I’m always looking for new friends to go shopping with. You would think that would be pretty easy, but I’m still trying to make friends in my new city with girls who like to do the same things I do….not shopping at the mall, but the antiques or thriftstores or junk places. I wish you all lived near me! One friend from church, my floral design friend, Angie, does like to antique and look at junk, so she and I went out this week to a fun antique mall that I had never been to before. Lots to look at, they really had some good looking things in there.
I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but have had in my mind for awhile that I’d like to find an antique chest of drawers to go in our master bedroom. I showed you the black yardsale piece that we’ve been using for 3 years now which is way too small and not very nice, but I knew I’d find something eventually and for a decent price. I spotted this French piece and it’s gorgeous, but at over $1000, way more than I wanted to spend or could afford to spend.
Right next to it was this beauty. A traditional mahogany chest on chest in great condition AND the price was decent AND it was 20% off AND they offer 60 day layaway. I think I can do that. It has an English look to it and looks to be Chippendale to me. It stands 52″ tall and is quite a large piece, with dove-tailed drawers. 
So, I went back the next day with Judy (see below) and put it on layaway. Two more payments and I’ll bring this baby home. I know you want to know the price and since I usually blurt those things out anyway, I’ll tell you…with the 20% discount, it came to $390. Now how’s that for a deal? I think it’s great myself. I’m mixing it with a late-1800’s French armoire that we already have in the room and I’ll be sure to do a post when it’s in place.
It’s a beauty and I think we are really going to enjoy it. If you have never shopped for antiques, I’d highly recommend that you try it. I used to think only rich people could afford antiques, but I found out that this little myth is simply not true. Anyone can afford antiques (even if they are 100 years old and true antiques) and you can afford many vintage pieces a lot easier than buying new pieces. And, personally I would much rather have an old piece than a new piece anyday. They just don’t make furniture like this anymore. Classic, traditional style never goes out of fashion. This chest is probably from the 40’s or 50’s. We’ll get back to this discussion in a minute. So, moving on around the store….
This is a huge French buffet.
Pretty blue and white dishes.
I thought these needlepoint chairs were really pretty.
And how about this aqua tole platter and aqua bowl….yummy colors! So that was one fun day from last week. The next day, my new friend Judy from Gracious Southern Living came up for the day and we had such a great time! We’ve been chatting online for almost a year now and again, it was like meeting up with an old friend. 
Judy likes to talk decorating as much as I do and we did not shut up for about 6 straight hours. Here we are at lunch at O’Carr’s with their famous chicken salad and fruit plate.
We went to Cahaba Heights for a little antiquing. Judy is a very fun person and I’m so glad I got to meet her finally. I know we will meet up again. She’s very warm, friendly, and Southern all wrapped up in one.
We had a great time strolling around…just looking at all the fun stuff out there. Judy picked up a pretty iron candelabra for outside and carted it home in her VW bug.
We both loved this green wicker in the shop, Treasures in Cahaba Heights.
More blue and white.
Loved this pretty bunny and bird vignette.
Hi Rhoda
Love the chest you found. I’d love to have the huge French buffet. It’s amazing. We like to mix old and new, whenever possible. One reason, the quality is so much better than some of the new stuff that is offered today. Plus we like the collected over time look in our home, mixed with our little special things we find along our road trips. Come to think of it, it’s time for us to go antiquing again, just for fun. It’s been awhile.
I’ve been on the lookout for a secretary for a couple years. I love Cheryl’s in her foyer and wanted something like that for ours. After hunting around and not finding anything that came close to what I had in mind, I ordered a piece from Hooker. I love Hooker furniture and we own several pieces. The quality is great. It finally arrived, last week after over 2 months of waiting! We are completely satisfied, even though our original plan was for an antique.
Thanks for your comment on DP post. Diet Dr Pepper is my favorite, too.Because it tastes good even though it has few or no calories. The Dublin plant is the only plant producing Dr Pepper with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar these days. We ordered it for a taste of the old days. We split a can every other day. It’s a treat, for now and then.
I enjoyed your visit with Judy!
