Furniture Consignment Gallery Blog

We pulled up in front of a massive mansion earlier this week to pick up some furniture. The owner, a wealthy businessman, was gutting the house down to the studs, then renovating and redecorating. He wanted us to sell his furniture - but he wasn't going to make it easy for us.  

Rule #1: Do NOT park in the driveway. He didn't want tire marks or oil leaks from our truck staining his beautiful, black ribbon of asphalt. He was very fussy about his driveway. In fact, he boasted, he forced workers to use plastic shovels to clean the snow from the driveway by hand in the winter so the surface wouldn't be scratched by a plow.

Tiptoeing across his lawn was tough - but well worth it. We loaded up several truckloads of high quality furniture, which you'll find in our showrooms this weekend along with furniture from several other high-end homes in Boston.

And, yes, it is true. The very rich are different from you and me. Plastic shovels? Well, if you insist. Which is why they choose to partner with us more than any other consignment business in New England.

Why Furniture Consignment Gallery?

I can think of three reasons. One, they trust us to come into their homes and to handle their possessions with care and integrity. Two, we have the skilled people and the right equipment to carefully extract items from their homes without damaging the hand-painted wallpaper or the marble floors. And, three, they know that their furniture will be beautifully displayed in our three showrooms - and that it will sell.

Mr. Big Shot insisted that he didn't need the money, but he knows his furniture - gently used - still has value. "I want to see some money from this stuff," he said gruffly. "I know I'm going to get the best price by consigning with you. Then I'll donate the money to charity."

So it isn't about the money ... but it is about the money.

Working with the super-successful can be challenging, but we do it well. Our business is built to handle it. When you visit the showroom this weekend, feel free to chuckle a bit, knowing we had to skip lightly across some guy's lawn to bring you the best furniture in New England.

Like any red-blooded retailer, I loved the state tax-free holiday last weekend. Our cash register was smoking after hours of ringing up one sale after another. The showrooms were jammed with shoppers eager to take advantage of the savings. Some were familiar faces. Others were new to Furniture Consignment Gallery.

One newcomer was absolutely giddy at some of the exquisite pieces she found in our showroom. She'd discovered two objects of lust - a Sheraton style sideboard and an inlaid china cabinet - and the longer she lingered in the showroom the more she found that would be perfect for her home.

 "Do you deliver?" she asked. "Of course," I told her.

Suddenly, a look of consternation crossed her face. "Does your truck say Furniture Consignment Gallery?" she asked anxiously.

Turns out she lives in an upscale waterfront neighborhood on the South Shore. She didn't want her neighbors to know that she was shopping for bargains at a consignment store. She was afraid that our truck might signal she was suffering financial distress in a town that prized financial success. What if the neighbors snickered at her behind her back?

Little did she know that our delivery trucks cruise her neighborhood regularly picking up and dropping off furniture. In fact, we know every lawn ornament on the town's impeccably manicured lawns. Here's a secret: her neighbors may be moneyed, but they're also blue-blood Yankees. They appreciate quality, but they also insist on a good deal. And they know they can't satisfy both of those demands in traditional furniture stores anymore.

Mrs. Insecurity is in for a treat when we deliver her furniture this week. She has no idea how impressed her neighbors will be at the treasures she found at FCG - and her financial savvy in snagging a bargain price on that china cabinet with the inlaid satin wood. So, yes, our trucks will be rolling proudly into the finest of neighborhoods this week - and every week.

So What is all the Hoopla about?
After all the tax savings is only 6.25%. Other than unleashing the libertarian within, the savings isn't great enough to cause a fuss. But, at Furniture Consignment Gallery we think it is a big deal. So we are making it one! This week only, you can take an extra 10% off the current price which brings your savings up to 16.25%. Now that is some hoopla!

Here are the details: 

TAX-FREE  Sale Event. Take 10% OFF the current price! Starts today on August 11th at 10AM. You can take 10% of the current price and take the item with you today! If you want to wait to purchase the item on the Sales Tax Holidays of Saturday and Sunday August 16 & 17, we can reserve your item, process your order over the weekend and then you will save the extra 6.25%.

