Furniture Consignment Gallery Blog

 

To most people, redecorating means one thing: New furniture. While this is often the case, there are times where you can have the best of both words: A new look on old furniture. Working with a family at their home in Milton, MA a few weeks ago, the homeowner showed me her son's room. She pointed out the 1950s solid maple twin beds that she would like to replace with something more current.

Instead of junking the beds, we discussed painting them black. A lacquer finish provides a protective coat and a modern look. By doing so, the beds would resemble beds from a Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel. The new look would mean that the beds would last.

By modernizing her furniture, she was sure to save a few greenbacks, keep her existing beds out of a landfill, and create a decor that she and her kids could live with.

Some of the best furniture that we sell has been re-purposed and modernized. The craftsmanship of old furniture is unparalleled; furniture that was built in days past was built to last.  By thinking outside the box, you can allow your furniture to endure. Here are a few things to look for when considering a modern look for your furniture:

• The quality and construction.  Is it built from solid wood? Are the drawers dovetailed?  If yes, modernization is worth pursuing.
• If the furniture looks well weathered or worn, it's O.K.  A little sanding, stripping, and refinishing will leave your furniture looking like new.  Believe it or not, refinishing costs are not based on how beaten the furniture is.
• Polish the hardware.  Hardware can be unscrewed from drawers, and a little Cape Cod Polish (and elbow grease) can make a world of difference. Though it may seem minor, polished hardware does wonders for updating your furniture.

If you've been craving that catalog look to your home, you may be closer than you think.  A little creativity and ingenuity is all you need.

When I watch professional sports, the announcers offer constant praise for mediocre players which makes it difficult to determine which players are truly "great".  When I think of "great", I think of players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. According to the media, however, the backup guard the Celtics just traded for is also "great".  "Great" has become a word in professional sports that needs further qualification.  This is very similar to how the word "quality" is used when we talk about furniture.

It's important to be watchful of the word "quality", since it's thrown around so much in furniture advertising. I've found that the more a furniture retailer uses the word "quality", the lower quality the furniture actually is.

When I think of "quality", I think of my Fisher Price toys that I played with growing up.  Not only did they withstand my two brothers and I, but my three boys go straight to the closet in Mimi and Grandpa's house that contains the green truck, the helicopter, the boat, and the assortment of characters that I played with as a child.  I have no doubt that my grandchildren will play with these toys as well.

So maybe my view of quality is a little distorted. Maybe my standards are too high! Or maybe we, as consumers, have lowered our collective standard for what constitutes "quality".  

Imagine that we decide to buy a dining room set from one of the giant furniture retailers, taking advantage of no interest and no payments for 12 months.  But after 6 months, the furniture has cracked, the plastic drawer slider snapped, the drawer pull came off, the reclining mechanism in the recliner no longer works, and we haven't even made our first payment on the furniture!  Yet we blame ourselves for being too hard on the furniture.

"Quality" no longer means that the product gets passed from generation to generation. Instead, it means that it looks decent in the showroom and can survive the delivery trip.  It might be O.K. if you move it around once or twice, and if you're really lucky, it will still function as advertised by the time you make your first payment. 

Furniture should be as it once was:  A prized possession in the home, purchased with great pride for the family with hard earned money. Furniture should make memories and survive long enough for us to use while we enjoy those memories. 

I received an e-mail from a potential consignor today and the e-mail began, "I have a 1930s era Heywood Wakefield dining room set. It originally belonged to my wife's grandmother, passed down through two more generations."  Here is a photo of the set.  This, my friends, is quality.

Real Estate prices in Boston are very attractive right now and the time is right to move from that 6,ooo square foot home in the metrowest into a condo in Boston.  Your biggest problem? What to do with all your furniture!

How do you sell fine furniture confidentially and smoothly?  Squishing 14 rooms of pre-owned furniture into an 1,800 square foot condo is physically impossible, and deciding where to put the furniture you don't take with you can prove to be equally daunting. Like any big undertaking, it's best to break this process down into steps.

