How to Furnish Your Home at Auction

Going to auctions is a lot of fun, but it can be a great way to furnish your first or new home or to redecorate a room or the whole house for a fraction of the cost. You can find just about anything at auction if you go to enough of them. There are several kinds of auctions, public or bankruptcy, going out of business, estate and consignment. Look in your Sunday classifieds to find auctions near you. We live in a small town but have one auction house that holds consignment auctions twice a month. In the last year we could have completely furnished our home four times over with the great finds and prices there.

Kitchen: You can find all kitchen utensils, small appliances, large appliances, everyday dishes, flatware, crystal, fine china, silver, decorative items, pot holders, place mats and anything else you may need. Some items will be new in a box, an unwanted gift or multiple wedding gifts etc. are sold at auction as well as old items. I bought a Sunbeam Stand Mixer from the '60s with two mixing bowls and all the beaters for $12.00 and it works PERFECTLY. Compare that to $299 you would have to pay for a new stand mixer.

Bedroom: You can buy a complete bedroom suit for a couple of hundred dollars as opposed to a couple of thousand dollars. You can also find side chairs, extra dressers, nightstands, desks, comforter sets, linens, rugs, lamps, pictures, all for a fraction of the cost of new.

Dining Room: Chandeliers, linens, dining room tables and chairs, side boards, china cabinets, hutches, some much better quality than you can buy now. I once saw a beautiful leaded crystal chandelier sell for $50.00.

Office: Desks, chairs, shelves, computers, printers, adding machines, art work, artist supplies, etc are all sold by businesses upgrading, remodeling, or going out of business. I bought an HP Laser print for $3.00 and used it for a year before I had to replace the toner. Almost two years later it still works perfectly.

Living Room: Sofas, love seats, chairs, end tables, coffee tables, lamps, magazine racks, silk plants and flower arrangements, art work, rugs, pillows, tvs, vcrs, cd and dvd players, stereos, entertainment centers, I have even seen a surround sound system at our little local auction.

Other items like musical instruments, including pianos and organs, hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, doors, windows, locks, bathroom sinks, toilets, claw footed tubs, interior and exterior doors, wardrobes, drapes, vacuum cleaners, carpet shampooers, floor buffers, shop vacs and fabric are all items we have seen at auction selling for remarkable prices.

You can even completely outfit your garage, including the car, truck, camper and RV and your yard and tool box at auction.

Tips to buying successfully at auction are to start early, you may have to go to several to find just what you want, know what the value is if you were to buy the item new, and be patient. It has been my experience that the later in the day/evening that an item sells, the less it will sell for because buyers get tired and there isn't as much competition later in the sale. If I knew then what I know now I could have saved a lot of money.

And when you get ready to replace a piece or redecorate, consign your items to sell at auction and make the money to pay for your new additions.