Pat
Hey sweet girl! I just got home from spending the night at Shannon’s last night….the twins were up at 6:00 a.m.! I’m not used to getting up that early and having all that sweetness hugging and kissing on MiMi!
After spending they day with you, I got so much inspiration to finish up all my little projects. Let’s hope I can find the time to get to all of them.
Oh, I e-mailed Wanda in Sylacauga and I’d love to check out her shop.
STILL searching for that perfect paint color for my kitchen…. I’ve about decided to go a dark khaki, not brown, but deep enough for those brown chairs to pop.
Have a great week and I’ll talk to you soon.
Judy
I’ve been visiting your blog for months and thought I’d introduce myself. I’m a 40ish stay at home mom with 3 children. My oldest, a daughter is getting married next month. I also have a twin, who just happens to be my bestfriend. Anyway I LOVE your blog and your decorating tips. I have to reread yesterdays because I love the what you did to the bathroom vanity. I’ve been wanting to paint mine in the kids bathroom but have been hesitant on the correct color paint. I think what you chose would be perfect. You have one of the best blogs I’ve found, I enjoy it so much. Twin
I love your new chest! You definitely got a deal there. I totally agree with you. Very few things of mine were bought “new”. I have many pieces of furniture that were from my grandmother’s homes. I have purchased some from antique stores and others from Goodwill and thrift shops. And I love them all!
Thanks for such a nice post.
Fran
Yes, I agree. We have several family pieces that are old (not necessarily antique though) and I love their familiarity, the sense that they have been around and seen some livin’.
And I agree with you about blog friends. I’ve had an opportunity to get together with one several times. Talk about kindred spirits!
We live just north of Chatanooga. If you ever get up this way, give me a shout!
That chest is beautiful! Great find and great deal. I agree, old pieces mixed with new are a wonderful addition to any room. We only have one room with all new furniture, a housewarming gift from my in-laws. I just recently added an old painted wicker chair and it makes the room much more cozy. We’re currently painting our bedroom furniture black…wish I had found your post about doing that earlier! Thanks for sharing your shopping goodies.
Love that chest & totally agree with you about mixing old & new. I love how it makes a room feel.
The chest you bought looks like it has more storage space than the more expensive one.
Hugs, DebraK
Rhoda, it seems so many of us are kindred spirits, and it is wonderful that we seem to find each other through our blogs.
I adore your “new” chest. I can’t wait to see how it looks in your bedroom. I having been looking for a “new” chair for our bedroom. I want a wingback chair that I can have reupholstered with a ruffled skirt. I really don’t want to pay the price for a new one. I’ll keep looking – one day it will happen. I just have it on my list of things to accomplish this year.
We love to buy older pieces, and we have quite a few in our home. I especially love our pieces that came through our family.
Rhoda, I’m another newbie to posting on your blog, but I’m an old hat at reading here. Yours is one of the first blogs I found, and I’m delighted to find a blog where I feel right at home.
Love, love, LOVE shopping for home furnishings, and I particularly enjoy antiques! But let’s not ignore the new things from T. J. Maxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods, etc. I like a blend of old and new… just like life. 🙂
From a link on your site, I found the Vintage Shop in Lakeland (I’d seen it before, but I found a great chair on their website that called my name), and who do you think I met there? Miss Daisy Cottage herself! Of course, I looked like an unmade bed that day because I was on a mission! I’m surprised I didn’t scare her. But it was nice to meet her in person, and she is as cordial as her blog sounds. 🙂
If you’re ever down Lakeland way again, I love to shop for antiques, thrift, etc. Say the word “shop” and my ears perk right on up! I also have a great big van I use for that very purpose. So I’m loaded for bear when it comes to deals that I or my shopping buddies didn’t know we couldn’t live without!
You did well on the piece you found. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
All the best,
Sheila
I am the same way. I only buy old stuff… I think mixing in the new once in a while is okay,there is still so really well made stuff, but it’s expensive! Older furniture is so well made too and put together with so much more quality. It was really made to stand the test of time…all of that new- fangled pressboard stuff or particle board is.. well.. cr&p.Jen R
Hi Rhoda 🙂
I love that chest you bought. The detail on the drawers pulls are wonderful!
