Hunting down that perfect treasure is one of the best parts of decorating a room. Come see this antique fair haul with goodies for the kitchen!
I go antiquing as often as I can. Sometimes I only find one or two things. Some times I find great stuff. Sometimes I don’t. Today happened to be a good day!
Art Antique Haul
Art is typically confusing to me. There are rare exceptions, but more often than not oil paintings and traditional art just leave me feeling a little flat. They don’t speak to me.
But what I do love are handcrafts. Lace. Needlepoint. Woodworking. Old fashioned, less frequent, three dimensional items are my favorite.
I found these two framed needlepoints together in one of my favorite booths. The colors and frames just made me so happy! I could have taken one or the other but seeing them together, I knew they had to be a pair.
I snagged them for $35 total. Honestly that’s not a complete steal in my book since I’m spoiled by thrift store prices. But for how gorgeous they are, they were well worth it! Spoiler: they ended up in the kitchen!
I love that they don’t perfectly match. The blues are slightly different. And they are perfectly delightful against the yellow kitchen walls. (Also I can’t WAIT to show you the rest of this wall!)
Antique Table Linens
I have WAY more antique linens than I need. But does that stop me from buying them every chance I get? Absolutely not.
I try to be reasonable about my purchases though and only buy pieces I absolutely can’t live without.
Well…a wine red felted wool and silk table cloth with hand embroidered flowers WITH a picture from the original owner for TWELVE DOLLARS?? Yeah. That’s something I can’t live without.
I’ve looked at a lot of table cloths and don’t remember seeing anything like this. It’s a good size so it will fit any of my tables. And it’s just simply breathtaking. I can already see it in the dining room at Christmas.
So I broke my no-tablecloth-buying pact because this one just had to come home with me. Really, what would an antique fair haul be without the purchase of at least one thing I probably don’t need?
Baskets on Baskets
Next up on this antique fair haul is a basket. By this point I really do have a lot of baskets. A LOT. So, much like tablecloths, I’m generally holding out on buying more.
That being said, large, cheap, beautiful baskets are somewhat hard to come by. Especially for when they’re antique.
I found this gorgeous apple basket hiding under a table for a mere $2.00. It’s not in great shape. I will probably need to repair it at some point.
But MERCY it’s gorgeous. And happens to be a perfect friend to one of my other baskets in the kitchen.
I particularly love baskets like this for light, rarely used items such as paper plates, balloons, or party supplies. If I’m not going to get to it every day, I store it in plain sight with a beautiful basket.
More Chairs! Kinda…
While I certainly didn’t go looking for more chairs, I was looking for something else to sit on.
I ended up with a work table in the kitchen. It’s a great place to hang out, grab a meal by yourself, or write a grocery list.
But every time I wanted to sit down, I had to steal a chair from the main table.
Then I found this little guy. $20. Totally cute. Sturdy little legs. The absolute perfect kitchen stool.
I thought he’d go under my sink, but he actually fits just beautifully under my table. And such a comfortable place to sit! This stool was the perfect end to this antique fair haul.
Antique Fair Haul Tips
Look under things: Both the stool and basket were either under tables or hidden beneath other items for sale. Some of the best things might not be prominently displayed!
Negotiate…nicely: I don’t always negotiate, and I don’t always pay full price. Some vendors are really sweet and I just personally like them. Some are kinda grumpy and I avoid them. I believe in antiquing karma, so if I think it’s a fair price and I like the vendor, I won’t negotiate. And even when I do negotiate, I try to keep it reasonable. No lowballing. Because karma.
Separate the goodies: Sometimes I can’t tell if I like something because of what is around it. In that case, I take the item I want and move it somewhere else. I try to find a different area that looks more like my style and reevaluate there.
Go frequently: This isn’t always an option, but glorious finds aren’t all found in one day. I check thrift stores and antique fairs several times a month. Sometimes there is nothing. Sometimes there are great things. By going frequently, you become familiar with the stock and are more likely to spot great things when they show up.
That’s all I have!! I hope you enjoyed this and hope you come up with your own wonderful finds soon! Stay tuned for the kitchen reveal post!! It’s coming in hot!!
