I think the thread prior to this one is going to get lost in the shuffle. What is the one item that you had a change to buy but didn't?
I'll repeat mine. It was a loooooong 6ft wicker basket with a wooden bottom that was used to store BODIES in with ice in the bottom prior to burial around the turn of the century. I keep picturing that basket on a long dining table at holiday time with pumpkins/holly whatever. Have only seen it once in all my days of dealing in antiques.
Biggest regret?
a free sofa
Years ago, parents of dear friends lived in the Hancock building in Chicago. They were both artists and had a lot of Eames furniture and other cool stuff, including a long, low sofa upholstered in a neutral velvet.
Eventually they moved and our dear friends got the sofa and had it in their apartment and later, a house. Their puppy chewed the fabric on one corner. Finally they wanted to get rid of it and offered it to us but we didn't have room for it and weren't willing to get rid of the sofas we already had (which I would hate now). So they gave it to their cleaning lady.
Now, of course, I would kill for it and would have a blast reupholstering it in some gorgeous high-end fabric that I would get for a fraction of retail on ebay. OH WELL.
I don't even know what it was
It was just cool and it was in a cool apartment and I coulda had it for free. It was very high quality, i do know that.
I've had other losses that I did identify at the time but I tend to block most painful memories of this type. (haha) It's more fun to remember the fantastic scores, of which there have been many.
Jacobsen for nothing
My worst miss was missing out on two Jacobsen Egg chairs for practically nothing. The ad said:
" Two Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs, 1956, some damages, fake leather, 130 ? per chair"
I usually get up at 7:30 AM on Saturdays to read the paper and the classifieds. This one day.. this one day! I decided I'll sleep and when I woke up at 9:00 I see the ad.
I threw myself on the phone but the line was busy. No wonder. Later in the evening, knowing they the chairs were sold, I called the number and an elderly lady answered. I asked her why she would put such a ridiculously low price on them and she just answered that she had gotten them in the 60's as a gift and always felt ashamed by them. She didn't like their style. I have never really gotten over it. I kept the ad to remind me.
http://designofthecentury.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
jef180
I think you should marker in another 's' on that fridge magnet 😉
I feel your pain.
About a month ago i stumbled across a listing for a house in my area for sale.
It's a random and often comical hobby because real estate photos are so
horrible on the most part. 'View through screened porch of a shed' (shack),
filthy bathrooms, dirty laundry, etc. Not funny when shopping for a home but
now that i've settled into mine in a MCM neighborhood, i like to see what
else is out there and hope to call attention to it for another appreciative
buyer...
One caught my eye because the listing photo was of a few large shrubs. (?!)
A few interior shots, dark and dank, furniture askew, nothing on shelves,
and obvious that the owner had moved out. The 20% of furnishings left were
all classics. Saarinen, two Eames lounge, some lamps, etc.
I was busy that week so i thought over the weekend i would find the listing
again and contact the agent and make an offer. Gone, poof, i could not find
the listing anywhere, not even in my history. Still can't find it. (i looked for it
again this morning). Like a bad dream. This house must be within a mile of me!
No photo of the front of the house so even a drive around doesn't help.
(though i did drive around looking for the shed and a screened back porch)
oh crap
Thanks, rockland. Your sad story reminded me of a house we missed out on.
It was at a time when we couldn't quite afford to buy but I was looking anyway. I don't think the architect was anyone famous but it was a very cool house for this rather blah suburban neighborhood. It had a W-shaped roof, a big garden atrium in the center (U-shaped house), original sliding shoji screens on two sides of the atrium, open kitchen/dining/living room with brick fireplace in the center, cathedral ceilings, oak floors, large entry, big basement and garage, etc. The kitchen cabs were original worn formica but we could have redone the kitchen easily ourselves.
The price was just a tad out of reach. We asked about renting with the option to buy but they couldn't do it. We had to pass. We ended up buying a very dull, generic split-level only a few blocks away for $78K less---consolation: way better lot. But I still mourn that other house eight years later. Especially the shoji screens. I would kill for those.
jef180, speaking of egg chairs
I have a friend who has one in her garage, has been in there for years, sitting under piles of stuff, not at all being taken care of, so it does not surprise me when people list these on CL or in the paper. I suppose I should investigate her chair further to see what it really is. I think I have a photo somewhere.
As for my regrets, it's all the stuff from my home when I was growing up - we had so many of the MCM things that are so collectible now. I don't know where they went, but I know my mom is the exact opposite of me, where I save everything, she constantly is getting rid of stuff -- so all of our stuff was sold at garage sales over the years. And I mean ALL of it! And I grew up on the westside of LA in the 60s, so you know what I'm talking about!
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