seshat's blog post - Antiques: a bargain

I've always been interested in antiques, ever since I started watching the BBC Antiques Roadshow with my parents as a child. So when there was an antiques fair nearby and I received free tickets, it was a no brainer to go there and torture myself: looking at beautiful things I couldn't buy.

Upon entering the fair, I immediately noticed a beautiful, early art nouveau, plant stand. Being shy by nature, I admired it from afar. But after having done the tour of the art fair, I was drawn back to this beautiful piece of furniture. BF took pity on me and approached the vendor and asked the price. The vendor didn't want to say at first, because he already had a likely buyer for it, but eventually said: "around 30000 euro".

No, that's not a typo, a three and four zeros... I was shocked, obviously. But BF's reaction was priceless: with a straight face, he went "ah yes, it's a lovely piece". Crazy, just crazy.

A few weeks later, I was walking around Bruges with my parents, a Sunday walk, when we came across an antiques market. Where I promptly fell in love with a peculiar little art deco table. Apprehensive considering the previous experience, I hardly dared ask the price. My mom came to the rescue, and I ended up buying the table for 43 euros. Pretty doesn't always mean expensive

With a little polish, it now fits nicely in our living room: