Elizabeth Cook passed a home advertising an estate sale during a run a year-and-a-half ago. She returned to Buckhead’s Tuxedo Park neighborhood on the day of the sale and purchased an armchair covered in designer fabric with an ikat print.
“I love the statement it makes in the room, adore the fabric, and relish the deal I got on the chair,” Cook said. “It anchors our living room and always makes me smile.”
Credit: Christopher Oquendo
Credit: Christopher Oquendo
She’s been “hooked ever since” on estate sales, giving the furniture, curtains, light fixtures and accessories a new home in her two-bedroom condo. Cook looks on EstateSales.net early in the week — typically Tuesday — to find when and where sales will occur that weekend.
“I love to hunt one-for-a-kind treasures,” she said.
Snapshot
Residents: Elizabeth and Travis Cook. Elizabeth owns Domino Media Group, a public relations and brand strategy firm; Travis is a casualty risk client manager at Beecher Carlson, an insurance broker.
Location: Atlanta's Peachtree Hills neighborhood
Size: 1,020 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath
Year built and bought: 1960; 2016
Renovations: They renovated the kitchen with stainless steel KitchenAid appliances and refinished and repainted the cabinets white. They changed the carpet to hardwoods throughout and repainted the home (Benjamin Moore's Cleveland Green in the dining room, Linen White in the living room, hallway and bedrooms, and Paper White in the bathroom and kitchen).
Architectural style: Traditional
Favorite architectural elements: The plantation shutters
Interior design style: "Classic, but not predictable."
Favorite interior design elements: Finds from thrift stores, online auctions, estate and sample sales.
Favorite artwork: Her great-grandfather, an artist, left over 2,000 framed works to her uncle when he died two decades ago. "Since his passing, my uncle kept all of the art in a climate-controlled apartment," she said. "This past January, my family collectively decided, 'Let There Be Art' and hosted a sale in my hometown of Columbus. A large percentage of the art in our home today are finds we pulled during the sale." She also has works from Dorothy Shain and Renee Bouchon.
Resources: Furniture from Travis & Co., Baker, Napa Home & Garden, Scott Antique Market, Estatesales.net, Ebth.com and liveauctioneers.com. Lighting from Bunny Williams Homes, One Kings Lane, Dixon Rye and Pentreath & Hall. Accessories from Hudson Grace, Room 422, Kendra Scott and Matouk. Rugs from Stark Carpet. Curtain fabric from Cowtan & Tout. Pillows from Lacefield Designs. Bedding from the CMA at AmericasMart and Hill House Home.
Decor tip: Purchase items during sample sales in person or even over the phone. Cook bought a pair of lamps by calling the Bunny Williams Home corporate office to order them for 80 percent off the retail value.