• Start with pieces that have seen better days and are at the end of their useful life.  Make a list of these pieces and come to terms quickly with the fact that short of a family heirloom, nobody in  your family is going to want your old, broken down furniture. 
• Check with your church or local non profits to see if there is an upcoming auction that could find a use for them. 
• Have a yard sale if you'd like, but as for pieces that don't sell, it's best to take them to the swap section at your local transfer station.
• Consider the size, scale and color of your smaller home and (again) quickly come to terms that oversized pieces won't make this trip.  Even if they are recently purchased high-end home furnishings, it doesn't mean they belong in your new home (especially if they won't fit). 
• Don't save furniture for your kids. The thought is nice, but kids never want the furniture they grew up with. 
• My parents have made a few moves since retiring and have moved and stored the bedroom set I had as a kid as well as my brother's.  We recently sold both sets in our store once my folks realized that these bedroom sets would remain in storage forever.

I can't tell you the amount of times that we have moved 70% of the furniture contents from a home, charged around $100 to do so, and wrote some handsome checks to the consignors as a result of the sales.  Not only did these consignors benefit by turning their furniture into cash, but they also avoided hefty moving and storage costs.

Economize your downsize with smart planning and dispassionate decision making.  It's hard to leave home and the things that represent the best time of your life, but putting your best foot forward means not looking back.  Build a plan and get there.

It should come as no surprise that in furniture consignment, sellers almost always think their items are priced too low and buyers tend to think items are too highly priced.  So how do we arrive at a price?  Though it’s far from an exact science, there is a methodology.  Unlike selling a house, boat or car, there is no MLS system for furniture or Kelly Blue Book to tell us how to value pre-owned furniture, so we must be market savvy.  If you are selling a dining set that you paid $15,000 for 5 years ago, you should look at how many dining sets are selling for $15,000 today. You will quickly find that there are a great deal of dining sets available in today’s market.  Since most buyers can purchase a new dining set of their dreams for $15,000, how do we create an appropriate economic incentive for a buyer to purchase your pre-owned furniture?  Here are some things to consider when pricing your furniture:

• Start by dividing what you paid in half, then see what is available in the marketplace at that price. Let's go back to our dining set example. What if we surveyed the marketplace for dining sets priced at or around $7,500?  How does your set fare against those other sets that are for sale in that price range?
• “Retail” is a fictional number so throw it out the window.   "I paid $15,000 for my dining set 5 years ago, but a similar set retails for $25,000!"  Retail pricing is a bizarre phenomenon in the furniture industry.  Nothing sells for retail.  In fact, most furniture stores discount 30% to 40% off of retail.  So the dollar figure we want to work from is the price that somebody can actually buy the set for "new".
• On top of retail discounts, we are currently in the midst of a recession and so there are two factors to consider: First, furniture retailers are doing anything to get customers to open their wallets, so there are heavily discounted sale prices to consider. Secondly, many furniture stores offer financing, which you cannot offer as a seller.  Again, this may factor into how you decide to price your piece.
• Customization does not translate into resale value.  In fact, it may make your sale more difficult.  "I paid $200/yard for this fabric on my sofa".  Upgraded fabric means that it matches the rest of your home, not a potential buyer’s.
• The question you have to ask yourself is:  “Am I searching for a special buyer who is going to appreciate this unique fabric?” If your answer is “Yes”, you will have to price your item more aggressively than you may have anticipated.
• If you have extraordinary furniture, such as pieces from D.R. Dimes, Eldred Wheeler, Kindel, etc., one of the advantages that you have is that people can have it now! Often pieces from high-end furniture manufacturers are built after the sale, meaning that lead times can run from a few weeks to a few months.
• For this grade of furniture, you should be able to achieve an asking price that is closer to the original purchase price.  These manufacturers pitch their product as an appreciating asset. While they may not actually increase in value, these pieces do have strong marketability on the resale market.
• Condition is paramount!  Tiny scratches can affect the purchase price that you are able to achieve.  Try having a friend evaluate the condition of your furniture and ask them to be picky.  You want to be sure that you have accounted for imperfections in your pricing. 

If you're furniture sells right away, then you likely did your homework and priced it just right. The buyer feels like they got good value for their dollar and the seller walks away with fair market value, some space in their home, and money in their pocket.

I recall the old study behind someone's choice of car, specifically the car's color. The study found that peoples' personalities were reflected in their choice of car and color.

So what does our furniture say about us? Maybe the better question is what are we trying to say about ourselves through our furniture and home decor? We spend countless hours of self torture agonizing over which color of taupe we should choose -- when really any of them would be fine. Somewhere in our brain we're thinking "is this me?"

This week I had the pleasure to work with a couple who had downsized from their home of 35 years into a nice, new over 55 condo. They spent weeks at an upscale furniture store trying to create the perfect scene for their retirement. This only to decide that they had made a $10,000 mistake in their living room. The look they wanted was not achieved. Though it looked fine to me, it wasn't a representation of who they were and it bothered them. Yes, their $10,000 mistake is now in our showroom.

