Shopping at an Interesting Estate Sale
My brother-in-law, Randy Plimpton, is a real estate agent in Fairfield County, Connecticut and he recently sold the Merwin House, a historic home in Weston. Built around 1760 at the top of Kellogg Hill, the Colonial Americans who lived in the original structure watched as British troops marched across the farmland on their way to the Battle of Danbury in April of 1777. The house was added onto through the years bringing the number of rooms to nineteen. Desiring a change to simpler and smaller, the owners hoped to sell much of the contents, as well. They hired my friend, Jim Klinko, who owns Furniture on Consignment in Westport, Connecticut. As part of his business, Jim organizes and conducts estate sales and recently, he ran a very successful one in this house.
1 This is the historic Merwin house, which sits atop Kellogg Hill in Weston, Connecticut. The original wing was built in 1760.
2 When it was on the market, the house and its fascinating history was featured in the Westport News.
3 To advertise the sale, Jim placed a large ad in the newspapers.
4 This is Jim preparing for the sale, hanging two very beautiful gold-leafed Chippendale mirrors.
5 The living room was nicely staged, which is very important for eye appeal.
6 A Winkler mahogany baby grand was priced at $1,200.
7 Jim was asking $800 for this 1930's era, one of a kind King Tut screen painted on canvas.
8 The ebony and multiple wood inlay Biedarmeier secretaire was tagged at $4,000.
9 A rare Murano bird lamp was priced at $1,500.
10 Jim filled the bright sun room with unusual objects including a primitive roulette wheel priced at $350.
11 There were many lovely rugs for sale throughout the home.
12 The cozy den reflected some of the owner's special collections. The old farm bench sold quickly.
13 Jim was holding these two fig trees for me.
14 This is the original 18th-century part of the house with its exposed beams.
15 At the other end of the rambling residence was another den with a vaulted ceiling filled with wicker and leather furniture.
16 The entrance boasted a magnificent mirrored chest with complementary wall mirror. There was a lot of art glass in the house.
17 The formal dining room
18 A lovely oil painting by E. Ponthier was tagged at $3,000.
19 Some things were not for sale.
20 More art glass
21 Even copies of my books can be found at estate sales!
22 One section of the house was devoted to designer clothing and shoes.
23 Leon MacNamara, a well-known appraiser, helps Jim price merchandise.
24 For sale was clothing, handbags, belts, and shoes by Armani, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Brioni, Coach, Louis Vitton, Balenciaga, Chanel, and more.
25 Jim asked his friend and neighbor, writer Elizabeth Fuller, to help with the clothing sales.
26 The morning of the estate sale, customers lined up early.
27 A well-run estate sale will hand out numbers to keep the crowd organized and orderly.
28 Before the 10am opening, early birds peeked in the windows.
29 Jim Capella comes to all of Jim's sales.
30 At exactly 10:00, numbers one through twenty-five were let in the door.
31 This was a very good sale and people took a long time perusing each room.
32 Layton Thomas, Jim's partner, was in charge of the cash.
33 There were many treasures to be had.
34 Jim was very happy to see Laila, a friend and regular customer in his store.
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Did you go Martha, and if so, what did you buy, other than the fig trees?
It is hard to believe that one person can own all of those great things. But, it was very interesting to get a glimpse of how others live.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | November 21st, 2012 at 12:57 am
Martha, you know I've never been to an estate sale before. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | November 21st, 2012 at 2:10 am
Sales like this make me so happy and I have attended them all over. WOW weather looks great as most of us love it when it is bad enough to keep many at home so the few can sweep up the bargains. Thanks for great pics.
Posted by: ann | November 21st, 2012 at 4:21 am
The first photo is like a postcard!
I love to rummage my heart out. My home is outfitted very vintage. Movie posters, school text books, lunch boxes, kitchen items. I live in the past!
I don't own anything of real 'value'. What I do get from my kitschy stuff is pure joy!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank you for sharing your world!
gail
Posted by: gail pierson | November 21st, 2012 at 6:48 am
I love historical homes, so much character and history, especially ones where they have been added on over time like the Merwin House. Like KLBrown, I've never been to an estate sale. Thanks for sharing some of what goes into conducting a successful one, good job Jim!
Posted by: Cindy F | November 21st, 2012 at 7:24 am
I've only been to one estate sale/auction that was held in a warehouse in Boca and I decided that would be the last time. So many people with no organization and it was like someone yelled fire each time the auctioneer moved to another piece of furniture or art. It was interesting though and we were allowed to peek at most everything before the sale so naturally, I peeked. Some of the drawers hadn't even been emptied so whoever bought the piece, got all the stuff in the drawers too because they had no time to remove everything and price it. Congratulations to Laura’s husband on selling this beautiful historic home. I loved seeing the contents and the lawn is quite magnificent too. Thanks for the tour. Trish
Posted by: Trish | November 21st, 2012 at 8:49 am
Next to garden tours, home tours are my favorite. The lovely way in which the estate sale was staged, allowed it to feel like a home tour. It is fun to see the things that people choose to live with. The people of the Merwin House chose to live with some very lovely things. I would have wanted the Murano bird lamp. The drapes throughout the home were pretty too. I really liked what appeared to be sage or olive green buffalo plaid drapes in the dining room. Anyway, thank you for the fine blog Martha. It was a fun way to start my day!
