Like any proper style-obsessed person I have more unnecessary vintage pieces than Miley has practice foam fingers. Luckily what that means for you is that I’m selling A LOT of my favorite vintage pieces that for one reason or another may not fit in our new place (details on that … hopefully Monday).
Sure, I’m going to have a big garage sale where I’ll be selling all my extra lampshades, small accessories, clothes, cat towers, and basically EVERYTHING I OWN, but for the big stuff that is actually worth a lot of money (that I paid a lot of money for) I decided to go a different route. Craigslist sadly is not an option for me — I’ve tried, I do it, I like it but it takes WAYYYYY too much time/coordinating to sell a lot of pieces. So for my moving sales I decided to do Chairish, which is basically a national consignment site for well-vetted vintage or used pieces. It’s all the pretty stuff from Craigslist, basically.
Here’s why I decided to go with Chairish:
1. There are a few different levels of service but I chose ‘Concierge’ service (now only available in LA and San Francisco, but more cities coming soon!), which means I basically don’t do anything; they pick up all the pieces and measure/shoot and upload for you. I wrote the descriptions since I know the history of each piece, but they would do that for you, too. I would only do this level of service if you are doing a ton of pieces or are crazy busy because their cut is 50 percent, but man, to me it’s TOTALLY worth it. If you are just selling a few things and don’t mind storing it til it sells then you can do all the work yourself and keep 80 percent.
2. It ships nationally and it calculates shipping and handling for you. All of a sudden I have a much larger audience who will appreciate and potentially buy these pieces.
3. Each piece is vetted so your pretty vintage pieces aren’t surrounded by someone’s stupid broken Ikea Lack table. It’s curated really well, which means it sells all of the pieces better.
ENOUGH about WHY I chose Chairish, what about what I’m selling!!!!!
The answer … Sooooooooo much good stuff, it’s stupid. You can see the whole collection HERE on their site, but for some extra unnecessary description see below:
1. {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Pastel Portrait of Woman with Hibiscus, $265: I have a thing for vintage portraits of strangers, but sadly Brian does not share this love.
2. {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Grand Dame Oil Portrait, $375*: Again, with the portraits. But this one is huge and so regal and dignified. You know she speaks in an English accent and not like Julie Andrews in ‘My Fair Lady accent, ‘ NAY, more like Julie Andrews in ‘Mary Poppins.’ Practically perfect in every way.
3. {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Portrait of Young Boy, $340*: Oh, the peach shirt against the angsty gray sky. This oil painting is so weird and lovely (and huge). If only Brian didn’t want to divorce me every time he saw it.
4. Vintage Nautical Sailing Photograph, $375: I found this photograph at the flea market and I love it because the background is all washed out grays/blues and then WHAM the hot pink of the sail pops. I had it custom framed with a hot pink metal frame.
5. {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Portrait of Sailor in Blue Frame, $450*: I CHANGE MY MIND!!! I want this one back. He has been in MANY a shoots with me and I miss him already. He looks like who I fantasized about making out with when I was in junior high and had never been kissed. This guy. Which is probably why Brian wanted him out. Insecure bastard.
6. {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Portrait of Man in Red Frame, $355*: This man is new to the family and already leaving, which I already feel regretful about. The colors are really beautiful and I had him framed in a modern mahogany floater frame.
7. Vintage Chrome ’70s Balloon Floor Lamp, $300: Hey, who’s a modern lamp there in the corner sitting all pretty? You know who you are.
8. (NOW ON SALE} Ming Style White Arm Chairs (Pair), $1125*: You guys, these are BEAUTIFUL chairs. Let me tell you a story. These were bought with one of my best friends here for her house. They were originally black and chippy with bad upholstery, but we loved the shape, style , and the brass accents. So we had them white matte lacquered ($300), recovered in vintage hand embroidered Hmong wedding fabric ($400) and then installed them in her house. Unfortunately her husband (why do they ruin EVERYTHING??) wasn’t as on board with them as we were. They found two that they both loved and WHAM they went into my storage unit. I love them very much and I want them to have a good home. Please buy these girls.
9. Mies Van der Rohe Inspired Chrome Vintage Chair, $500: Not sure why I’m selling this. I actually love this chair and it works everywhere. It’s that chair you just put in a corner and call it a day. It’s sculptural, it’s the perfect scale, and just overall great. But when I purge, I purge and someone here is winning.
10. Vintage Red Cross Symbol on Linen, $450: I know, I KNOW!!!!! WHY would I sell this? I don’t know, you guys. I’ve had it for a long time, it’s been in the family for years, and yet the last year I had it in storage. It felt under appreciated, under represented, neglected, and sad in there. It’s such a great cross (that you can see in ‘HGTV magazine’ as well as ALL OVER THE INTERNET), and it should be appreciated.
11. Large Dark Blue Club Chairs (Pair), $1500: These I may end up buying back because they are the perfect TV watching ’70s lounge chairs in the most perfect blue velvet. They are low and wide and scream comfort but in a ’70s key party kinda way.
12. {NOW ON SALE!)Vintage Barstool Brass with Upholstered Seat (Pair), $525*: If there was only one more … I need three stools, I do, so that is the ONLY reason I’m selling these two stools. The shape and finish of that brass is amazing. Sure, they need to be recovered but that is a $60 upholstery job. I’m so excited just talking about them. So Kelly Wearstler, if I can even be so honored to type those words.
13. Vintage Folding Army Cot, $250: I know this seems random but I bought this because it’s one of those things that you can put a lot of different places, like in a sunroom, at the foot of your bed, in front of a big window to nap with bearcat on, etc, etc. The wood is perfectly worn without being too damaged and the canvas is in great vintage condition.
14. Brass Stag Head Sculpture, $275: I love this guy and it has adorned many of my mantels, credenzas, and dressers. The only reason that I’m selling it is that it can’t be in another shot. I’ve used it so many times that I think people are sick of seeing it so it’s OUT, and time for some other brass shaped animal to takes its roll.
15 {NOW ON SALE!} Vintage Cocktail Table Patchwork Brass, $565*: BRASS and COPPER. You know how I love a good mixed metal piece (especially brass and copper). This guy was for a client and was super expensive (although I saw it on 1st dibs for $4100 and I CERTAINLY did not spend that on it:)). But then it didn’t fit, probably because I measured incorrectly. I love it because it’s just so weird and ’70s. The shape is totally interesting and it’s just such a piece. This is a massive steal because I’m pretty sure this guy is worth real money (look HERE for all the others that have sold before on 1st dibs) but I’m just selling it for what I bought it for. Congratulations to the new owner of this bad boy.
So there you have it. I have another round of 17 that are going to be on sale in a couple weeks, but still making some decisions as to what those pieces are. Meanwhile, check out the whole sale HERE and get to shopping, folks. These things aren’t going to appreciate themselves.