Deal of the Mid-Century...

Every year, Egdewood Acres has a big neighborhood yard sale. I think most people just drag out the stuff they were trying to sell the previous year, and when it's over, just pack it all up and store it until next year. However, it is possible to find a few gems if you wake up early and get the jump on the rival pickers. Carrie had just organized a very successful garage sale a few weeks ago, so I was reluctant to acquire any new stuff. She even had to prod me to drive to a nearby ATM that morning to get some cash just in case we wanted to buy something. We were making our way down one of the streets and we came upon a house that had some vintage cabinets mixed in with the standard garage sale stuff. Sitting in the back of the driveway was a very cool side table that looked like some type of vintage 1950's office furniture. It was retro mint green, had door that held a trash can, and was in very good condition. We had never seen anything quite like it. I really didn't think that we needed it, so we moved on down the street. The whole time we were making our way around the neighborhood I kept thinking about that cabinet. I finally decided to myself that if it was there when we passed by that house again, I would buy it. I had also convinced myself that if it was gone, I would not regret not buying it - even though I most certainly would. We finally made our way back to the house and there it was. I really couldn't believe someone hadn't snatched it up. Mid-century stuff is very hot right now, and we've seen items like this for several hundred dollars in antique shops. I plunked down my money- the asking price, five dollars! The homeowner proceded to give us a brief history of our purchase. It was an original piece of office furniture from the ALCOA building in downtown Pittsburgh. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she was ready to get rid of some of his stuff. She even took me into the house to show me a matching piece from the set - a large display cabinet that will look great in our office. She took my business card and promised to give me a call when she is ready to sell it. We hiked to our car and drove back to pick up our treasure, just as two guys were eying it up and telling the homeowner how much they would love to have it (let's just say that they thought it was, um, fa-bu-lous). Sorry fellas, she's taken. Carrie did a great job of cleaning it up and it looks perfect next to our office desk. I don't know if there is such a thing as "garage sale high," but we had one the rest of the day. Moral of the story - don't wait too long to pull the trigger on something that is obviously a great deal and that you feel is something very unique. Some brief history... Made in 1953 by the General Fireproofing Company of Youngstown Ohio, this phone cabinet was part of an office furniture collection called "Mode-Maker". A 1960 catalog shows many of the pieces here. The below picture shows the piece we bought as part of a larger credenza (it would be the piece on the far right side of the illustration). How cool is that illustration, by the way? Ours was meant to be a stand alone piece- phone books would go on the upper shelf and the phone would go on the top surface.