Friday, September 21, 2012

Some vintage treasure hunting

For a while there I had a hiatus from vintage treasure hunting, my passion for finding pre-loved, old scrubby things to bring into our already bulging house, but recently I've scored some finds that were too good to pass up.  You know how it is!

These are all "before" shots and not the pretty "after" shots all made over, upcycled and fresh. So look away now if you are feeling delicate ... but if you are like me and can read between the lines, love a good vintage bargain and find beauty in the old scrappy things then this ones for you.


First up is this vintage shelving unit I recently scored from from Mr and Mrs Charlie at Innerwest Garage Sale. They host a nightly facebook garage sale with the best scruffy old stuff all selling for next to nothing. It's a bit of a scrabble to nab something as you never know when the sale is about to start and there are lots of others wanting their loot but you can get very lucky and find gorgeous old stuff.


To be honest I'm not quite sure what I will do with this shelf : keep? paint? sell? but in the heat of the moment as the deals were scrolling quickly on facebook and someone else was worrying about dimensions, I typed in SOLD without a second thought. and I have no regrets as whatever I do, it will be all good.  It's a sweet piece isn't it?  I'll have to style it some time and share with you.

I found these beautiful French style iron lamps at auction a while ago but they have been hiding in my shed for a while. I am going to paint them both black and replace the shades. I'll have to sand down and repaint the black one as well as it's pretty badly painted and all drippy and bumpy. I got these extremely cheaply but they will be a quick makeover and will look expensive when I'm finished. 


They stand a metre tall and have beautiful crystal details.


I love matching pairs of lamps. Especially French ones like these. I think these aren't quite as beautiful as my pineapple lamps on my French sideboard but I am looking forward to giving these a makeover and finding them a home (that's not in the corner of my rat infested shed!)

And then my latest piece of furniture that is currently sitting in my studio carport primed and ready for a cloak of white paint is this lovely hall cabinet.  These photos are strictly before photos as I had scrubbed this to an inch of its life with gumption of all things. It was so grimy!  While the wood looks good in this photo some of it was chipped and needing repair, quite scratched and looking dated so I don't mind painting over it.


I love the pretty shape of this piece. I bought this from a guy who I often see at the furniture auctions that I occasionally skulk around. Damien only ever spends an absolute maximum of $20 on a piece and then he resells them for a small but reasonable profit. While I could have gone to the auctions myself, you often have to wait around for hours only to miss out on a piece. So I never mind buying off Damien and he delivers the pieces to my house with a big friendly smile and saves me quite a bit of time and hassle. You can find Damien down the back of Rozelle markets most weekends and he and some other guys are opening a shop down in Kogarah so I'll get you the details when I see him next.



Depending on how this piece turns out I may keep it as my hall cupboard and sell the one that's in there currently. I like the fact that it has drawers I can load up with useless crapola that I think I need to keep at hand! Change is as good as a holiday, right?

and if you read my blog regularly you will have seen the lovely vintage jug and spoons I found last weekend. The kids are loving using these little spoons for their breakfast (that now takes twice as long! ha, ha)



My sister in law, Michelle, also loves a good thrifty vintage find and is renown in our family for it. She classifies people who only buy new stuff as "newbies" which I think is a classic. We get on very well together and I love visiting her and my brother for a laugh and an op-shop trawl.

Are you a "newbie" or a vintage loving gal?

Fiona xx

6 comments:

  1. I love a bargain too! But I am particularly enjoying that shelf you bought so sponanteously! It sounds like a "go with your gut" buy! I love those. Giulia.x

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  2. Great finds Fiona...I follow innerwest garage sale too but I shouldn't bother, I am a bit far away for pickups! That cabinet is lovely and will look stunning painted up.

    So cute about the spoons, lol!

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  3. Oh so many gorgeous goodies Fiona! My hiatus from vintage treasure hunting has gone on for far too long...you've inspired me to take a trip to my local market in the morning ;)
    Cas x

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  4. I always check out Damien's stuff, sometimes he has the craziest things :)

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  5. I love that shelving unit. I have been looking for something like that for AGES! If you dont want it, i'll buy it off you. I'd lve to fix it up myself. If you decide to paint it, I'll keep my eye out! Liz

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