Shopper's Tip: Check In and Check It Out.

Quick Shopper's Tip (because things are beyond busy these days): The Hotel Furniture Sale.

No, I'm not saying you should go down to the local Holiday Inn Express or the Bates Motel and see if they'll sell you their old mattress and vinyl covered arm chairs (especially not after those Dateline specials with the black lights in the motel rooms.)

However, many of us live in towns and cities with nice resorts, inns, hotels, or towns and cities adjacent to such amenities. If you keep an open ear and and an open mind, a lot of times, these stately establishments will, just like your home, go under renovation and want to revamp their style, liquidating all of their current furniture and decor. They will sell the goods at a ridiculously low price, just to get it out the door. I purchased a set of these high back, gold brocade, upholstered chairs from The Hotel Roanoke (http://www.hotelroanoke.com/) for $15.00 a piece. They are currently in my office at work (hence the crappy/shoddy photos...I don't keep a camera in the office, so I had to use the phone.) There wasn't a scratch, spill, stain, or thread out of place on them. The best part is a lot of this furniture is made to be durable and spill proof, to accommodate the heaviest of heavyset guests to unstable Mable with her sloshing of the Sunday Brunch Bloody Mary.

A lot of times, the local news will announce such sales as well as the local newspapers. Major Hotels will unload everything from chairs, to lamps, drapes, artwork, mirrors, nightstands, armoires, and even headboards. At the Hotel Roanoke sale, the headboards were the coveted item with the the infamous "HR" wood monogram and crest at the top. (This hotel has been around for a long time, for locals, it's a piece of history). My parents live down the road from The Homestead Resort and I know they do a similar sale from time to time. These sales are especially great for those of you with a more formal approach to interior design and decorating, as a lot of grand old hotels have started ditching some of the antiques and formal pieces for an edgier, more modern approach of clean, classic, comfort. It's also a great chance to own a little piece of personal history if the hotel or resort means something to you (i.e. you got dressed there before your wedding, you went to an annual benefit there growing up, you made some babies there (come on, you know you were thinking it.)

Be willing to get up early, be willing to elbow some girl in the throat to get the chair you want (just kidding...kinda), and maybe wait in line at a warehouse (you typically won't be going to the actual hotel, or at least not carrying stuff out of the lobby). So, check the papers, check-in, and check it out. You're in for quite a steal and deal. Bon Chance.

Cheers,

Ed