Broyhill Sculptra Desk on Austin Craigslist

It's not often that I see an unnamed Broyhill Sculptra desk on Craigslist these days, but this one is simply labeled "mid-century modern desk." Still, it's not the super deal you hope to find when you stumble upon an unmarked item. It's a little bit of a deal, but pretty close to market price for the Austin market.

Guess that just speaks to the aesthetic of the Broyhill Sculptra line. Even when sellers don't know what they have, they know they have something special.

Paramount Mid-Century X-Mas Tree Topper

Back when we were making our final decision on our mid-century modern tree topper, one of the star tree toppers that I loved was the white and red Paramount Tree-Top Star. I could never find one to actually buy, so it was never a serious contender.

Well, it must be Christmas in July because I found one at the last estate sale I went to. It's not in perfect condition, so it probably won't make it to the top of the tree, but it'll look good hanging in the front window.

Vintage Christmas Ornaments from an Estate Sale

I did a little estate sale-ing this weekend and had a little luck. That luck came in form of a big bag full of  vintage ornaments. Most of them were your standard color orbs with the shine taken off by age, but there were three teardrop gems in the bag as well. For $1, I couldn't pass them up. After some digging, I found a few other ones worth keeping: a matte, translucent orb (which I've never seen before), a few string-covered balls and a single, shiny blue drop. They'll all be on the front of the tree this year.

Mid-Century Furniture Auction in Austin

Part of my weekend was spent bidding at the Austin Auction Gallery's "Italian and Danish Mid-Century Modern" auction. I was lucky enough to be be the high bidder on two items: This Danish rosewood wall unit

And this Italian mahogany mid-century modern bed.

The wall unit will go in the dining room (instead of installing a series of shelves) and the bed will go in the kid's room as a big-kid bed.

You could have opened your own vintage store with all the mid-century furniture on sale this weekend, and most of the items went for much less than I would have expected. (We got great deals on both of our pieces.) Although, all of the sideboards and buffets fetched a pretty penny. I guess a few of my Vintage Views interviewees were right when they said, people always need something to put their TV on.

Mid-Century Kid's Microscope Set

I hit my first Austin estate sale in a while. It was on a Thursday and Friday, which led me to believe that it wouldn't be fully picked over by the time I got there. And it wasn't; there was a great kitchen table and a few other pieces left. 

One of the smaller pieces left was a mid-century kid's microscope set. I had to pick it up for the kid in hopes of a happy atomic future. Also, the design of the case (with the old school Steel logo) and the materials inside was worth the cost of purchase.

Broyhill Sculptra at Kyle Estate Sale

If you're looking for some Broyhill Sculptra furniture in the Austin area you might want to check out this estate sale in Kyle. They have a Broyhill Sculptra china cabinet, coffee table and king size bedroom set. If you want it though, I'd get there early on Saturday, it's not often that you see that much Sculptra in one place.

My Mid-Century Austin Estate Sale Finds

Last week I mentioned an estate sale I hit up. It was one of the better ones I've been to for kitchen items. The kitchen is the room that we still need more mid-century details in, so I picked up a few things.

Like this candy dish / serving dish

And this cheese plater

They also had a gold and ruby version of my mid-century cuff links so I had to pick those up in case the wife ever wants to accessories with gold, I can still match.

But the best find was a monstrous mid-century dinnerware set. There are 13 complete sets (plate, salad plate, bowl, dessert bowl, coffee cup and saucer), 3 serving bowls, 2 serving platers and enough extra pieces that we don't have to be too scared if something breaks. All told, we got just under 100 pieces of of this avocado green dinnerware set, which has a nice fade to it.

The only downside it that it's unmarked and other than a few people selling a coffee cup or two, I haven't been able to find out anything about the set.

Just look at this handle, who wouldn't want a few of these in their cabinet?

Austin Estate Sale: 3202 Silverleaf

I hit this estate sale during my lunch break today. I knew if I waited till tomorrow morning most of the things I was interested in would be gone.

When I got there, this red cookware, which I was hoping to snag, was already gone. Expect for one lonely pair of salt and pepper shakers.

But there was a complete set of mid-century dinnerware still there.

More than complete, there was 13 sets (dining plates, salad plates, coffee cups, saucers, bowls and dessert bowls), 3 serving bowls, 2 serving platers and a few extra pieces. The price was right and we've been looking for some mid-century dinnerware to add to our kitchen, so that's where it's sitting now (more pics to come soon).

I also picked up a few other bits and bobs, but I did leave a few good things behind, like this mid-century lamp, which also lights up in the base.

And some really great jewelry. I'm not a big jewelry shopper at estate sales, but the collection here was particularly nice. I got my wife what I thought was the nicest necklace and I picked up a pair of vintage cufflinks for myself (again, more pics to come).

 

So, some of the nicest pieces are gone, but if you're looking for an estate sale to hit this weekend, the one at 3202 Silverleaf is probably still worth while.

Vintage Pumpkin Candy Bucket and Carafe

I hit an estate sale in Allandale this weekend and came away with two good finds. First, this vintage pirate jack-o-lantern with a mustache pumpkin candy bucket.

It's your standard plastic pumpkin candy bucket, except 100 times better because it has both an eye patch and a handlebar mustache. It's missing the handle, but we needed a bowl to store the Halloween candy we hand out, so this will be perfect. Or we might just put it in the window.

Second, this mid-century coffee carafe.

I'm kind of a sucker for starbursts these days and this baby's got them in spades.

There were some other interesting mid-century pieces there, but we don't have any more room for chairs or other random furniture, like a magazine racks. But it leads me to believe that the best plan for estate sales is to stick to mid-century neighborhoods in Austin, the number of good mid-century items increases greatly in these areas.

Mid-Century Austin Find: Brasilia Desk and Fiesta Light

A couple of interesting items came up on Austin's craigslist over the weekend. First up, there's a Broyhill Brasilia desk for sale here.

And an orange Moe Light Fiesta pendant light for sale here.

I'd love to have both in our home, but we just don't have the space. Maybe you do.