Need info on waterfall chest and vanity/dresser

curious if anybody would know anything on this art deco set we got a good deal on from a trash out contractor... seems to be mostly veneered construction as both pieces are lighter in weight than they'd appear. the dresser is short one of the top bakelite knobs and the lower pull is missing it's bakelite hood. would like to know a value as is, as we don't want to have professionally refinished.

 

1940s. Not a lot of value to these. Have seen the vanities go as low as $1.00 at auction in this kind of shape. Chests usually fare a bit better. Maybe $30-40.00 on a good day. These are auction prices here in smaller town Midwest. You might do better in big cities and coastal locations. Of course, retail in good condition will be higher but no one is getting rich on such furniture.

I try to pick up chests like this with all their hardware for less than $30.00. I then paint them and sell in the $100.00 range (give or take depending on how much work was involved and overall appearance). I don't even touch the vanities unless I can easily split them and sell as two nightstands. Even so, I don't pay more than $15.00 for one and try for less. I usually sell the stands in the $40.00 range (each). This one actually looks like it would lend itself to being split since each stand has its own top.

 

Polish them up and enjoy them ! Who knows , maybe in 40 years they'll be highly collectible again .

 

I inherited my mother's waterfall set - tall dresser, low dresser, bed and vanity. The problem was my parents chain smoked all their lives. We tried everything for a whole year to get the odor out of the furniture and couldn't. I ended up giving it to a guy who sold used furniture out of a barn. We thought if he left it out there for awhile it might air out, but it didn't. I'm pretty sure he tossed it. I loved the waterfall look. It may not be popular right now, but you never know what comes back around.

 

Forgot to add that the drawer pulls on these might be worth as much or more than the furniture. Here are some examples sold on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=art deco celluloid drawer pulls&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

There are more if you search without the word celluloid. However, you have to wade through a lot of dissimilar ones. I sometimes remove pulls and sell separately since my customers don't seem to care about the difference between nice period pulls and the wood knobs I replace them with when painting.