Treasure Hunting!

Did everyone have a nice Easter? I enjoyed dining at an elegant 1890 Italianate style mansion that was turned into a restaurant. Luckily, I had my camera and took photos as I wandered around. I’ll post about it at a later date, but wanted to share a little sneak peek. The home was built by a lumber barren and is rumored to be haunted by his first wife who mysteriously passed away six months after moving in. There was talk in some circles she was poisoned by her better half, but that was never proven. This photo was taken in one of the upstairs bedrooms now referred to as the ladies lounge. If you look closely you can see the trees are starting to leaf out here in the Great Lakes Region.

We had a surprisingly mild winter, but yesterday the wind kicked up enough to knock the power out for several hours on my side of town. I got tired reading in semi darkness so decided to do a little Thrifty Treasure Hunting! I visited a couple favorite spots that were not affected by the outage and found several nice items.

I scooped up this pretty silver plated tiered tray, which now resides in my dining room. I added a silver fork and thong hors d'oeuvre set I already had from an earlier garage sale find. I'm always curious about any marks on the back and the hors d'oeuvre set says "EPNS Made In Sweden". It's electroplate, but if you pay attention you might get lucky and run across a valuable silver piece. Silver is marked in different ways and this is referred to as Hallmarks. If a piece is marked or has a symbol you can easily do a quick search and see what you're dealing with.

After I got home I gave everything a little polish and thought they turned out quiet nice for the grand sum of $4.00. This photo is a little deceiving, because the tiered tray looks bigger then it is. Actually it's only around 10” tall. It has fine detailing I like it and the price was right.

I want to mention since I’ve received a few comments about the topic of Thrifty Treasures that YES, I love the thrill of the hunt and finding a good bargain! The piece has to make sense, but often I find interesting objects on the second hand market. Tomorrow's antique just might be today’s Thrifty Treasure.

Did you know? Technically to be considered an antique the item has to be 100 years old and anything younger is classified as a collectible?

After my silver score I spent a lot of time poking around in the dish section, but kicked myself for not putting a colorful ceramic rooster in my cart. I came back for it just in time to see another shopper put it in hers! First rule always put anything in your cart you're not sure of and make your final decision later!

I wasn't disappointed for long, because walking back to the register I spotted this Early American chest that had just been placed on the floor. The drawers were in the wrong slots so it looked disheveled, but that worked to my advantage. I asked for the price and the gal said $30.00 and this one didn't get away. I needed something exactly this size in a cherry finish to blend in with some Pennsylvania House furniture in my living room. This is not the quality of Pennsylvania House, but the size and color is good. One of the drawers on the inside is marked Dixie, which was a mid priced furniture company that was eventually bought out by Lexington.

Angels know how to light the way!

This angelic presence keeps a watchful eye on top of my new "Treasure Chest".

Standing in line at the register I noticed this striking velvet riding helmet hidden on a low shelf. It was marked $10.00 and I didn’t hesitate to buy it. I had been looking for one to go in the bedroom of a client’s daughter since it was designed in an equestrian theme. Doesn't it make the perfect finishing touch on her nightstand? It has a sculptural quality that makes a statement and adds a touch of whimsy.

Corinthian Columns

Looking back my power outage turned out to be a very good thing!

Here is one more glance at the Italianate mansion. Don't you think the detailing is breathtaking? I adore old homes and in my book they may not always be thrifty but they are certainly treasures!