The One That Got Away

photograph by tori spelling

My antique savvy mother-in-law stopped by today after checking out an estate sale in North East Oakland.  She'd spotted an "Eames-Style" mustard yellow upholstered occasional chair in excellent condition and thought it might be pretty valuable, though she didn't know the designer, the paper label under the chair said Knoll. Yup. My reaction: Is it still there and how much were they asking?  It sounded WAY undervalued.  We hopped into her car and by the time we got there it was still sitting in the living room, but no longer available, as they'd decided they should probably get it appraised. I was left wondering why I wasn't hitting estate sales more often. I've been on the bandwagon for a while, but the only real mid century pieces I own are part of my Drexler dining room set. If that's going to change, I'm going to have to be ready to swoop in on a deal like the one that got away today. The website estatesales.net list sales in your area, with item previews. Craigslist also has estate sales listed under furniture and garage sales.  Bring cash and go early.