I think you probably know how I feel about antiques, but I’ll tell you anyway 😉
I have never really liked anything new and about 90% of what I have is over 100 years old. My couch is new, but I think that’s something that has to be new, unless you know how to reupholster, which I don’t. I love things with a history and I don’t like owning anything that someone else has. My love for antiques came from my mother. She was part owner of a small antique booth for a while and if something didn’t sell it went in one of our homes. The quality is unmatchable unless you are buying something from Henredon or another furniture maker of that caliber, but I’m not able to afford that 😉 I think that antiques are the best investment for any homeowner.
hugs,
rue
Rhoda, great deal on the beautiful chest!
I prefer old furniture for the same reasons: quality and character.
Have you checked out auctions in your area? A few months ago I started going and I’m amazed how inexpensive furniture can go (last Sunday a Duncan Phyfe couch went for only $40! And that’s only one example).
Hi Rhoda,
You do live close enough to me! Maybe one day you can come to Meridian and I’ll take you to Booker’s Antiques in Whynot, MS.
You won’t get the lovely pictures you got in BHam….but you might get a bargain.
It is really one of the oldest antique shops around here..and full of lots of treasures, mixed with plenty of junk. You will need a flashlight, and something on your feet instead of sandals.
Why? You might just see a snake slither across his porch!
Mr. Booker has been collecting anitques for years, and to be honest…he has let things go!
Maybe I’ll ride out one day soon and take some pics to entice you!
Anyone else from this area is invited too! The more the merrier!
Email me at [email protected] if anyone is interested. I’ll need to call him first and make sure he is in the shop. He closes whenever he feels like it!
Maybe we should wait til the snakes are hibernating! LOL
I am proud to say I am 38 and two years ago bought my first NEW furniture piece. A sofa, love seat, and tables for our family room. Almost everything in our home was purchased at auctions, garage sales, and local markets. Oh, and curbside shopping too!
Recently, we cleaned out my parent’s home (avid collectors) and my grandmother’s home. I have so many treasures I need to get ready to put out. I am little overwhelmed right now, but I am taking it one project at a time.
I agree with you about going into a home with new things. It doesn’t ever seem very comfortable to me. I love things that have a history.
Also, I bought some Liquid Nails and I will be painting a small table this week. Wish me luck!
I definitely like mixing old and new. I’m with you, I don’t like a house full of all the same pieces from the same store. Too matchy matchy. I things that go together but that are different.
Rhoda,
I have a few inherited pieces that I will share on one of my post (in the future). I’m waiting for an elephant chair that my husbands parents have given me. I’m so excited! (notice I said ME) Anyway, I love the antiques you have on your post. I’m not sure there are many antique malls here in the desert. I’m going to research it though.
Brandee 🙂
ps. If I lived near you I’d be your shopping buddy!
Rho, first off, so glad you got to have a girls day out. Such fun!
As for the old classics in furniture, I absolutely agree, you can find things for great prices and much nicer quality. One of my favorites is my china hutch for $150! It’s small but adorable and just large enough to hold my grandmother’s china. Plus, it fits the space. It’s probably from the 1940’s as well.
Glad you found that beauty!
I like to mix old and new!
I can’t stand to go into someone’s house that looks like pottery barn exploded in there! It just doesn’t have a warm, homey feeling!
Plus, the old stuff is made sooooom much better than the newer stuff!
Do you ever read Cote de Texas? She and I have become e-mail friends, and she has recommended to me that I need to get off my new furniture kick and look more seriously at antiques. I guess I am influenced by the prices of the antiques at the stores in Atlanta – SKY HIGH! There are some amazing French antique stores in Atlanta, but the prices are truly astronomical. I just don’t have the time, patience, or interest to go to all of the smaller less expensive places…I have never been one who likes to sort through a lot of stuff to find the one good piece. What I like about the expensive antique stores is that they have done the picking and sorting for me already!
Loved it, Rhoda! You’ve got the knack for scouting out just the right piece! It will look wonderful in your home.
I’m still looking for an old farm table…I planned space for a table to seat 12…but I have not found one yet. Let me know if you happen to see one on one of your jaunts!