In fairness, it is very difficult to embody who you are in your furniture. We see this all of the time. Customers will say, "I bought this, but it just wasn't me." So what advice can we offer you as you attempt to update your home so that it becomes a reflection of who you are?

• Hire a professional! In the interview process, make sure the designer asks you questions and listens to you. You don't want a designer who will try to impose their will on you. No matter how well published or decorated their resume is, you must be comfortable with the person that you choose.
• Shy away from asking everyone their opinion. They are libel to give it to you and if they do not have a professional eye, they can confuse you and clutter your thoughts. Countless times we have seen beautiful room settings re-drawn because a trusted family member, thought it didn't look right.
• Go with your first instinct. it is usually right. You can over think it. If it strikes you, then go with it. There are literally a million options with none being right or wrong. Most often you'll keep going back to the one that struck you first.
• When you receive your new pieces, relax and enjoy. Be ready for the "shock". Don't over analyze and give the new look time to settle in. Things do grow on you. So before you yell at your salesman or designer, give it some time.
  
  At the end of the day, it's your life and it's your home. Whatever your personality, style or taste, your furniture is yours to enjoy when the world isn't watching. It's for just you and you alone. So enjoy your furniture and build your dream, not somebody else's. Whatever your furniture may say about you, talk is cheap.
  
  The best to you and your furniture,
  
  Jay

You don't have to be a member of the 'Rich and Famous' to want anonymity in selling your personal items. Some people will always trade their old car in when purchasing a new one because they don't want to deal with the hassle of selling on their own.

On the other hand, there are other individuals who will make a spectacle of selling an old coffee mug. So how you sell your personal items, and specifically your furniture, depends on your personality, how much time you have and how much effort you are willing to expend. There is a different method of selling for each seller!

Consider the Newspaper: If you have vintage non-antique items dating from the 1940s through the early 1970s.  It is true that the newspaper readerships are plummeting faster than a piano out a seventh story window, but buyers for pieces from that time frame still tend to get their information from old fashioned print. Therefore, print media still has its place. Newspaper advertisements run from $15 - as much as you want to spend depending on the publication and size of the ad.

Consider CraigsList: If your items have minimal resale value associated with them. For starters, it is free to post an item on there. Secondly, there is a great market on www.CraigsList.com where individuals are looking for something functional for a low price. This is the perfect place to sell your sofa for $50.

Even for high-end furniture CraigsList can still be effective. If you have the time, like the sport of selling your pieces and want to maximize your proceeds from the sale, CraigsList can get the job done. You may have to deal with some missed appointments, low ball offers, and a shady character or two, but you may be pleased with the results. Spend some time researching the active scams before agreeing to an offer.

eBay: is the most difficult avenue for selling furniture as most people want to see it, feel it, sit on it and touch it in person.  Though furniture certainly sells on ebay, it tends to be expensive to ship.  eBay does a great job of maintaining privacy and confidentiality for sellers.

An Auctioneer: is a great option for vintage 1940s pieces and older.  Auctioneers are especially effective if you have a rare piece, have items that include collectibles, jewelery and silverware, etc.  An auctioneer is generally not going to be very interested in "newer" items.  Auctioneers operate on a percentage basis and also charge a buyers premium.  A good auctioneer should offer a pick-up service for your items.  Be sure to check reputations and references before selecting an auctioneer.

An Estate Sale or Tag Sale is another great option for an upscale estate looking to sell many pieces of furniture. This option allows for quick payment and divestiture of your items. Your estate sale specialist should be extremely trustworthy, a good marketer and have a plan for items that don't sell.  Comfort and trust are paramount in an Estate Sale as they will be dealing with handling the general public in your home while you are not there. Estate Sale specialists will take anywhere between 15% - 35%.

Consider Consignment for most situations. Similar to an estate sale, it is important to be comfortable with and to trust the business owner. Consignment stores generally have space constraints and serve a specific market based on their business model. It is important to partner with a consignment business that sells the types of things that you have. A well-run consignment store should have good customer traffic, and as a result will be able to show your items to a lot of buyers. This allows you to achieve a strong purchase price. Merchandising is also important in a consignment store. If you had a living room grouping in your home that was coordinated to go together, it would be great if the store has the appropriate space and layout to display the pieces together.

