I went to no where short of one dozen yard and estate sales on Saturday morning. That is not including the multiple drive by sales. Those are the sales with the standard kid crap that does not warrant me getting out of the car. You could call me committed. I hit those 12 sales in about 2 and a half hours. For the number of sales shopped, I probably should have turned up more treasures but the good finds have been slim lately.
One of the first sales yielded lovely Roseville pottery and depression glass. I was excited to find them until I found the prices. This lady was selling them for full blown antique shop retail prices…on her front lawn. Ho-hum. I left there with a couple of old issues of Domino mag for 10 cents each. My first purchase of the day. I loved that design magazine. Why oh why did they stop publishing it?
Then I was on my way to what was advertised as a neighborhood sale in a retirement community. Ooh! Generally old people = old good stuff. I should have factored in the obvious. They’ve already downsized to move to the not-so-quaint retirement community. They must’ve sold their good stuff years ago. This sale seriously had used bed pans and walkers. Eww. I was out of there long before I could hit the bake sale they were pushing.
Fortunately, on the way to the old person village I literally took a wrong turn. And landed in an enchanted sea of sales that weren’t even on my planned route! Bonus. That’s where I got most of my finds…
This charming luggage set. It’s amazing how little they had to pack in the 1950s yet how chic the people were.
Even the interior of the suitcase is fab. They’re lined with jade colored satin.
Almost everything came in pairs. Two satin, vintage hangers. Two old advertising rulers to match my office.
An adorable tea towel. Never used. Tags still on. “Be My Helper. Be My Love.” Um, ok.
But the pick of the day was one of my last stops.
A set of 4 chippy blue and white chairs.
When I bought them, I thought I’d sand them down and paint them to coordinate with a dining table that I plan to re-do this summer. Then I got them home and realized that they match our kitchen in their current shabby state. What to do? Sand them for the dining room or leave them as-is for the kitchen?
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Circa Dee 
Your luck was the same as mine- I hit an unadvertised sale and found a lot of garden decor. Your luggage looks to be in great shape. If your chairs are structurally sound, match your kitchen set and will fit there, I say leave them as is. Just ask yourself where you’re most likely to use them. 🙂
Am visiting from Rhoda’s.
~ Sue
I love the suitcases and those chairs are also awesome! I would leave them as-is, they are so cute!
Karen….
Amazing finds! Wow do I love those suitcases!
Jo-Anna
http://aprettylifeinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/
I’m such a sucker for old chairs! My husband has had to intervene, and I am not allowed to buy chairs anymore. 🙂
Love the color inside those suitcases. You found a great treasure.
Karen G
http://www.itsstilllife.com
Thrifting Commandment #8: TOUCH NOT THE CHIPPY PAINT.
Those chairs are wonderful as they are.
If you need more convincing, the strip job would be a real bear and you could not use the chairs right away.
🙂
May I ask how much you paid for them? Just out of idle nosiness?
I offered $20 for all 4 and they jumped on it. Maybe too much? I think I need to remove the paint because there is just so much grime that won’t come clean. You can’t really see that in the pictures. Plus, I’m pretty sure I am going to use them with a dining room table so the colors may not match. It’s all still up in there and I keep visiting them in the garage while I pine over the decision. To be continued… Thanks so much for your interest!
I think that’s an excellent price. Just look at the detail on them. A lot of work went into building them!