Featured antique/Vintage Brown Furniture

I was thinking more like...heavy as lead !!

 

Most of it’s not horrible as it can just be wheeled but that bench, I can’t even fathom the total weight on it. Built to last though lol.

 

I live in the Midwest. Population of the metro area is 235,000 and a median income of over $50K. Median age is 31. The major research university here has approximately 40,000 students, some of which may not be counted in that population. The population is very mobile, probably too mobile. I think there is a mindset here that people will not be here forever. Great place to raise kids but don't want to invest in anything too good due to said kids and the desire to move away. Town has money but they are cheap. They don't think twice about spending money eating out, entertainment, travel, or the latest gadget but God forbid they should buy something lasting. Those that aren't cheap, spend their money out of town so they can brag to their friends about how they got this in Chicago or New York...… or from Restoration Hardware, Room and Board, etc.

Do I sound bitter? I am. I have been in retail here on and off for almost 30 years. At one point I dealt exclusively in Chicago and swore I would never try to sell in this town again. The recession in 2008 and personal circumstances brought me back. I now deal in mostly what I consider to be junk and make a respectable living at it. I can buy very cheaply and have to sell cheap. It is what it is.

 

Case in point..... Picked up this 5 drawer chest in good refinished condition for $25.00. Should be able to get $100.00, I should think. Time was when this was worth 2.5 to 3 times that.

 

It’s good you look happy and not bitter in your picture avatar. It’s one of my favourites!

 

Yeah, those are some pretty tough numbers to be trying to sell any kind of furniture i would think. Over 10% of the population are college kids and they are not buying much furniture.

 

Sold my 5 drawer chest for $115.00 today. Quick turn and no bargaining this time. Can't complain about good profit margins.

 

Progress!

 

I guess ….. but would prefer to be selling better things at higher price points.

 

Yeah, well, I don't think it's likely to happen in your location, it's just to small.

 

Or just the wrong location. I'd almost bet this stuff would flat out fly in places like Louisiana or Charlotte. Around here it goes begging too. Some (young) friends from church just bought a house; I'm thinking they need to take a road trip with a panel truck!

 

For sure in Charlotte, when i moved here in 2000 from DC, it was an up & comer then and unlike DC which is manic & expensive it's pretty laid back in Charlotte & cheap. Metro area is 2.5 million, city center is 1 million. Many don't know it but Charlotte is the nations 2nd biggest banking/financial center, second only to Wall st. & it's a jobs machine. Stunning numbers on in-migration here and mostly young people.
In sum, Brad could probably double his asking price here & struggle to keep inventory up.

 

Wow!

A friend told me a few years ago that he was looking for something like the cylinder secretary. But he lives in Florida. He might have found one already, too. I never followed up with him about it.

And the shop where you sell looks like a nice place to visit.

 

Just in case we're starting to feel optimistic, at a high-end auction in the Kansas City area on Saturday a Mitchell & Rammelsberg walnut and marble etagere ca. 1860, that would have gone for $5000-$7000 20 years ago, went for $500.

On the non-furniture plus side, Fenton Karnak vases from the 1920s were going for 2 to 4 times their high pre-auction estimates. So........great if you own any Fenton Karnak, which it is now clear I never will

 

I hate to say it, but I think it is getting worse and not better for brown furniture in the Boston area. I haven't seen any market uptick. That vintage chest you paid $25 for could easily have gone into a dumpster here because it was missing a handle on the bottom drawer. No matter that it probably took you 5 minutes to find a replacement. Even real antiques get broken up here if they need any kind of repair. Mid-century modern is still about the only thing you can reliably sell around here.

 

Not sure why it looks that way but not missing a knob. The knobs are all replacements that someone put on when this was refinished. I could tell where this originally had at least two coats of paint on it before refinishing. A lot of labor went in to this piece and I am glad that I was able to sell for profit without painting.

Agree that no one wants to do any work any more and many antiques are going to the landfill. Customers have no inclination and dealers can't make any profit if they have to do any major work to pieces. I still do minor repairs and touch ups but that is about as far as I will go these days. All I had to do to that chest was remove some Star Wars stickers from the side, fix a drawer bottom, and some minor touch ups. Truth be known, the Star War's stickers might have been worth as much as the chest if I was able to get them off cleanly …. LOL!

We don't even have much of an MCM market here. There is some demand for the very best, but at rock-bottom prices. Even Heywood Wakefield usually goes begging here.

 

You know I love a lot of the MCM American blonde furniture, and I can't explain it, but it seems that for MCM here, dark Danish teak sells much better than light American Heywood Wakefield type. I think maybe the american stuff can be a little funky looking, where the Danish stuff is more grown-up looking.

 

Dang, that is surprising, i would have guessed antique furniture would do well there.

 

Flat pack on the other hand.... :-( I saw a sideboard in the Ill Will today priced at $15, circa 1910. Somebody had painted it and painted the hardware too. The hardware was the original. The cabinet itself needed help, but someone could take off the handles and wheels and strip the metal and still be ahead of the game. The wood underneath the nasty paint was probably quarter-sawn oak. (sob)

 

Brown furniture doesn't sell well here on Cape Cod either, everyone wants white painted furniture. And we can't give away golden oak