_0189.jpg The second one as you will see i bought for $30 http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/hasemann/IMG_0726.jpg http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/hasemann/IMG_0733.jpg I bought just a cheap hand sander and did a lot of sanding. I mean a lot. The first item had to be about 30 years old and the second is about 20 years. I love these pieces and that is what I look for at garage sales. Something that is natural wood so I can redo.
I like to go to antique shops in foreign countries and bring back something unusual and clean it up and make it functional. I bought a what I think is a West Indies gun powder container, made with brass and had a 2 dimensional round top with a 5 inch long neck base and had a star shape design that was enamaled on(colors were red, gold and green) and twisted rope made of brass outlining the design. So I cleaned it up (not using any abrasives) and polished it up (with a chamois-no chemical polish) and us it as a tree top at Christmas. it looks very pretty and quite ornate. I love looking for unusual things and turn it into a conversation piece. The whole process of shopping to final end piece is fun. :)
it is location..The area was ounce occupied by well to do or older persons..many homes in the area handed down for generations,,these types keep items for years..Advertising to clean garages,etc for minimal amounts cash charged will reap much junk with some valuables..One good haul could make up for bad ones..If you have a large trailer offer to haul free? when persons have to get out everything goes...Most Good antiques may just require a good dusting ..too much cleaning may remove valuable patina
I like to buy broken dishes and junky items and combine them into mosaic pieces. I don't buy gifts for the adults in my life, but for a couple of dollars and a few hours of work, they get a handmade gift that they know I made just for them, and that I was thinking about them the whole time I was working on the gift. So, I'm not exactly restoring, but reworking useless items into pieces of "art".
I went to a Goodwill Store (Almost like a yard sale) and I found a black vase with Silver Roses and Scrolling on it .... I purchased it for $4.95 ! Turns out that the vase is worth approx. $950 !!!!
One of my favorite pieces in my chest of drawers that I have had since I was little. It has been in the family longer than that but then became mine. It is a beautiful dresser as well as functional and has been through several moves with me without losing any of its sturdiness. I have never had to re due the finish and probably wont any time soon. My other favorite is my engagement ring, its from the 1930's and has such a pretty setting.We also have a child's desk that my husband found at the dump, I cleaned it up and its really a nice piece of furniture. Also both of my kids have antique beds. As far as revitalizing furniture, some times its best to just clean them up and enjoy its natural beauty. Sometimes painting a piece takes away from the uniqueness of the item, but not always. It depends on the person who is going to use the item and what their tastes are like.
I have a mahogany dining room table and sideboard. I was with my mother at an estate auction when she got them. That was probably in the late 1970's. I always liked the set myself. In about 1989, when she acquired a round oak table for her dining room and relegated the mahogany table and sideboard to the garage, I asked her if I could have them. My husband and I cleaned them with a Formby's product. I don't recall the exact product that we used. We had to replace the hardware on the sideboard as some pieces were broken and beyond repair and missing pieces. The table has 4 leaves for extending it if necessary for entertaining. I really love my table and sideboard.
1980's stuffed Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. I had it when I was a kid. It was one of my favorite stuffed animals. My mom sold it at a yard sale without my knowing and I was so upset. I spent years trying to find another one. Then, when I was in the hospital in labor with my first child, my mom had a package sent to the hospital with my husband. When I opened it up, it was Snuffy! It was the same one I use to have, although probably not the exact one. I was so happy. It didn't help with my labor pain, but for a brief moment everything was good. Now my children play with him. To restore a stuffed animal: most of them can be thrown in the washer and dryer, however some stuffed animals hair or stuffing will become permanently ruined in the washer or dryer. Always research how to clean certain materials. You may only be able to spot clean with a damp rag.
Be VERY CAREFUL when deciding to restore an item. If you've ever watched Antiques Roadshow you'll know that restoring an item can cause it to lose most of its value. There was one show where a couple had this big armoire from the 1700s and they were so proud of how well they restored it. The appraiser said they could get maybe $10,000 for it BUT if they had not restored it and removed all the patina the armoire would have been worth about $80,000. Be VERY careful!!!!!