By Fran Sloan:
There is a love out there for the more luxurious items when decorating a home but not everyone can afford to purchase such items on their own, at least, not when they are new or straight out of the creator’s shops. There are options available, once you get the stigma of second-hand out of your mind. Those palatial homes you see along the roads in some urban areas and in the countryside are owned by people who will not live forever and their inheritors will not always want to keep everything.
Auction houses, resale shops, antique stores and even online merchants will have some surprising finds from time to time, if you have the patience and budget to go looking. The newspaper is the first place to check for things like estate sales, which are either run by the inheritors themselves, or the agency they hired to put it on. The purpose of estate sales is to liquidate the inventory of a home and any home that undergoes an estate sale has a lot of stuff to sell.
Even if you cannot afford to buy huge amounts of stuff, just going to these types of events can give you an idea of what is considered to be luxury items are going for these days. We are not talking about the age-old little old lady’s collection of ceramic cats, though you might find those as well but gallery quality items. You might be surprised at the level of quality you will find there, especially when it comes to antiques. You might even find some of those authentic antique Oriental rugs for sale that you have been pining for.
True luxury home décor will call for authenticity, not reproductions. Besides an estate sale, the next best place to find these items will be auction houses and antique shops. These places specialize in consignment lots of quality items like original oil paintings and some rare and precious pieces. You can be assured that if you purchase items here, they are authentic, period and original. Any leather area rugs and chairs that you will find there will be worn well, and softened with age, and with all the minor imperfections you expect well used items to have.
For more up-to-date but luxurious décor pieces, another good source would be online auctions. Here, you can examine photos of marble statuary, artwork, entire collections and even modern rugs at your ease. There is the danger, however, of charlatans passing off reproductions as antiques, or even not receiving anything for your money at all. These can score you some excellent finds, so be sure to check out the seller’s feedback scores, as well as any background information provided. If possible, check to see where the seller is located and if they are local, ask if they are open to potential buyers coming by to look at the items they have up for bid. If they are legitimate, there should not be any hesitation to such a request.
Fran is a senior staff writer dedicated to helping you learn about luxurious home interior design. Her biggest tip is to lay modern rugs or other contemporary area rugs on your floor to add a fresh new feel to your room.
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