Unlike an estate sale, consignment stores offer anonymity and confidentiality when selling your items. They protect your home and your name from the prying eyes of the general public. Most importantly, consignment stores give your items time to land in the hands of the right buyer. A consignment store will take a higher percentage for the conveniences and overhead that they must supply.  Consignment stores take anywhere between 30% -70% for the sale.

There are positives and negatives associated with all of the options. The solution is different for each individual.  Sometimes the right solution is a combination of the available options.  Someone might swear that CraigsList is the answer and that he or she would never pay a consignment store half of the sale. The next person would never subject him or herself to the in-home risks of dealing with anonymous strangers from the Internet under any circumstances. Every piece of furniture, seller, and buyer is unique. Likewise, so is every sale.

The entertainment armoire. Once a cornerstone of every bedroom and living room, these pieces have suddenly found themselves out on the curb waiting for someone (anyone!) to come and take them away.

 

It is perhaps the greatest tragedy of the furniture industry. Pieces of furniture that cost so much time, material and craftsmanship have devalued seemingly overnight. We have customers who have spent thousands of dollars on beautiful, giant armoires and now they want them gone. "Take it away!" they exclaim and when we say "Not so fast!" they plead, "Please! If you can't help me -- who can?"

When it comes to re-purposing furniture, creativity is the name of the game. Think of the following suggestions as a starting point:

• Try to donate your television armoire to anybody willing and able to remove the piece from your home. However, be sure they have the knowledge and strength to move it correctly before subjecting your home to any damage. Then again, maybe you want it out of your house so badly that you'll live with a few dings, dents and scratches to be rid of it.
• Re-purpose the armoire as storage in a walk-in closet. Run a rod across the interior so that you can store shirts on a hanger.
• Put the armoire in your garage and use it as a place to store tools for your favorite hobby accessories. "It's too nice for that!" you might say. But heck, if you're begging me to take it away, you may as well use it for something!
• If you are at your wits end, try to find a local craftsman to take the wood. If it was an inexpensive armoire, it is most likely particle board and your best option will probably involve a sledge hammer and a trip to your local transfer station. On the other hand, many armoires are built from solid cherry, maple, or mahogany boards. Some of them have some fantastic veneer work.  A local woodworker might be able to re-use some of the boards, such as the doors, top, and shelves.
• If your armoire was made by an elite furniture manufacturer such as Henkle Harris, Baker, Kindle, or Hekman (to name a few) there should be some resale value and a buyer for your piece. conversely, the cherry cabinet armoires with folding doors are simply so plentiful that resale is not much of an option.

Once again, these thoughts are simply a starting point. Post your thoughts on what the possibilities may be for these once great pieces. If you have had success re-purposing your armoire or finding a taker -- thousands of folks would appreciate hearing your story.

The best to you and your furniture,

Jay.

 

 "Refinish my furniture?! You're going to ruin the value of it!!" I say, exactly what value are we talking about? Antique Road Show has scared the daylights out of us all. We have become hesitant to do anything with pieces we no longer need for fear that we'll be throwing away precious goods worth a fortune on the open market.

Truth be told, if your furniture is not 200-300 years old, in museum quality and has a (historically verifiable) story to go with it, the likelihood that you possess something that is worth a fortune, is not very good. As a result of this, many antique stores have struggled with furniture in the last decade. High priced furniture that is not old enough, or is generally broken down just does not appeal to today's buyer. To this I say: refinish!

Don't be afraid to refinish. If you're tired of looking at your grandmother's game table, consider restoration as an option. You preserve a beautiful piece of history and make it look clean and new. Craftsman can literally do anything with wood, and as a result repair work and a fresh finish can make any piece seem new.

There are certainly a few circumstances when refinishing may not be your best option. If you purchase a home in a wealthy, old, New England town such as Wellesley, Brookline, or Newton and that home comes furnished, you may want to have an auctioneer or an appraiser review each piece before sending it to a local craftsman.

Refinishing your furniture is not something you should feel guilty about. When the restoration process is complete, the end result is more in-line with the look of the product when it was originally built. Years of exposure to oxygen, sunlight, and general wear and tear take a heavy toll on even the most well maintained pieces. The craftsmanship of decades-old furniture is often not found in the cosmetic features. Rather, great craftsman revealed their talents in the attention to subtler details.

 By refinishing your furniture, you allow the time, effort and creative craftsmanship of a long ago furniture maker to live on and persevere. That is why I say: "Refinish!"