Wednesday, March 25, 2009

ATTIC TREASURES

If you move into an old house, check the attic. A family in Cincinnati called an antiques dealer to take a look at the belongings in their old house to see what could be sold. Not much till the attic. There they found crates packed with 77 paintings by Thomas Corwin Lindsay (1839-1907), a listed American painter and a distant cousin of the homeowners. Estimated value: about $250,000. The paintings have been cleaned and are being sold at Eisele Gallery in Cincinnati through April 18.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do the house's buyers have the right to sell whatever was left in the house by the previous owners? In this case especially, I should think the former owners would want to sue the buyers to get back the paintings, or the their monetary value. Do they have grounds for suit?

Anonymous said...

If you have a large island cabinets not only are not necessary but simple professinal stainless steel shelving is preferred. europeans have different taste than americans. We are not so formal about our houses. Things don't have to match - actually we do not want them to match, too common and obvious. Houses have to be interesting and you can never have an interesting house if everything is so perfect and matching. how boring.

Anonymous said...

I think the new owner can do what ever they would like to anything left by the previous owner due to the fact that whatever was left behind, either the previous owner was unaware of the value or did not care for the items. Either way, what is left behind now belongs to the new owner. For example; the new owner found out that the "toilet" that was installed (and left) is a rare and valueable item and finds out that it is worth thousands and sells it,does this give the previous owner the right to file a lawsuit and claim ownership on somthing that was not in his posetion at the time of sale? NO!

Anonymous said...

Kitchen shelves with interesting items always look so neat in home-design magazines and on TV shows. But those of us who have ever stored an item on top of the cabinets know that items out in the open in a kitchen need constant cleaning even if one does not fry a lot. Cupboards make for much easier maintenance.

janetdrap said...

We Americans need to stop the "remodel for resale" mentality. Buy a house because you want to live in it not because it will have resale value. $25,000 is way to much money to just throw into a kitchen because you want to impress or are hoping for resale value. Personally, all those "fabulous" kitchens look alike now; cherry cabs/stainless steel appliances/granite countertops. My kitchen is put together the way I love it; 1956 Sears metal cabinets w/formica tops, microwave stands from the 80's, my Mom's big dining room table, a slab of butcher block on top of the dryer. Someday we'll get around to peeling back the linoleum and refinishing the original hardwood floors. We're still researching how to restore the 1884 copper plated tin ceiling. In the meantime, I love my kitchen (even though there is no resale value) and enjoy imagining the women who came before me.

Anonymous said...

As for the kitchens, it is a mantra of young homeowners: granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors throughout ... they say this because they hear it, not because they know about, or know what it is like to own it or take care of it ...perhaps the people who SELL those appliances, and counter tops, and hardwood floors sponsor the shows that promote their appeal.

Anonymous said...

I agree that a kichen should be as individual as you are. I cringe when I hear people on HGTV whining about kitchens that are in very nice condition, that they need to be "updated" or when they remodel them into cookie-cutter styles covered with floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and tiles so that you can't even hang a picture.

Anonymous said...

I think stainless steel appliances are way over rated. They're hard to keep clean , esp. with kids around, fingerprints & all...you have to rub & rub to remove it all & to 'blend' it. I'm thinking stainless sinks aren't so hard to keep clean ( mine never were) & maybe shelving wouldn't be so bad either...I believe they are diff. some how, from stainless that appliances are made of...or maybe it's the size. But I believe the ''design" shows have sold us a 'bill of goods' as far as what we 'must' have
I like cream colored or white appliances best, you can design around them with whatever colors you want, what ever style you're into.
I'm older than dirt,... my 1st fridge was turquiose & I went the Harvest gold route too...liked them all. They all had to stay where they were when I moved, which was often due to my husband's job. I was able to do the most as far as decorating is concerned, when we had the cream or white appliance...now appliances came with my present house & have black plastic fronts...the stupid things are also hard to clean when smeared & scratches really show.
I've had matchy , matchy kitchens & have eclectic ones, always managed to make do with either.

Anonymous said...

WHAT THE HECK DOES THE 2ND POSTER'S COMMENTS HV TO DO WITH THE ARTICLE? WEIRD!!!

Anonymous said...

I'll make my kitchen into what I like, which is vintage appliances (refrig and stove), which I'll take with me when I move! I hate the new kitchens, especially I hate stainless steel appliances, if you ever visited the kitchen in a school, you'd know why I hate them. They look "institutional" to me!

saintNICHOLAStoo said...

There is a problem when you click to comment on the kitchen makeover article.It brings up the article about paintings found in the attic.

My comment is on the kitchen makeover article.

Yes,
updating your kitchen costs $25000.00 and upward.And,every 7 or 8 years your kitchen becomes dated and needs to be done again.I think not!

We now hear terms like "standard granite counter tops", "standard stainless appliances"and etc.
These are nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Anonymous said...

Dear Ralph and Terry –

Thank you for the information. I have a substantial quantity of Cameo Rose (by Hall) dinnerware that I would like to sell. The condition of the pieces is perfect. I would prefer to sell the items as a single lot. I am willing to price the lot at the cost of shipping and a small additional sum. Do you have any ideas as to how best to sell these items?

Fred Kellinger –
412-741-7903

Anonymous said...

I had the idea to use random vintage pieces several years ago when I had moved into my new home. I think it's much more interesting and certainly cheaper way to go than even the least costly kitchen cabinet sets you can get from do it yourself shops like Home Depo. Here is a link to some photos of my kitchen

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/andrew-phares-bay-area-home-070553

Just scroll down and click on Kitchen.

Anonymous said...

The best thing the Kovels have taught me is to use what I like. Our industrial-style house has cabinets we bought from an industrial supplier for next to nothing, paired with stainless open shelving that cost an arm and a leg, and black countertops throughout. I love it all. I now have to rotate my collections to maintain the minimalist look, but each time I put one thing away and bring out another, it's like Christmas!

Anonymous said...

I don't really understand stainless steel appliances,they are just not my taste.They are so popular though that I worry that I may not be able to find enamel appliances in a few years. I can get used to the stove but I can't stand the idea of a large steel industrial looking refrigerator.It's a big steel box. If you're concerned about mixing,I can offer that both of my grandmothers had stainless steel, built in stoves back in the 60's and they were paired with their 10,000 pound white refrigerators from the 50's. Believe it or not, they looked just fine. One Grandma replaced her fridge in 1974 with a Poppy Red Gibson side by side. It also went fine with the steel stove. I think it's important to make your kitchen the way you like it and not what's popular because popular is temporary. Some view stainless steel as trendy and some view it as a classic material. Time will tell. I like good food but I don't want to feel like I live in a restaurant. Let's hope enamel continues to sell or we not have a choice.