The Thrill of the Hunt, “Consignment Shopping” At The Classic Attic

On Saturday, I popped into The Classic Attic consignment shop to see what the latest offering were. Their motto is “Antique Shop Quality, Consignment Store Prices”. The fun of consignment shopping for me is “the thrill of the hunt!” You never know what will turn up! One man’s trash is definitely another man’s treasure! I was not disappointed!! Boy,did I find some interesting pieces and great buys! My head was spinning with ideas for all the things I found Ede Graves is the owner of this little hidden jewel located on the back side of Park Road Shopping Center located in Charlotte,NC. Ede is a very personable lady and was quick to chat with me about her inventory. She and I discussed the advantages of buying consigned pieces. Did you know that 8.7 million tons of furniture and home furnishings are dumped into landfills each year? So go green and buy consignment!!! Not only is it good for our planet to be green but you get name brand, good quality furniture at very reduced rates. Some things are in mint condition and don’t need any love at all. Other times a little refinishing, paint job, new fabric is all a piece needs to go from drab to dynamic!

Here are some tips for consignment shopping:

1) Shop often, new things come in every day!

2) Don’t think too long about an item or it will be gone!

You know the saying “you snooze you lose”

3) On the hunt for a certain piece? Let the shop know what you are

looking for, Ede has a wish book!

4) Good times to visit stores are before and after holidays and change

of seasons, when people are hankering for a new look or spring/fall cleaning.

5) Look over items for damage. Ask the shop owner if there are any issues

with the piece, they typically know.

6) Know your stores policy for buying.

7) Keep an open mind, think paint, repurpose, reupholster

8) Take a couple of laps around the store. Often times you see new things

peeking out from behind or beside, the item that caught your eye the first time.

9) Take time to chat with the shop owner and ask their input about items they find

interesting or great buys. They can typically tell you where something came from as well

10) When in doubt, measure! Make sure what you are considering will fit the

space you are looking to fill. If you don’t have a tape measure, typically the

store will have one for you to borrow.

Now onto what I found….

Art!

There is original art like this still life in a beautiful frame. So much prettier in

person than here. It’s a rather large piece as well. I would guess 16 x 20 or 20 x 24.

Not your style? There are plenty of other pieces. Like the frame and not the art, take

them apart, this would make a great frame for a portrait and it was approx 235.00

which is cheaper than having your portrait custom framed.

Dining chairs…

I am still dreaming about these beautiful dining room chairs. Only $400 for the four side chairs. The pair of host and hostess chairs for $300. Ede said she would give a better price if someone bought the set. If the fabric works, they are ready to be added around your table, if not, this would be an easy recover. If they were for me or one of my clients I think I would choose one fabric for the back and another for the front. Lets choose this Kelly Wearstler Fabric here! These are very sexy chairs girls!

Ok, so we have discovered that I could go on and on so I’ll call it quits before I lose you!

Did you have fun? Did you get motivated? Are you googling your locals consignment shops as soon as you finish reading this? Sorry it got long! I got excited! Can you tell?

Hopefully, this gives you a little inspiration to go out and scour the consignment stores to see what you can find. If you are in the Charlotte area please go by and check out

The Classic Attic, tell Ede I sent you!

Remember you are only limited by your imagination!!!!

___________________

And now a for a brief advertisement for

my latest passion!

Beds For Kids!

I am working with called Beds For Kids. Ede agreed to consider to donate any furniture that clients don’t pick up at the end of their time in her shop to our cause!!! Thank you Ede! You are so nice!!!! If you arent familiar with Beds for Kids, please read about it here! Also, please join their FaceBook Page Here to get regular updates! I’ll post more about this later. I am very excited about this!!!! Brandon Holmes and Dan Fogarty have done a great job over at BFK!. Check out their needs list here, or donate money!!! We are looking for more designers to get involved as well! You could be helping a family go from sleeping and sitting on the floor to have furniture. Like their motto says “Every child deserves a bed”!

If you live in Charlotte, we are also looking for volunteers to give a little time each week.