Sunday 27 May 2012

Under The Hammer...

This weekend was great! We hired a van and set off on our journey to Nottingham - via Billericay, via Worcester, via Leicester,via Oxford.  Oh yes, we were on a mission...we had equipment to collect and furniture to bid for!

We managed to find some amazing deals, so travelling around the country in a hire van on the hottest day of the year, that smelt like dogs with no air-con was worth it.

My first ever auction was incredible! If you ever want to go to an auction 'Arthur Johnson & Sons' in Nottingham is definitely worth a visit. Set in the old cattle market, the vast rooms are filled with hidden treasures waiting to be taken home and turned into something beautiful again. The adrenalin from entering into a bidding war with someone is great fun - however think I annoyed a few professional dealers by pushing up the prices with each subtle nod of the head - and then dropping out of the deal last minute when the stakes were too high - leaving them paying £100 for a small wooden table that they only wanted to pay £10.  If looks could kill! Whoops.

All in all it was a blast - and the furniture we managed to get was just great.

Getting our purchases into our van was like a game of Tetris - luckily we had some mathematical minded friends who after scratching their heads for a few minutes managed to squeeze and squash the abundance of mirrors, tables, chairs and a huge dresser into this tiny van!  Putting it all away at the other end was also fun - and now our dining room is full from floor to ceiling with our goodies.

Bargains of the day included - a gorgeous 'standard lamp' for just £5 which will look just gorgeous when we shabby chic it up... and a not so great bargain of the day - mother unwittingly bid for a collection of milk jugs and pretty china for £10 only to discover upon collection they were a miniature set of 'toot' from Skegness, Blackpool and Cleethorpe!  Note to self; don't let mother loose in an auction house unsupervised.



A lot of items hidden behind the sideboards... 


A great weekend - and I am getting so excited as the Tearoom is really starting to come together.





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