Trash or Treasure: Assessing Your Possessions

Home
>
Interior Design & Decorating
>
Trash or Treasure: Assessing Your Possessions

One personal junk is another personal treasure. Never is that more true than when you are doing a spring clean up.

The good weather held out for Fred Dowling's 25th anniversary junk day and treasure exchange. Each year for the past 25 years, co-op residents have gathered in the spirit of reducing, reusing, recycling of their possessions. Residents trade and dispose of unwanted items; it's a win-win situation, all around. This year an Antiques Road Show was added to the day. I was on-hand as residents brought their prized possessions and family heirlooms to be appraised.

Some of the riches unearthed include: a 1953 Coronation toy carriage at $350; a Queen Victoria Jubilee milk pitcher at $175;a pearl brooch for $250; an antique desk for $275. The "piece de resistance" was a silver and diamond necklace valued at $750.

Here are some things to keep in mind when assessing the value of your items.

Condition

Chips, cracks and breaks on crystal, glass, porcelain and ceramics reduces the value of anything to a very minimal amount. Despite that fact, any item can have sentimental value even those with damage can have value to you.

Spotting Damage

Sometimes you can't tell if a piece of porcelain is cracked. Use the ping test ? flicking you're your thumb and finger again the porcelain. If it gives a ping sound, there are no cracks. If it gives a thud sound, it is damaged. The same test applies to crystal.

Value

Appraised value, retail value and your selling value are all different amounts.

The appraised value, sometimes called the insurance value is the amount that you would insure an item for. It is based on the amount you would have to pay to replace the item if it made an insurance claim.

The retail value is the amount that a store would sell it for. Your selling price is the amount that you would get if you sold it.

Your selling price will always be less than the retail value because most likely, you would sell your item to a dealer who in turn marks up the price.

Martin Swinton owns Take-A-Boo Emporium, an antique shop located in Toronto, Canada. He does furniture restoration, caning and rushing repairs, custom reproductions, upholstery, teaches courses on antiques and does appraisals for estates and community events. He can be reached at 416-785-4555 or by visiting http://www.takeaboo.com

Dujardin Design Associates, Inc. Launches New Website and Outreach into Social Networking
Dujardin Design Associates, Inc. announces a new level of internet-based communications with a fresh website and blog redesign in addition to a Facebook page and Twitter account to more easily share news about life on Nantucket Island, interior design, holistic lifestyles and sustainable design.Westport, CT (PRWEB) January 31, 2012 Trudy Dujardin, president of Dujardin Design Associates in ...

Interior Design Decoration
Image via Wikipedia. Interior Design Ideas How to decorate our home design ideas in this site.Redecorating your house isn’t all that easy and it becomes even less so when you ...

Interior design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities that are to ...

Distinctive Dwellings Now Offering All-In-One Home Building Services In The Pittsburgh, PA, and Tri-State Area
The Pittsburgh leader in custom home building solutions, Distinctive Dwellings is expanding operations in 2012 to include the tri-state area.Cranberry Township, PA (PRWEB) February 07, 2012 Distinctive Dwellings, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania leader in all-in-one custom home building solution, is proud to announce that for 2012, it is now offering its award-winning strategies throughout the tri ...

KVS Interior Design and eCommBuilder launch online boutique - Naples Daily News

KVS Interior Design and eCommBuilder launch online boutique
Naples Daily News
BONITA SPRINGS — KVS Interior Design announced it has partnered with eCommBuilder to launch Keep In Style LLC, an online boutique that features attractively priced interior design accessories as well as hand-selected jewelry and handbag items.

and more »

Interior design news & notes: Bathrooms; islands; hallways; and budget finds
The bathroom has become not only utilitarian, but also peaceful and glamorous.

Interior Design & Decorating - Elle Decoration | LinkedIn
Join LinkedIn and see how you are connected to Interior Design & Decorating - Elle Decoration. It's free.Get access to insightful information about your network at thousands of ...

Designer touch pays off - Sydney Morning Herald

Designer touch pays off
Sydney Morning Herald
Tara Smith, who provides a styling service for properties for sale through her business Tara Louise Interior Decoration & Design, agrees that these first impressions strongly influence buyers. ''If the home is out of date or looks worn and tattered, ...

and more »

Trash or Treasure: Assessing Your Possessions

Interior Design & Decorating Interior Design & Decorating