I am an estate sale lady. This means I love estate sales, but it also means my job is to produce them and it is to my benefit (and yours), especially if you’re an LA native, that you gain an appreciation for shopping estate sales. Here’s hoping I’m convincing!

Think about everything inside a home, in the cupboards, on the floor, in the closets, . From linens and china, couture clothing and designer handbags, to antique and modern furniture, and all kinds of home décor. And it’s not just grandma’s old stuff (though grandma’s had style too!), some people are moving or simply redecorating.

And the best part is that its sold as a bargain… That Le Corbusier dining table you were drooling over at DWR, you might be able to find it for less than 50% off retail. That vacuum cleaner you just bought at Bed Bath & Beyond, you could’ve bought it last month for a fraction of the price.

Here’s a little tip – bargain! Estate sales usually last three days, Friday – Sunday, go on the second or third day and make an offer. Not everyone will negotiate with you but most everyone will take your offer back to their client if the item doesn’t sell for what they’re asking.

By now you’re probably thinking this sounds a lot like a garage sale. It is. It’s like a garage sales older more refined sibling, where you’re going to find a lot more than closet cast-offs. Where everything is clean, priced, and presented with respect.

And for your inner voyeur it all takes place inside someone’s home. In LA that means access to some fantastic estates that you might normally see only from the outside. Estate sales grant you the freedom to roam and in the most innocent way, to root through peoples lives.

A tad late in the game this post comes with only three days left of the “Mega-Monumental Garage Sale” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. As of November 17th the museum has opened it’s doors to hoards of second-hand shoppers looking for a bargain and a piece of history – this likely marks the first time a museum has sold piece-by-piece it’s exhibition. All items were donated by the conceptual artist, Martha Rosler, the museum, and the general public.

Visit the museum before this rare event is over on November 30th.

Check out this amazing dining room table available on Craigslist! It was one of those pieces that we surprisingly couldn’t shake at the Brentwood estate sale, and couldn’t bare to donate. Designed as a collaboration between the current owners and LA based Tom Colgrove this stunning piece has an air of eastern influence, unusual dovetail detailing on the tabletop, and it doesn’t really get better than handmade!

If you think it’s as beautiful as we do and, unlike us, you have space for this gorgeous 8-person dining table make an offer and take it home!

Find it Here

This week we set up in a lovely Woodland Hills neighborhood just off Woodlake, very close to the 101 freeway. It was a great mixture of mid-century modern furnishings and decor, next to Asian furnishings and decor. It was a stellar sale with so many new faces, we hope we’ll see again!!

There were several racks full of ladies clothing, some vintage dresses and kaftans, lots of newer dressy pant suits, all in immaculate condition (we’re pulling them out of dry cleaning bags!).

We had all kinds of kitchen items, including some fantastic table top pieces by Dorothy Thorpe and Reed & Barton.

The furnishings were so well cared for they seemed barely used. This included a gorgeous Asian living room set (couch, love seat, console table, coffee table, two side tables), Asian-style burl wood dining room set (Dining Table, Hutch, Credenza/Buffet), a large ornate high-quality bedroom set, and several covet worthy mid-century modern pieces (rattan swivel chairs, several rattan pieces, mid-century modern wall attached desk and wall unit, low credenza/side tables). Some really great quality pieces and some very cool ones!

A collection amassed since the 50′s was for sale in this cute mid-century pocket neighborhood of Downey. Our client has a degree in art history and has curated many fabulous art exhibits for years. A collector since childhood was ready to let go of a fabulous collection varying from fifties clothes to ancient artifacts.

The decor and furnishings were in the gorgeous California mid-century style. A huge collection of vintage 50′s toys, vintage clothes (hats, purses, kimonos shoes, men’s cufflinks), vintage stetsons, antique cloissone, vintage costume jewelry, native american baskets, oceanic mask, sterling silver coffee/tea, 50′s collectible large walking dolls, Steiff, Brown Jordan 1960 patio set, oak lawyer’s book cases, midcentury furniture, drexel, antique trunks, contemporary art, crystal, safe, office furniture, Chico’s clothes, Frisco Railroad collectibles, antique wooden ironing board, 1953 trike, 50′s stereo, 60′s Lps, costume jewelry including navajo sterling and turquoise squash blossom necklace.