Labor Day Weekend Estate Sales
An example of one of the quirky items that will be offered at the Chestnut Hill estate sale on Monday. Photo via SalesByHelen.com.
Is there nothing better than a good estate sale? You get to tromp through a home and really look at the condition of the items as they were used in the space where they were used. If the home is especially beautiful, that’s a bonus, as is the fact that prices tend to be very reasonable. And keep in mind that these days an estate sale is very rarely due to a person’s death. It’s usually because a couple of empty nesters have decided it’s time to move into the city, or because an elderly person is moving in with her kids (or, uh, to a nursing home, which is actually depressing, but just put that out of your mind). Or sometimes people just need to liquidate because they’re exhausted by owning all that crap and are planning to join the Tiny Home movement. Anyway, stop analyzing and start enjoying. Here are three of this weekend’s estate sales that we recommend.
1. Case in point: This rather poignant pre-demolition sale of a Walter Durham home in Penn Valley or Narberth, depending how you look at it. The company handling the sale specializes in big items. For instance, they liquidated the entire Waynesboro Country Club on Route 252 in Paoli and a block-long synagogue in Allentown. So think big for this sale, which includes everything: an antique wood pine mantel, dining room chandelier and sconces, antique brick patios and walkways, flagstones, loose stone walls, patio doors, insulated glass windows, garage doors, an HVAC system, plantings…as the company says on its website, “Remember, if it is there, it is for sale.” If you’re a Durham fan, you can go for a last look before the home comes down in a few weeks. 8/30/2014 9am to 3pm and 8/31/2014 10am to 2pm, Righters Mill Road, Narberth, PA.
2. Labor Day only sale: If you’re interested in Americana, Pennsylvania country antiques, pottery, antique furniture and “smalls,” as the antique pros call them, this is the sale for you. Since I am a “smalls” person nonpareil, the more than 200 photos of what will be available Monday speak to me. Deeply. The address is unpublished until the day before the sale, which is pretty typical, so I can only tell you it’s in Chestnut Hill. At any rate, the company is Sales By Helen, which I’ve found to be a reputable and reliable outfit. Take a look at the photos, and drool. Monday, 10am-2pm.
3. Also Sales By Helen in Broomall. The video tells you what you need to know:
8/30/2014 9am to 2pm. Further information about the Broomall sale here.
