Friday 14 May 2021

So I fell in love with an Ercol sideboard.


I knew I needed some storage in the living room of my new small home, something that would hold the television and hide a multitude of sins to keep the place looking less cluttered  and a low sideboard seemed like a really good idea.  So I started looking around online and found this ... be still my beating heart you are a thing of beauty 💖

This is this years model and a snip at just £3,165.

And this is mine 💖

 I might be splashing the cash a bit at the moment while I'm furnishing my lovely new place, but you all know me and if I can get something just as good and maybe even a little bit more me for a lower price I will, so I visited Vinterior for a browse.   And the photograph above from the website is my new-to-me sideboard a 1960's model ... just like me ... and a snip at just £566.


Here she is lurking in the gloomy light of my hallway here at the flat.


She has been refurbished wonderfully.  

Every bit of wood gleams where it has been cleaned and nourished, and that slide-out and lift-out cutlery tray is going to be so useful for all the bits and pieces that I have been storing in my bureau here at the flat.


Sorry about this strange photo, but as you can see in the sideboard photo this little shelf unit is lying on it's side on top, and with my very sore back I can't pick up anything that weighs more than a feather, so that's how I had to photograph it and then turn the photo instead!!

 I knew I didn't want to furnish my new place with all new furniture so I have had my eyes open for quite a while on Facebook Marketplace looking for suitable bargains and when this little beauty popped up on Saturday for just £35 I knew it had to be mine.

Luckily Alan had time to go and pick it up for me before he left to go down South for work this week.  Steven the guy I bought it from had had this for years, seemingly it was his Great Grandma's and he wanted it to go to a good home ... so it will be going in my kitchen once it is all installed and I have repaired the little bit of damage to the top.

And in other expensive news ... I have now ordered my bed, headboard and mattress and also that gorgeous purple sofa that I showed you a few weeks ago.  It's going to be like waiting for Father Christmas as they all have long lead up times, six weeks for the bedroom stuff and thirteen for the sofa ... gulp!!


Sue xx


59 comments:

  1. Can we have an update on Colin please Sue? Hope he's surviving!

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    1. I'll share a photo of Colin tomorrow :-)

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  2. That sideboard is gorgeous - and I think you got it for a great price. I'm looking forward to seeing it in your new home along with all your other furniture. Do you think you'll have room for the curved bookcase you got a while back?

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    1. I was literally just about to answer you with ... 'Unfortunately my curved bookcase is too deep to fit in the annexe, so Alan has claimed it for his office in the house. So it will be put to good use as luckily the shelves are all tall enough to hold box files.' When I had a bit of a brainwave ... perhaps I CAN fit it somewhere after all. Thank you for making me think about it again :-)

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    2. Definitely don't let Alan have it until you are sure it won't work in the annexe! :)

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    3. I won't don't worry 😀

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  3. We got rid of so much furniture, knowing it wouldn't fit in our retirement bungalow. But realised we needed a slim, compact Sideboard too. And like you found lovely new ones which were beyond our budget. But on fb marketplace, the ideal piece at 25% of the original cost. Its exactly right, and the couple we bought it from were lovely. A great sense of satisfaction all round. Saving money, and saving the planet by re-using.

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    1. I had half hoped to bring a sideboard that we had in the workshop back in Wales for my new place but when I opened one of the drawers it fell to pieces and I realised it would have taken so much work to bring it back to life, so we left it there full of tools and 'useful' smallholding supplies for the new owners.

      Yes, I agree totally we should all be reusing all sorts of things, the amount of stuff that is thrown away these days is heart-breaking. I think long and hard before I buy anything new at the moment.

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  4. Love Ercol but not much to be found when we were looking.

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    1. It's always the way isn't it, when you really need something there's none to be found and then later ... there it is!!

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  5. The Ercol sideboard was a snip and will look great in your new home. Glad that it's all coming together nicely. Hope your back is better soon. I have booked in to my lovely Chiro back in Carm - didn't expect to be seeing him again quite so soon but know he will soon put me right.

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    1. It as a real bargain wasn't it, I am so pleased with it. The thought of anyone touching my back at the moment makes my eyes water!

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  6. When our mother died a couple of years ago, the wide range of Ercol furniture acquired in the 1960s was distributed around my brothers and sisters, including the Ercol extending dining table and chairs that could accommodate 12 (I'm one of 10 children). What caught my eye was the side-board. We had the identical model, including the the round metal roller wheels on your one. Despite a household of 10 children, including 7 boys, the furniture survived unblemished. Its good to know its still in the family.

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    1. It really is good solid furniture isn't it. My Mum has three Ercol wall units in her little bungalow and used to have the sofa until she moved there, but it had to go as it was quite deep and wouldn't fit. I think this is furniture that stands being passed down the family, I hope that one of my sons will have this one day, or at the very least sell it and make some money.

