Estate sale – Tonawanda, New York – FABULOUS

Snaps to reader Jackie who alerted us to this estate sale in Tonawanda, New York. Oh my, this is the kind of sale that we all DREAM of. I am having palpitations. Palpitations, I tell you! Enjoy this fantastic video!

signup for my weekly newsletter

  • Comments

    1. Hillary says:

      Okay, that video is giving me heart palpitations. So many awesome things!

    2. Kristie says:

      I am an ARMY wife, and I am living in El Paso Texas. How do you find these great estate sales? I would love to make this something I can do but have no idea how to find them, any ideas?

    3. AStrongoli says:

      OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!

      I wish this kind of thing happened in Colorado.

    4. Ruth Margolis-Bowman says:

      OMG,

      I am so happy knowing that it’s all there, waiting for some lucky sot! I wish I lived close by.

      LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the leather, low slung, rectangle sofas.

    5. Joe says:

      Wow. talk about hitting the jackpot. I’m not much of a knick-knack person so I was floored by the furniture they had there. The multi tiered Pole lamp lying on the one couch was incredible. The bar stools. WOW. I wonder what the prices are going to look like. It’s too bad someone can’t just buy the house lock, stock, & barrel, and move right in.

    6. Suzy Massey says:

      I want the bar stools…..

    7. The curvy couch, the rectangular couches, the teak credenza, the blue pole lamp…..WANT!
      Too bad I’m on the other side of the continent!

    8. joyce's jane says:

      Id love to know more about the previous owners. I would have to imagine they were fun people with amazing taste. I LOVE the dolly face tea set. Adorable in a kitsch kinda way.

    9. Kelly says:

      Well, hello there dream estate sale! Where have you been all of my life?

      Actually, this is the kind of sale that would just upset me because I’d want too many of the items but would have to leave most behind. Fun to virtually explore though!

    10. Pat D. says:

      Thanks for the extra post! I’m only an hour away and I’m going to drive over there tomorrow!

    11. Michelle says:

      FABULOUS! The curvy couch (did they call it a davenport back then?) is just to die for. And that headboard with the book shelf and sliding doors…I’ve been looking for one of those – it’s identical to the one I had as a kid – for YEARS! But, alas, I live in the South and will have to continue with my search.

    12. Tera says:

      OMG! ORGASMIC!

    13. RetroSandie says:

      OMG! This was wonderful! What a treasure trove!!! Wasn’t that doll faced tea set adorable? And the furniture, clothes, knick knacks–oh just everything-what a fun, fun, fun video! I may just have to watch it several times over in order to see everything that’s in each shot. It WOULD be a trip back in time just to go look everything over. Like a museum….ahhhhhh… :)

    14. Maryanna says:

      Those white sofas are a dream come true! Also, I’m a huge sucker for vintage linens. SWOON!

    15. cathyknit says:

      This was someone’s life. Real people and a life time.

      • pam kueber says:

        cathyknit — you are absolutely right. whenever i go to estate sales, i am excited — yet mortified at the same time to be there going through someone’s actual house. the last ‘big’ one i went to, i went back a second day, mostly to ‘pay homage’ and to imagine who these folks where who created such a wonderful life. i think most everyone on this site feels the same way, and also that as a whole, everyone is most respectful and grateful for the tender care that these homeowners have taken to collect and treasure these items all these years… and our goal is to do the same. it’s hard not to get all excited to see these wonderful things – and your reminder is well taken. thank you.

      • Lynne says:

        I know what you mean……kinda sad. I would really like to know about these people.

    16. frankieswife says:

      I am going to ABSOLUTELY DIE…if I don’t get that white vinyl mid cent sectional…and the end tables…and the vintage bar goodies…and the bedroom set…and all the knick-knacks…that’s it, I’m a gonner ’cause I live in California!

    17. frankieswife says:

      Pat D. – please, please tell us what you buy at this amazing sale…

    18. 52postnbeam says:

      Of course the street it’s on is “Idlewild” – lol. I love the way they shot the video with all the “reveals” and the great music. It’s super low budget but works! Adore both the sectionals. Best thing about the curved one is it has the matching curved corner table behind it – a must.

    19. Martha says:

      Talk about palpitations! Too bad it’s not hapenning in Miami.

    20. Palm Springs Stephan says:

      Wow … I see pieces of furntiure that are Mid-Century Modern, Danish, Hollywood Regency, Queen Anne, Early American, and even a little French Provincial and Spanish Mediterranean. Quite the eclectic blend of styles.

    21. wow Pam…great shout out for Tonawanda, sandwiched between Buffalo & Niagara Falls, NY .

      I am attending this sale this weekend!
      maybe twice :)

    22. Susan says:

      I’m originally from Buffalo, NY and lived next door to Tonawanda in Kenmore. Now I’m in Florida and it almost impossible to finds mid century here. However…palpitations!!! I’ll be visiting Buffalo this summer and hope to find estate sales. Thanks for sharing this!!