Items reserved for purchase for the tax holiday can be picked up over the weekend, but not before. Delivery trucks will be operating all next week and we can schedule your delivery at the time that you reserve your item.

All Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Rules and Regulations apply. Under Massachusetts State Guidelines, items that exceed $2,500 are not eligible for the sales tax holiday exemption.

Our trucks will be running all this week, picking up items and bringing them in for the sale event. Great items are schedule to hit the showroom floors throughout the week and we will update you along the way.

Take 10% off today! The Sale begins Now on Monday August 11 and runs Through Sunday August 17th.*

*Items that drop in price during the sale event and all items that are in final markdown status may not be eligible for any further discounting.

"No, no, no!" Ron, the veteran manager of our store in Hanover, exclaimed excitedly. He was on the phone talking to a woman who was moving and thinking about selling a beloved dining set. "Don't sell it," he advised her. "You've got to keep it!"

If you overheard that conversation - and you don't know FCG - you might have been puzzled. After all, we're in the business of consigning quality furniture - and hers definitely qualified. Her dining room set was from Stickley's Mission Collection. Made with quarter sawn white oak, the set was beautiful and would someday be an heirloom. It would have sold instantly in any of our stores.

Was Ron crazy?

Actually, no. The woman had told him she wasn't sure about her plans. She didn't know where she was moving or whether the dining set would fit - in size or style - in her new home. Ron knew intuitively that she might regret selling a treasured piece before she'd had time to think through the decision. Sure, FCG would have made money consigning the set, but he was right to advise against the sale.

At FCG, we pride ourselves on our honesty. If you see an item on our website and call us to ask about the condition of the piece, you are going to get an honest appraisal from us. That means we're going to tell you about the dings and dents. If you call us about consigning a piece that you might regret selling later, we'll caution you to think twice.

"Put it in storage for the short-term," Ron told the woman. "Once you've decided where you're living, then you can evaluate whether the dining set is a good fit for your new home. And if you do decide to sell, then you know who to call - FCG!"

I was ready for a break. So I welcomed the brief lull in the store when the phones went silent and the parking lot emptied earlier this week. It didn't last long. Suddenly, I heard a massive crash. A large mirror had jumped off the wall to its death. Shards of glass were everywhere.

The dog days of summer are upon us. Even the furniture is getting agitated.

July is a weird month. That's when the showroom seems to turn into a confessional. Is it the heat or the humidity? I don't know, but for some reason, that's when wayfarers wander into our stores and pour out their hearts.

Yesterday, a pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. Four rambunctious boys spilled out of the cab and tore through the showroom like monkeys swinging on jungle vines. The oldest was about fourteen, the youngest was a toddler. Their father followed, looking sweaty and irritable.

"Cute kids?" I offered hesitantly.

"They're driving me nuts!" Dad replied. "You know, I thought we were done after two kids. I even went to the doc" - he winced - "so there wouldn't be any, you know, surprises. Then, after ten years, my wife decides she wants more. So back I go. You know, to the doc."

He closed his eyes and shook his head wearily. "Twelve grand it cost me to fix the plumbing! And that's just for starters! I'm on the hook, man. I'm on the hook for a long time. I'm looking at, like, sixteen years of college tuition."  

What do you say at a moment like that? I had no idea. When in doubt, my motto is to talk furniture. "That's a mighty nice desk you've got out there in the truck, buddy," I blurted out. "Mighty nice! I think we can sell that desk and put some money back in your wallet."

Readers, if you're in the market for some entertainment, you gotta come visit one of our showrooms. Comedy, tragedy, we've got it it in spades in July. And if you're in the market for a desk, you'll make one poor guy a little happier.

