My First Antique Auction

I really wanted to name this post "I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags" (try not to dance if you click that link) but unfortunately neither of us had $20 and we were not in a thrift store, but Linds tried on the Macklemore look while we were making our rounds. I told her she was going to get bed bugs:)

This past Saturday we went to an antique auction at one of my favorite top secret antique co-ops right outside of Boston.

You're welcome.

I go about once a month but have never been able to make it to an auction until last week. We were like two kids at Disney World. We got there an hour early to scout out things we liked. One thing I did not do a great job at, which I recommend doing if you are a newby to antique auctions, is if you really like something, look at it really well, on all sides, before the auction starts. I had my eye on a nautical painting for pretty much half of the auction. I had walked by it quickly before things began, but did not look super close. I fell in love with it once I sat down. Lucky for me they took a break and I walked over to look closer at the frame and realized the canvas had a huge cut in it. That could have been a huge bummer.

So anyway, we scouted out things before it started. I liked these chairs.

And this little desk/bench set would be adorable with a coat of paint and some new upholstery.

 This guy looks scary, but once it was stripped and re-upholstered it would be gorgeous!

I've been buying a lot of old oil paintings lately. I thought this one would be sweet in my closet nursery.

 Same thing with this needlepoint.

This was an entire dining set. If I could have wrapped it up and sent it to Christina I would have. 

I think she could have brought it to it's fullest amazness potential.

I loved this mirror as soon as I walked in the door. A little paint, could have been awesome. Unfortunately when it came up I was feeling lazy and let this older man, who for sure did not see it in a wallpapered powder  bath with cute sconces on each side, out bid me.

So this was our view.

 And these were our seats.

Another tip, especially if you are pregnant, bring snacks. These things last a couple of hours. Thirty minutes in I could barely focus I was so hungry. This sweet lady was selling snacks in the back. But remember, we had no cash. She had sympathy on me and told me I could pay with my card when I checked out for my winnings. In the end they wouldn't take my money and let the pregnant lady have the muffin on the house. I love this place.

You see those nightstands beside her? Yes, Linds did too.

See how focused she was on them?

They were awesome. We kept seeing things and saying Jenny would make that awesome. And if you read blogs at all, you know what we mean. But the nightstands...some random guy wearing sweatpants outbid Linds in a crazy aggressive way for them. If looks could kill, she would have been arrested. It was a sad moment in an otherwise fun morning.

But more on the sweatpants. We noticed that we were the only two that dressed...I wouldn't even say up, but that did not dress down for this event. And we think this was a strategic move on everyone else's part. This is not Sotheby's. No putting on airs. You want it, but you want everyone else to think it's crap. It's a tough gig and when 10 different people came up to us at the end to ask who we were and what we were doing there, we realized we had failed.

But my two big scores were this mirror for $10

And this secretary for $60, which I had an extreme case of shoppers high over.

I had my eye on neither at the beginning, but that's the fun part about auctions, you just never know!

Sidenote: if anyone wants to hire me to design a little girl's room, I really want to have this thing painted coral with a turquoise interior! It would be the perfect little writing desk. We did one in gray and green this summer for a living room, turned out awesome. 

I will definitely be making another auction sometime in the early Spring. My final tip: go with someone fun, who will whisper snarky, sarcastic comments with you to help pass the time on all the rose colored glass vase sets that neither of you came to see. Thanks Linds, I had a blast!