August Trip to Scott’s

Full Disclosure: Mrs. RCS and I are neck-deep in our kitchen renovation.  We have been without a kitchen for two months, and this has taken a toll on our livelihood inside the house.  Living without a kitchen is tough.  With only a few weeks left, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and we can’t wait.

Since we bought the house last Fall, our focus has been on furnishing the house, which can become an expensive venture.  Our style isn’t from the typical Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware/Ballard’s-everything look.  Of course we have a few pieces from those stores, but the majority was scored at antique stores, flea markets, and, mostly Scott’s Antique Market.  It is one of our monthly hobbies – we really enjoy going down together every month.

For those of you that aren’t familiar, Scott’s is a once-a-month event that happens just south of Atlanta at the Exposition Center.  The market encompasses two buildings that are roughly the size of four Wal-Marts, each packed with home decor, rugs, art, memorabilia, textiles, chachkies, some junk, and a lot of antique furniture.  Think of it as mix between an antique shop, an interior furnishings store, a flea market, and a thrift store.

Over the last 10-11 months, we have spent A LOT of time at Scott’s.

Since it is so big, you have to go with a plan.  Showing up to look around is too overwhelming and not much fun. In our new kitchen, we have a spot where we need a piece of furniture with drawers, with very specific size requirements for the space.  We are also in the market for art, a new desk for Mrs. RCS, and furniture pieces for our back deck.  You have to go with a plan, folks.  This is rule #1.

We showed up Sunday in comfortable shoes, with a tape measurer and our checkbook in hand.  Here’s how it went:

First, we needed to fill the spot in our kitchen.  We found 10 or so pieces we liked, but only a few that were sized appropriately. This first one was an early 20th C. French piece that was very nice, but didn’t really have the ‘umph’ we were going for…

This chest was our second contender, as we both really liked the bowed front, but it was pricy.  This one is very old, from England, and in outstanding shape.  We have purchased from this dealer before, and they are great.

Funny enough, we turned around and saw this one.  Bingo.  Big, fat handles for easy access, a beautiful patina, plenty of character, and it is perfectly sized for the niche it will live in.  Check and check.  Old, English, and in outstanding condition.  This one came home with us.

We always look for art when we are at Scott’s.  We have had some GREAT luck, finding three Peter Keil paintings at fair prices.  Patience is required while hunting for art at Scott’s, but there is plenty of good stuff if you know where to look.  Mrs. RCS has excellent taste in art, and she tolerates my style…

We should have bought this one – we have a perfect spot and the price was great.  I guarantee we’ll look for this one next month:

The subject of the next painting is somewhat funny, but it was extremely well done.  Perfect for a bathroom. You laugh, but the Mrs. was ready to pull the trigger on her immediately.

Lastly, this pheasant was very handsome, but a bit overpriced.  There were 100 paintings of pheasants at Scott’s, so we didn’t miss anything. And the Mrs. isn’t into pheasants.

Mrs. RCS really liked this desk.  We passed, but I don’t know if we should have… The picture doesn’t do justice…

We are very lucky in that we have a really large back deck.  We’ve made a few purchases, be we aren’t the matching-set type. We want our outdoor space to be comfortable and useful, which means we are putting it together as we find pieces.   I came across this market table and am kicking myself for not buying it.  The table is 70″ long, and could be a perfect coffee table with shortened legs.  If this is at Scott’s next month, it will come home with us.

This was another work table that I really liked.  It is bar height, and would be great with some stools underneath as an outdoor dining table, it could work as a bar, or as it was originally intended: as a work table.  It was a little more than I wanted to spend, so we passed.  Not much immediate remorse for this one, but the more I think about it, the more something like this makes sense for our home if Mrs. RCS can be convinced.

There are a couple vendors that we know and like always peddling random wares, and we always check out their stuff. This last weekend was no different.  Mrs RCS didn’t pick a silver pattern (or china) before our wedding because a) we didn’t have room, and b) we enjoy hunting for sterling sets with these guys. This is one of our favorites:

And the official winner of the ‘I’m kicking myself for not buying’ goes to these vintage French chairs, with kilim upholstery.  These are so unique and stole the show.  Looking back on it, we really should have gotten these, but Mrs. RCS will have to find a home for them first. These were from another dealer that we’ve bought from before, so we may give them a call and see if they are still available…

Are you a Scott’s person?  Ever find anything good?  More to come next month…