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Thanks Happy, I've been looking around but I can't even find a similar table on Ebay or antique/vintage sites. however, I was looking into my other $5.00 bargain which I thought was a swiveling foot stool and it turned out to be a mid century Henredon swiveling vanity stool. one of them sold at auction for $100.
So, my grandson is busily swivelling himself while watching cartoons..
If I could only find the matching vanity, I'd be thrilled.
I agree and I hate cluttery looking homes. this particular table since it's so low will fit right under my window and I'll put all my plants on it.
edited to add.. we just found a live bullet in one of the drawers.. yikes
Yeah, you'd better run for the hills. Call the bomb squad on your way out the door. I hear those "live bullets" left in drawers are responsible for thousands of deaths every year.
Yeah, you'd better run for the hills. Call the bomb squad on your way out the door. I hear those "live bullets" left in drawers are responsible for thousands of deaths every year.
<sarc.>
what else would call a bullet that hasn't been used?
Don't touch that table untill you've done some research. Don't think of researching it as a chore; think of it as fun. Start with ebay. Search marble-topped tables. Beyond that you have the whole internet. Start looking for furniture books on amazon. Read the reviews carefully as they often contain gems of information.
Assuming that the top is good you absolutely stole it for five dollars. Take care of that top. If it's not on the table which is safest keep it on edge surrounded by blankets or other soft packing materials.
Ignore naysayers. It usually stems from jealousy. Do your own research.
I am no expert on furniture but I collect other items and have learned the proper course of action. Good luck.
Unless that table is a period antique, which it's not, then she should just do whatever she wants with it. It's just a common reproduction piece, and from the sounds of its ownership history, part of a large group of furniture that once decorated the Barclay Hotel in New York. So it was built to look nice and take abuse from the myriad of guests flowing through their rooms. Then at some point, when the hotel got refurbished, all the furniture was removed. Some of the employees got to take the older furnishings home, some went to auction in a furniture liquidation sale and some was just plain thrown away. I assure you that none of those pieces ever went to a higher end antique auction.
Her picture is a good shot of what the table it. But if it makes YOU happy, then she could take the base of it around to the local auction houses in her area to get more opinions on it. Probably the most valuable part of the table is the marble top, but it'd only be of real value to someone who needed a marble top of that exact shape and size. Otherwise, it's just another heavy thing to store in a garage.
What might raise the value of that table would be if it were signed by a quality furniture maker like Baker or Henredon, because then the table might appeal to other owners of those makers. But it still wouldn't make the value of the table skyrocket up.
Otherwise, to order a table like that brand new out of a furniture catalog would be pricey (because you're paying for the labour, materials and freight plus the retail store overheard), but as a used piece of furniture, it's not as valuable and depreciating more than a brand new car. And the same holds true for all modern made furnishings unless they are coming out of certain high end design houses. And the people who would be willing to pay the most for that table will be those with a home full of similar style (and quality) furniture who happen to be needing a table like that. And if she wanted to sell it, she might do alright sending it to a consignment shop, but when she sells it, 50% of the selling price will go to the shop.
There's such a huge difference in quality and value between a circa 1780 French Neo-Classical table that looks like Lauriedeee's from a distance and what she bought for $5, it's like comparing a handmade Rolls Royce to a Yugo. Both get the job done though. And btw marble topped tables are very common.
Your table is cool - and worth more than $5. So I'd say be happy with it and do with it what you will!
There's something to be said for "interesting." Your table is probably about 40 years old and seems sturdy and in very good condition. You got a good deal on it, and it's not something that's commonplace in peoples' homes.
The great thing about it is that you can safely do anything you want with it - you could even paint it in a finish that is funky and avant garde without worrying about hurting the value. If I had that piece, I'd do just that - but then I am the same person who bought a gold, crushed velvet "French provincial" bedroom chair for $35 and thought I'd hit the mother lode!
Wow, that surprises me. It looked to me like cheap metal with some (fake) gold paint.
(still a little dubious )
I admit I"m no expert but I checked online and it said to scrape an unseen part of the metal and if it's a shiny yellow color then it's brass and not brass coated. It said if it's silver then it's just brass coated. The part I scraped off in the back with a sharp knife is yellowy and a magnet won't stick to it.
Maybe it's gold? oh, and it said that if a magnet doesn't stick and the part you scrape off is yellowy it's probably all brass. Regardless, it's now spray painted anyway. Whatever metal it is, its very sturdy, doesn't bend and it's pretty heavy for small pieces.
The set that I got came from the Barclay hotel, but the Vanderbillts (disgustingly rich people) had their own suite there. They invested a lot of money into that hotel, so maybe it was theirs and they just have very gaudy taste. Who knows? I'm not really into antiques anyway, but I do love items that have interesting histories.. and the 5 buck price was too good to pass up too.
Wow, that surprises me. It looked to me like cheap metal with some (fake) gold paint.
(still a little dubious )
Brass is a common metal. And a lot of cheap things are made out of brass. The quality of the casting is what makes the difference in quality. So I agree with you, the metal decoration of Lauriedeee's table is kind of muddy and not finely done.
I have so enjoyed reading these threads but this one was a downer. From the start, I didn't get the impresssion that Lauriedeee was trying to say she had bought a valuable antique. It appears as though she would have loved it if she had but, she was going to refinish it and put it in her home..... That is her taste. Shabby chic in very much in and maybe that was where she was headed. I find that style a lot of fun and people seem to love the pieces for the stories behind them. A lot of negativity on this thread.
It reminds me of a message board I once posted on and someone asked about what people liked and collected and I mentioned the depression glass. Another poster, who dealt in antiques, said to another poster who asked about depresssion glass, that it was cheap and not very valuable. That was uncalled for and hurtful. I like the colors and the period of time it was associated with and it was my mothers. I have a couple of Lalique pieces that I like but, none of it do I consider is going to make me retire a wealthy woman.
I am enjoying my little $5.00 table. I spray painted the brass a silvery color, painted the table a creamy white and now it sits in front of a window holding up one of my larger plants. I'm happy and my plant is happy.
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