    23. TappanTrailerTami says:

      Amazing! Seeing that vid makes me feel better about my own packratty tendencies (all good stuff of course). LOVE the curvy sectional, the silverware, the linens, the bar stools, the pole lamps, the corner tables, the glassware, the credenza (or was it a stereo?)……oh my!

      Pat D – you lucky duck, be sure to give us all a full report!

    24. Retro Junkie says:

      Be still my heart…………………

    25. Happy Daze says:

      Looks like a good sale, but I’m still recovering from the one I went to last weekend. Same owner since 1938…picked up some really cool stuff for my 1940 house.

      I love estate sales, but I always feel a tinge of sadness watching all of the stuff one person collected get divided up among various people. It’s especially sad when I know the house will probably be demolished in a few weeks after the sale. The estate sale becomes the last happy gathering that will ever occur in the house.

    26. CindyD says:

      I CAN’T GET THERE – and I so-o-o want to! I love the floor – black and white linoleum patterns. Great way to start the weekend – thanks for posting this!

    27. Pencils says:

      I saw NY and got excited. Except it’s near Buffalo, all the way on the other side of the state, hundreds and hundreds of miles away. Wah! Oh well. I want those pineapple things on the bar. Guess it’s eBay time!

    28. Susie says:

      This just makes me hurt! I wish I could be lucky enough to find a sale like this some day, but I know that will never happen!

    29. Jocelyn says:

      I was just screaming with every reveal! The sectional! The pixies! The hats! The shoes! The vintage everything! What a wonderful collection. It is a good thing we all don’t live in the same town…there would be a melee at this house for sure!

    30. Kory Carroll says:

      Oh My!
      If I could only get there. At 1:46 there is 2 sets of Plastic Pineapple Pitchers w/ Glasses. I have them in Green & Orange, and would KILL for it in Yellow! They are Beautiful!!!

    31. The Vintage Reader says:

      I lived in Buffalo for several years, and I’ve never scored at estate sales like I did there. Even the rip-off ones with the dealers who take their same ugly reproduction Victorian furniture to every sale aren’t too bad. But I’ve gotten stuff like wrapping paper from the 40s, still in the wrapper, for a quarter a package… a whole stack of bossa nova records for $5 (in the same room as a to-die-for rattan hide-a-bed from the 50s)… a working 1939 GE console radio for $35… actually, I’m looking around my family room right now and noting what came from Buffalo estate sales, and it’s pretty impressive.

      I don’t know why the sales are so great there. I think it might be because the old people who don’t move to Florida or North Carolina when they retire stay in their houses forever. Western New Yorkers tend to be sensible and thrifty (maybe from living in a place where historically, even union jobs get ripped out from under you with two days’ notice), so they don’t throw stuff away, although they do *give* it away. The thrift stores there are AWESOME, too. Just today I was wishing I could go to the ReTAP in North Tonawanda.

      Seriously, if you want a cheap, fun, mid-century-style vacation with some excellent thrifting (and FOOD! OMG, I miss the ethnic food!!), go to Niagara Falls and hit the thrift stores in the Buffalo area. Take in the architecture, and the history, and the amazing sunny 75-degree days in June. Sigh… now I might have to plan a visit myself. Too bad it can’t be in time for this estate sale. :-)

    32. kate mckinnon says:

      I also feel for these people; where did they GO? Wonderful things, but a sad kind of way to find them.

      That sweepy curvy sectional sofa, man. Killer.

    33. Lynne says:

      OMG!!! OMG!!! WHY CAN”T I BE THERE????? WHAAAAAA!!!!!! I WANT TO BUY EVERYTHING!!!! IT’S A MIDCENTURY MODERN FANTASY!!!! AND I LIVE IN ILLINOIS!!!! OH DRAT!!!! WHY CAN’T ANYTHING COOL HAPPEN AROUND HERE????? NOT FAIR!!! NOT FAIR!!!!

    34. Deb LuvMidCen says:

      Wow, I sit here sipping a martini in my period correct glass drooling the whole way through this video. It would taste so much better on that curvy sofa. My hubby is from Niagara Falls and that whole area is like a trip through memory lane. As we watched the video he kept pointing out the items that his aunts Josephine, Florence, and Gertrude had (I am not making up those names!). Thanks for sharing!!

    35. Joe says:

      So, it’s now Sunday afternoon, did an RR readers make to this Estate Sale of a Lifetime?

    36. Tamara Babbitt says:

      The house is for sale. Check out the blue tile bathroom!
      http://www.114idlewood.com/

    37. toni says:

      I have a set of those ebony elephant book ends! My dad brought them home from India where he served in WWII.

    Leave a Comment --

    If you are under 14 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate.
    Here are the full legal terms of use you agree to by using this comment form.

    (required)