The weekend I visited my parents for Father’s Day, my sister and nephews and I took a let’s-get-out-of-the-house sashay down to downtown Saltillo (I will NOT admit to accidentally leaving my brother’s giant diesel truck’s emergency brake on during the entire trip, and wondering why accelerating was such a pain in the ass), which included a trip into the Saltillo Landing Cafe/Grocery as well as a peek inside the Robertson family’s antiques store, which I had not been in before. Last time I went into the building, it was a gameroom-slash-knickknacks store being run by Clifton, an enterprising young man I had graduated high school with. I’m told he has run off to California — smart boy — and now his parents run the space and keep it stocked with some actually freaking awesome wares for reasonable prices (check out that link for a glimpse of an amazing baby blue vintage fridge; also just out of the frame is a $125 functional? floor radio from EONS AGO). My sister, always the one in our family to sniff out a deal, asked if we could sneak into the back room and see what wasn’t yet on the showroom floor. We’re sweet-talkin’ Southern gals, so naturally we got our way. And lo and behold, we stumbled upon that dresser (which I will henceforth refer to as a sideboard) above, as well as this chest of drawers. They were marked down from $40 apiece to $25. That’s right, math-heads, $50 for the set. I cleaned up the joy piss that ran down my leg an after some obligatory DO-I-REALLY-NEED-THIS-HOW-WILL-I-GET-IT-HOME hemming and hawing, I was leaving my number with the fill-in clerk (the proprietor’s mother-in-law, adorably) and a few days later I got the call that I could indeed have the pieces.
My brother delivered them to the house Saturday on the honor system; I haven’t paid a dime for these beauties yet, and the seller even sent along a can of paint for touch-ups, as she had planned to paint the pieces before selling them. While they could use some work — there are cigarette burns and some water damage and they both smell musty — I just kind of adore the color that they are, even if it clashes with my wall. There’s something sunbursty about that color, the way it darkens at the edges. And don’t even get me started on the hardware.
I originally had it in my head after the first viewing that I had some art deco on my hands but I don’t think that’s the case. I’m terrible at identifying furniture and architecture styles, and the internet has been surprisingly unhelpful in my sleuthing efforts. If you can look at this and tell me the style (other than mid-century modern, which is my closest guess, which probably means it’s anything but), I’d be mighty grateful. I feel like I really lucked out here, and I want to reiterate that it was my sister who pushed me to go for it. She could taste the bargain victory whereas I was merely smelling whiffs of it (I have never been good at thrifting, and I will never be a Dave or Amy and I mostly accept that).
…you rang?
60’s, i’d guess. the hardware on the front of the doors definitely screams “space age” but it could be misleading, or have been replaced at a later date, although the finish suggests that’s it’s pretty much original through and through.
it’s a total score though, especially at that price, chips and nicks and whatever notwithstanding. i’d rather see a true vintage piece like this (scratches and dents notwithstanding) any day of the week than something that had been “fixed” at home by hand by a series of well meaning but incapable amateurs. trust me, put the paint away and leave it alone. it looks fine as is. ditto on the chesty drawers. nothing wrong with either of them that a little lemon pledge and a few direct applications of febreze won’t fix.
next time you have a few spare minutes come see me at mifa, i’ll take you straight to the good stuff if we have any. good work lt
Yes! I should have mentioned the seller said the pieces were from the ’60s. I’m a terrible furniture detective. I think the hardware is original. It’s pretty grungy and has seen better days. I don’t have any plans to do much to these beyond the obligatory Febrezing, and honestly, the more potent mustiness wore off within a day, so that’s good. You really gotta stick your head in those drawers to smell the worst of it. But that’s not something I’m going to REQUIRE my guests to do (although if anyone wants to, they totally can).
I am totally going to come see you at MIFA soon. I’ve been plotting that for a week now but have been shitty on the follow-through. I’ll touch base with you soon to figure out a good time.
that is a beautiful find and picture.
Why, thank you kindly!