Buffet is from an Estate Sale and the decor is from a Consignment Store
My husband and I purchased our first house in our early 30’s. We were fortunate enough to have saved enough money to move straight from an apartment to our forever home. However having lived in one bedroom apartments for years, we had very little furniture when we moved into our new home. We only had enough furniture to fill up the family room, master bedroom and one of the guest bedrooms, but the rest of the house was basically empty. A house does not really start to feel like your home until it is fully decorated in your unique style. So after we finished moving into our new house I looked around at the sad state of most of the rooms and began to make mental notes of what we could use to fill in those gaps.
After spending what felt like a minor fortune purchasing our house, I had to face the disappointing realization that I would not be furnishing my home quickly. At not least in the way I truly wanted. I love very traditional, elegant, and sadly, most typically rather expensive furniture. Now I was questioning whether it was better to buy something I did not really love that I could afford in order to fill my home quickly or whether I should buy pieces I love at a very slow pace and leave the house feeling empty and unfinished?
ESTATE SALES
About a month or so after I moved this question was answered. My mom saw an estate sale in her neighborhood and decided to stop in. She lives in a neighborhood where many of the neighbors have the style and quality of furniture I love and we quickly realized this would be a great way to furnish my home.
I was at work in a meeting when I started getting text messages from her with pictures of a dining room set; table, chairs, sideboard, and china cabinet. They were EXACTLY what I was looking for; in great condition with very little wear, and SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than what a new set would cost. They were even cheaper than what an inexpensive new set that I did not really love would cost. THIS WAS AMAZING! I told my mom to buy it and after some negotiating it was mine.
I purchased the table, chairs, china cabinet, sideboard and florals from an estate sale.
This became a pattern of ours over the next two months. She would keep an eye out for Estate Sales in her current and old neighborhoods and attend them for me to look at furniture.
Estates Sales often begin on a Thursday or Friday and since I work full-time, I was unable to attend the first few days. Often the best furniture is sold in these first two days, so I did not want to wait until Saturday when I would be off of work to go. Luckily I have an amazing mother who is incredibly helpful and generous with her time, who does not work, loves furniture and has the same taste in decorating as me. Oh and she is a great negotiator as well!
In all honesty I could not have furnished my house the way I wanted without all of her assistance. She spent so much time attending sales, helping arrange to get the furniture to my house, and sometimes being the one to physically show up when I was at work to let the movers into the house.
CONSIGNMENT STORES
My mom was visiting friends from her old neighborhood when she discovered an amazing consignment store called Acosta’s Home Consignment. This store sells upscale, excellent condition furniture and home decor. It quickly has become my favorite store to shop! While Acosta’s Home Consignment is located in the western suburbs of Chicago and not readily available to everyone, if you do a google search on consignment stores near you, I am sure you will find great stores as well. Through Acosta’s I have been able to finish purchasing the rest of the furniture I need for my house and I have even upgraded some of the old furniture my husband and I had. But more than anything I have been able to find the decor that really puts those final touches on the house from accessories, to oil paintings, flower arrangements and more to help make it feel like our home.
I purchased the sideboard from and estate sale and the decor from a consignment store.
Once I discovered Acosta’s Home Consignment, I started visiting their multiple stores every Saturday morning. I would always be at their largest store by 9:50 am in the morning so I could be the very first customer in the store at 10 am. This was very important because the furniture and accessories are first come, first serve. I have ended up with many great items that would have been snapped up had I found them only a matter of minutes later.
It was a Saturday morning when I walked in Acosta’s and entered my first room at their store. Right before my eyes was a brand new set of brown leather furniture; exactly what I was looking for in my family room. I quickly took pictures and texted my mom (big purchases I always like to run past her great eye) and I quickly removed the price tags off the set. Possession of the price tags at a consignment store is possession of the product when the piece of furniture is too large for you to carry around or put at the front desk. As I sat on the sofa waiting for my mom to call or text me, two couples walked past and I could tell were interested in the same set as me, but they could not find the price tag so they walked away.
Finally she called, we spoke for a minute about the set and she recommended I definitely get it and mentioned I should also get the beautiful cocktail table that had been in one of the pictures I sent her. I thanked her so much for her help, got off the phone, grabbed the price tag off the cocktail table and went to find a sales person at the front desk to help me. I am glad I did so quickly because when we got back to the room one of the couples had found a sales rep also and they were searching for the price tag. The sales person with me informed them I had grabbed the tag already and would be purchasing the pieces. Again, I cannot stress how important it is to grab the price tag when shopping consignment. He put sold tickets on the furniture and then I continued to shop the store.
It may seem underhanded to be so aggressive in securing a piece of furniture in this way, but this really is how serious bargain hunters have to operate at consignment stores. The environment can be competitive so you have to remember your goals going in and show up ready to lock down anything that catches your eye as soon as you find it or another avid bargain hunter with a sharp eye can and will go home with your perfect piece!
I purchased the sofa set, cocktail table, and florals from a consignment store
I walked away from the store with a lot of floral arrangements, oil paintings, and decor accessories that day in addition to my amazing furniture find. I even found an extra cocktail table that I loved for my living room. I have been to many consignment shops in the area but have consistently found that Acosta’s is my favorite so now I just focus on that store. I still need some things for the house, but now I am looking for very specific pieces. I do not go to the store every weekend but I do follow their website and online shopping almost everyday and if I find a piece I have looked for then I do make the trip to the store.
Have you had any luck finding furniture at Estate Sales or Consignment Stores? Share your experiences and pictures below in the comments!
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