Estate Sale Finds | My New Chinoiserie Pieces

I love shopping at antique stores and flea markets and every now and then I’ll hit up an estate sale.  Several times a week I’ll get an email from EstateSales.net notifying me of upcoming sales in my area.  The email tells me when a sale is happening and in most cases there are pictures of the items that are for sale.  A couple weeks ago a particular sale caught my eye and prompted me to scroll through the photos.

The photos showed the driveway filled with cast off furniture pieces and the basement  jammed packed with Christmas items.  I kept scrolling and landed on a photo of the family room where there were tables and tables of blue and white pieces.  It’s not unusual to see a few blue and white pieces at an estate sale but seeing loads of it got my heart racing.

Fast forward to the day of the sale, a Friday.  I woke up and was on the fence about going.  The sale started at 9:00 am and I had an appointment all the way across town at 10:00 am.  As I got dressed, I pondered whether or not to go and decided to stop by the sale for just a few minutes to check it out.

I arrived at the house around 8:30 and was the second car to park in the yard.  The folks from the estate sale company were going in and out of the house so I casually asked if they would be opening the doors early.  They told me they would open the sale a bit early at 8:45!  I waited and as soon as the doors opened I bolted into the house.  There was stuff everywhere which made it really hard to focus.  Then I spotted the blue and white room.  I spent 30 minutes shopping and scored some of the best deals ever AND I made it to my appointment at 10:00 on time.  #winning

Here’s what I bought…

The first item I picked up was this pretty blue and white pagoda lantern that I paid $10 for.  Right now I have it sitting near the bookshelves that flank the TV but I might see if I can find a spot for it in my kitchen.

This hexagon shaped lidded jar was also $10 and has the prettiest design.  It’s also super heavy and has a makers stamp on the bottom.

My favorite find of the day was this blue and white garden stool.  With all the blue and white I already own, I didn’t have a garden stool as part of my design mix.  You can’t even imagine how excited I was when I spotted this piece and then to talk the guy down in price to just $10.  I definitely scored big with this find!

 I also lucked upon some Staffordshire England Red Willow dinnerware.  There was tons of it and several people were shopping the table by the time I made my way over.  Everything was $1.00 a piece and I bought 8 dinner plates, salad plates and large bowls.

As I was checking out, the guy running the estate sale mentioned to me that anything left would be 50% off the following day.   So what’s a thrift junkie like me to do…make a return trip on Saturday of course.

Saturday morning I woke up, invited the hubby to come along for the ride and we hit the sale again.  Here’s what I scored the second time around.

My Saturday Finds…

This large blue and white bowl as $5.00!  I’m thinking I might plant orchids in it and use it as a centerpiece on the coffee table or dining table for the holidays.

Another favorite find was this blue and white umbrella stand.  I noticed it sitting outside on Friday and was surprised to see it hadn’t sold when we were there on Saturday.  It was filled with leaves and papers and was pretty dirty but other than that it was in great shape.  I snagged this beauty for $10.

And here are a couple more pieces that came home with me. This Blanc de Chine porcelain figurine was covered in dust but I knew a quick wash would clean it up.  I paid just $2 for it.  And I bought a pair of these tall blue and white vases for $5 for the two.

Once I had everything unpacked, I put all the pieces in the bathtub and gave them a good wash.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic estate sale shopping adventure.  I’m happy with my new blue and white pieces and think I might have officially hit the limit on my collection.  Who am I kidding…there’s always room for more!

p.s.  I also bought a few smaller blue & white and ironstone pieces that I’ll be putting in my Etsy shop soon.  There are some great items in the shop now but check back for the new pieces that will be added in early October.