eBay alert!

I like to browse the section of eBay devoted to antique garden and architectural bits, primarily to see if I can get a good deal on anything nearby that would be too expensive to ship. Today I came across one such listing: 300 linear feet of wrought iron and oak stair railing. It's in northeast Ohio, and starts at a mere $99 with no reserve.

If there was any way that I could justify purchasing this, trust me, I would. I hate to put this suggestion out there, but one could sell the wrought iron for scrap, retaining the beautiful oak, and break even. I could see it working quite well as a fence, too. Heck, the seller is even willing to help load and package.

In related news, another local party is selling 20 stacking grey Herman Miller fiberglass shell chairs for a mere $25 each. These chairs retail on eBay, these days, for around $100-125.

The perfect bathroom sink faucet set

I never liked the faucets on most of the sinks from 1920s houses, not because the hot and cold were separate, but because they were so close to the edge of the sink. I recently learned that mixer faucets were available in the 1920s, albeit only in higher-end installations. I've been looking for various plumbing bits, trying to piece together the pieces of hardware to make the bathrooms complete. Most of this will have to wait for a while, given the cost of most of these things, but it's nice to know what's out there so that one can plan.

I came across the gem above on eBay recently - it sold for about $125. It's the only porcelain mixer faucet of that era that I've seen - all the rest are metal. It would have been perfect, oh yes. Even with the cost of rebuilding the valves, it would have been worth it. Whether I could convince A of that is another matter. My eyes remain open for the next one to hit the market.

This is all a diversion, mind you, to keep me from ranting about my plumber and general contractor. I've a phone call to make tomorrow morning. Argh.

Cobalt blue toilet and sink on eBay!

I was browsing on eBay when I came across this very blue 1920s toilet and sink. They seem too blue to be believable, but I want to believe, oh, I want to believe. And for a mere $100! Surely you need them!

Cheap Oriental rugs?

I've been searching several local Craigslists and some auction houses in the area for an Oriental rug for the dining room. Nothing too fancy, just something large (9x12 - 10x13ish) and in a reasonable color palette. In our price range, I was expecting something with plenty of wear. This didn't seem a real issue to me - I want this rug to use, not as an investment.

For some reason, I hadn't seriously looked at eBay. I checked it from time to time to see if there were any rugs nearby that looked good, but never found anything. I must have assumed that shipping would be very expensive. Imagine my surprise when I noticed a rug within my budget that met my criteria, was ending soon, and had the "free shipping" icon next to it. I assumed that the price would be bid up in the last couple minutes. I left the tab open and was surprised to see, later, that the price it reached was quite reasonable and still in budget.

Pleased with my discovery, I investigated further. I found many rugs that would do quite nicely in our dining room in the $150-300 range, shipped. Here are a few:
A 9x12 rug for $180
A 10x13 rug for $220
Another 10x13 rug for $160

As the price goes up, the designs become more appealing. I also observed that rugs that had been patched in one spot but were otherwise quite nice at quite low prices - sometimes less than $100. Perhaps they would not be right for the dining room, but for a room where part of the rug might be covered by a piece of furniture, these could be a good value.

Unfortunately, this purchase will have to wait for a while. Due to the recent damage to our roof, we're holding off on major purchases until we have a reasonable estimate or two.

eBay alert!

I was looking for some parts for my own bathroom on eBay when I came across this incredible turn of the century bronze shower set. With three hours left, bidding is at a mere $40. I don't have to tell you how hard it is to find something like this or how expensive it would be if sold through a dealer in such things. It's just a bit too old for my house.