He shot into the showroom like he'd been launched straight from the corner office by a cannon. His white shirt was crisply starched, his shoes were shined and he reeked of expensive cologne. "I need a table," he said abruptly and somewhat angrily. Nothing fancy. Four legs and a flat surface. Where he could drink his coffee and read the paper. Alone.

Two days later, a black Escalade ripped into our parking lot. Out jumped a guy in surgical scrubs, a surgeon, sweaty after hours in the operating room. "I need a chair," he snapped. Something comfortable, he said, but he had to be able to fit it in his car and carry it up three flights of stairs, by himself, to his new and empty apartment. We found him a nice barrel chair at a reasonable price. Now at least he has a spot in which to sip a stiff drink after work.

What's going on? Two different guys, same week, same story. They came home from work to find the locks changed and the golf clubs scattered all over the lawn. I guess May must be the month for disgruntled wives to really clean house.

At least Wife #1 was able to offer one small act of mercy to the schmuck in the driveway. "Where do I go?" he asked his wife as he stuffed his belongings into the trunk of the car. "I don't care," she yelled out the window. "Get an apartment." Shocked, he stammered, "But I don't even have a bed - or a table."

"Look at the detail!" one of our regular customers exclaimed stopping short right in front of a newly arrived item, an Eldred Wheeler Collector's Edition Bonnet Top Secretary.

No wonder. With 12 small drawers, 14 secret drawers, and exquisite fan carvings, the secretary is an extraordinary example of the art of woodworking. What caught her eye, though, were the two small and delicate shelves of wood that slid smoothly out from beneath the cabinet doors. "What are these?"     

"Those are the candle slides," Ron, our showroom manager and furniture expert, explained. "Before electricity, you would need a candle near to provide light for your work."

The Eldred Wheeler piece is a reproduction, but it tells a lot about the way of life in Massachusetts in the 1700s. Woodworkers spent days - even weeks - on the fan carvings and details. Hidden drawers and subtle pigeonholes were a secret delight for the owner.

Which got me thinking.  In last week's blog, I killed off Queen Anne, declaring that once-popular furniture style now out-of-date. Pieces as exquisite as the Eldred Wheeler are rare - and so expensive that few but the most ardent collector can afford them. So what's next for the rest of us?

We are at a crossroads. We're taller and fatter. We aren't farmers and small-town laborers like they were in the 1700s. We roam the planet like hunter-gatherers now. We shed belongings - and buy more - with every move. We like quality but we won't pay for it.  

What does that mean for furniture? Are we happy to live on chunks of foam wrapped in polyester? Has furniture become the new Dixie cup: disposable? Are we still willing to pay for quality, detail, character and art? What do you think?

Until her death in 1714, Queen Anne ruled Great Britain for a dozen years. Hers was a short but dismal reign. She suffered from gout, watery eyes, multiple miscarriages and morbid obesity. She was an unlovely woman - who nonetheless gave her name to a very lovely style of furniture.

Ironically, the Queen Anne style is all about sleek legs and delicate curves - quite unlike the corpulent monarch with the legendary appetite. For three centuries, her furniture enjoyed a modest and enduring popularity. Then for some reason, in the 1980s, Queen Anne furniture became the style statement of a generation of baby boomers.

Every leading American furniture-maker filled its showrooms with glossy tables made of cherry wood perched on shapely cabriolet legs. For a decade, Queen Anne ruled the roost. Walk into any four-bedroom colonial in an upscale community and you would find a predictable scene: Queen Anne tables, chairs, desks, lowboys, breakfronts and highboys, some decorated with shells and others with acanthus leaves.

Fast forward to 2014, and the furniture with the can-can legs has lost its appeal.

The Queen is dead - for at least the next century. That's what our customers are telling us. The few pieces we have taken on consignment in the last year typically spend a few lonely weeks, ignored, on the showroom floor before we return them to their owners.

Still, some people are loyal royalists. One woman called us last week asking if we would take fifty pieces of furniture she'd bought in 1986. The stuff was in pristine condition. Protected from the sun, the flame-stitched cushions hadn't faded a bit. No ding or dent married those cabriolet legs. But I had to tell her the Queen wouldn't be lying in state at FCG. She was crushed at the news.

I have strong opinions – and so does my wife, Diana. When we disagree, the staff runs for cover. After nearly ten years of running a business together, we’re pretty good at verbal sparring. Our arguments can be intense, animated and loud. (Hey, I’m Italian!)  At the end of the day, though, we always remember Rule #1: Don’t take the business home. 

One topic is sparking debate – and we haven’t resolved it yet. Does staging help sell a home? Staging is the art of editing and arranging furniture and eliminating clutter to make a house more appealing to buyers. Professional stagers buy or rent furniture and accessories such as art to enhance a home. Many of Boston’s top stagers are customers of FCG.

Since we’re selling our own home – and we have three stores of furniture from which to borrow – this is just theoretical. I’m in favor of staging. Here’s why:

• I think reducing clutter allows buyers to visualize how they would live in your home. I think buyers find clutter distracting, cementing the idea that it’s your home – not theirs.

• I think that bright, neutral paint and lots of lighting make a house more appealing to potential buyers – even if they are privately planning to paint the dining room a deep shade of eggplant later.

• I think less is more. Scaling down the furniture makes a house look bigger, in my view, giving buyers the impression they are getting more house for their buck.
•  I think it is important to put those antiques in storage and update the furniture because most buyers, especially younger ones buying a starter home, want a more modern look.

Diana disagrees. Here’s her view

• Clutter is irrelevant. She believes potential buyers are capable of seeing beyond the framed kids’ art and the hockey gear and imagining themselves in a home.

•  She says buyers can imagine a room emptied of its weary-looking wing chairs and filled with their own chic furniture. In fact, she believes, pandering to some imagined buyer’s style preference is a waste of time, money and energy.
  

• Staging is fake – and hard on sellers. She insists that buyers’ decisions about which house to buy are based more on complex issues such as the size and layout of a house, the neighborhood, the yard, the town, and the school system. You can’t gussy those up with staging. 

So what do you think of our great debate? You can flee – like our staffers – or you can jump in and let us know. Take our survey about staging and we’ll post the results for you in a couple of days.

"It's like having a baby." That's how my wife Diana described the opening of our third store last year. She nailed it with that metaphor. Opening a store means months of anticipation punctuated by bouts of intense anxiety. There are predictable checkpoints along the way - and a few unexpected surprises thrown in for good measure. And once the new addition is here, you can't imagine life without it.

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of our showroom in Plymouth. Diana and I and our three boys cut the blue ribbon at our opening, surrounded by family, friends and staffers. Then, we turned the enterprise over to our hardworking and ambitious team.

How that team came together sometimes seems like a mystery. Denise knocked on the door when we were painting the vast, empty store. She walked in, grabbed a brush and never left. Donna brought a combustible energy and a great sense of design. Rebecca contributed her superb artistic skills, photographing every item for the website. Nick, Cory and Tevin, our movers, fill the showroom with furniture week after week - and help customers fit their treasures into their vehicles.

And, of course, there's Brad, showman extraordinaire. He moved from sunny Florida to snowy Massachusetts to pursue his lifelong dream of managing a furniture store - and to indulge in some sibling rivalry. His twin brother, Ron, manages our store in Hanover. Over the past year, Brad has created a team, a culture and a shopping experience as exciting as any in the furniture business.

Anniversary Sale Details:

• The Sale Starts Now and ends at 5PM on Sunday March 2, 2014.
• Customers can take 10% off the current price in any of our three showrooms.
• Items scheduled for a 10% markdown during the sale event are not eligible for further discounting.
• Final Markdown Items are not eligible for further discounting.
• Purchases from multiple showrooms can be bundled together into a single delivery for an extra fee.
• Our doors open at 10AM today. The phones are ready, staffers will be on hand and the stores are packed with beautiful pieces.

Come celebrate with us!