Posted by: Cindy A.M. | November 21st, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hi Martha, I love seeing these fantastic historical homes on your blog and this one in Weston, Connecticut is beautiful! How great also to see your handsome brother-inlaw, Randy Plimpton the real estate agent who sold the Merwin home! Your nephew Charlie sure does look like his dad and this is the 1st time I've ever seen Randy! How great to also see your friend Jim Klinko who provided this estate sale! All of these photos and the information about this estate sale is fabulous and how fun it would be to to view all of the sale items and the inside of this beautiful home! It was fun to see one of your magazines for sale! Jim did a great job setting up all of those beautiful sale items! How nice that he saved those fig trees for you in photo #13! Today's Daily Wag is about "Picking up Two New Fig Trees" with uncle Carlos! Sure hope you have another great day and I wish you and every one else a Happy Thanksgiving! Loved seeing you on the Today Show and how fun that the Seattle lady won the prize! Was also great to see your tweets all about the Yoga blog yesterday! Also get to see your great PBS Cooking Show again today! I love it all! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | November 21st, 2012 at 10:14 am
Part 2: I wanted to mention that I didn't get anything done around the house yesterday because my Circle Edge Punch came in the mail from HSN! I first practiced making an angel card and then doilies of course! Here's one under my Wonka Runts and Bottle Cap candy - I used four layers of paper and made a sunburst on one side. http://pinterest.com/pin/100064422942318288/ I like that I can flip it over and use both sides. Now for sure I need your craft paper and those little pearly looking stickers! I can't get over how great that punch it. Everyone needs to add that to their gift list! I'll be watching when more new punches that work with this kit come out and in the meantime, I plan to make a birthday banner for the baby in the family who will be one at the end of the month. Looks like I'm making time to craft! Trish
Posted by: Trish | November 21st, 2012 at 10:33 am
Martha, thanks for allowing us a peek into Merwin House estate sale with all of its beautiful offerings. I was surprised by the very reasonable prices being asked for on a few of the items.The pair of golden Chippendale mirrors are my favorite and secondly, the Murano bird lamp. I'm surprised that you did not purchase the bird lamp for yourself since it is quite unique and looks so much like something you also would admire. Today, I am setting the holiday table by decoating with my assortment of Martha Stewart glitter pumpkins. They are various sizes and range in color from burnt umber, to copper, to soft pink. You were the first to create the gorgeous glitter pumpkins and now I see they are sold everywhere. Every time I look at them, I think of you. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Alexis, Jude, and Truman!
Posted by: Andrew | November 21st, 2012 at 3:30 pm
that picture is breath taking!
Posted by: Alexis | November 21st, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Hi Martha, very interesting Estate sale, looks like a beautiful house. I hope you were lucky and got beautiful pieces.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful family.
Best wishes
Rowaidaa
Posted by: Rowaidaa Flayhan | November 21st, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Now I know a little more about Jim. He appears in your other blog entries as a trustworthy friend. He is an interesting person. This entry was educational. Thank you. Many blessings on Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Teresa Touey | November 21st, 2012 at 6:07 pm
This was a wonderful sale and the blog Laura did was an accurate account of the Merwin estate sale!
Posted by: Rita | November 21st, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Great sale and great host! Beautiful home and well staged for a good sale. I'm sure the owner's were very pleased with JIm's expertise. Keep the goodies coming.
Posted by: Pat Jones | November 21st, 2012 at 7:37 pm
What a beautiful home! I wish I could've visited this estate sale. Been a fan since I was a baby, Martha & really admire that you put so much effort in your blog.
Best,
Juley
Posted by: Juley | November 21st, 2012 at 7:52 pm
This photo looks absolutely beautiful, the sun reflecting off the orange, red and green looks amazing.
Posted by: Rachel Read | November 22nd, 2012 at 5:25 am
Hi Martha
This is Jackie, I love this blog about the estate sale, I would like to see more of this in your magazines. By the way Great job Jim I thought the staging you did was fabulous.
Happy Holidays
Posted by: Jackie | November 26th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Hi Martha,
Enjoyed your article. We have an estate and liquidation company in South Carolina and offer the same services. It is a lot of hard work, but a much needed service. If you like treasure hunts, it can be a lot of fun! Thanks for featuring our industry!
Posted by: Lynwood Duke | November 28th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Thank you, once again, for taking us along on yet another one of your richly educational and interesting adventures.
Now that I am no longer able to find your daily shows, I am setting aside time to spend on your blog. I enjoy it tremendously! However, my Holiday Season will not feel the same without your inspiration to lead the way. For now, I will continue to watch the 46 DVR recordings that I have saved, until we can have you back on television.
Be well Martha!
Posted by: Kathy A. Christensen | December 2nd, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Hi Martha, I love seeing these estate sales. I have never seen Jim in your magazines, is this going to be in an upcoming issue? I love seeing interesting items from other homes. It reminds me of your old TV shows. I remember Jim Klinko; I think near your home in Westport, CT. It seems that you two have been friends a long time. Does Jim know what you like? If so, what is your favorite thing to collect?Have a great holiday!
- Cindy
Posted by: cindy samatoski | December 8th, 2012 at 9:05 pm