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  7. I love, love, love, your sideboard, Ercol is timeless , I love the feel of wood and would be smoothing it every time I passed by. Isn't it lovely to have a mix of the old and new your home will be a delight when all is in the right place shame you have to wait so long for your new stuff but worth waiting for.

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    1. Haha ... yes I stroke it every time I pass at the moment even if it does make my back twinge, it's so smooth and tactile. I'm looking forward to the mix of old and new it suits my personality. I wouldn't be happy in a place with all new stuff.

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  8. Love your sideboard - I have the matching drop leaf dining table. Never heard of Vinterior, thanks for the tip! So much nicer to have lovely wooden furniture that has been loved, than expensive modern things shipped halfway round the world, which are probably inferior quality.

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    1. Exactly, I love that this was made in the UK and spent most of it's life down South before coming to rest here in Lancashire. No air miles for my sideboard ... although it whizzes along nicely on it's castors, I'll have to anchor it with something once it's in situ on the tiled floor though ;-)

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  9. That was a great price for the sideboard and a very classy piece it is, too! x

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    1. It's pretty timeless isn't, as the new up to date version shows. They have barely altered the design at all. I just wished that I had aged as well my sideboard has, it's back is definintely in a better state than mine at the moment ;-)

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  10. What a find! I love a well made piece of furniture. Mind you, I don't have a lot of it, but I do admire it!!!

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    1. I always have too, the quality just sings out in older pieces compared to more modern mass produced stuff.

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  11. I dearly love Ercol, it is timeless, really classic and, when I win the lottery or the Premium Bonds (which is 100% more likely that the lottery), I will indulge in some. It is so beautiful.
    What an amazing find.
    (I've never heard of Vinterior either)
    xx

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    1. Click on the link and then enter 'Ercol' into the search box ... and you will be in heaven. Thank goodness I don't have much more room for things or I would be buying so much more. There is a beautiful old dresser on there ..........

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    2. Oh, no, don't encourage me - I have no room . . no-o-o-o-o!!
      xx

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    3. There was a nice little Ercol plate rack that would take up hardly any room .... 😉

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  12. All coming together rather nicely. I like your choice of furniture.

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    1. I'm having a lot of fun searching for the pieces I need, but I'm not rushing into anything. It seems to be coming together nicely 😃

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  13. They are both lovely pieces of furniture. I always think you get better value with furniture that has stood the test of time. We furnished our house with old pieces and I love them so much more than I could anything new.

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    1. I agree completely, I love that the things have their own back story ... even if sometimes only they know it 😄

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  14. Your sideboard is beautiful. I love old polished wood, the smell is divine. You had an amazing bargain there. Fingers crossed that the furniture on order is ready a bit earlier than quoted. Our sofa was ready 3 weeks early :)
    Sorry to hear that your back is still sore. How frustrating and very painful :( Sending healing thoughts....

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    1. I will have to invest in some lavender scented proper furniture polish to keep all my new things nourished , they deserve it.

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  15. Lovely furniture, it is exciting starting afresh. xx

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    1. It really is, I've looked forward to this for so long 😀

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  16. You have wonderful taste! The sideboard is beautiful and I love the Laura Ashley wallpaper you’ve selected. I looked at the Vinterior site and there are so many great pieces. I wish that we had a similar site here in the U.S. Maybe we do and I just don’t know about it.

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    1. I know what I like and I think as long as I go along with that, the things that I buy will go together nicely.

      I think Vinterior is dangerous for me . .. I might have just bought an Ercol bedside cabinet 😄😳

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  17. I adore your new sideboard, such a beautiful colour. Wood, real wood, is just so lovely isn't it. Most of my bedroom furniture is second hand antique pine, beautiful and solid.

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    1. I just love real wood, but then it's in my blood so I should, my great grandfather was a cabinetmaker with a workshop above Mr Rolls and Mr Royce ... fancy having them as your friends, he never got a car discount though 😄

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  18. Both of those pieces are beautiful and have so much character that you would never get in new pieces! The amount of storage they will give you is great too.

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    1. Gosh yes, that sideboard especially is going to hold so much of my crap safely behind closed doors 😃

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  19. We have an Ercol bed it is great but so heavy I can't move it to vac under it! Love the sideboard. Hope the back is better.

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    1. The sideboard weighs a lot, but luckily it's on castors 😀

      My back is terrible, what a bloody stupid time for it to go ☹️

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  20. Great finds Sue. Everything will look beautiful in your new home. Customizing to meet your specific needs is important and you seem to be doing this marvelously well. I hope your back is starting to improve and the pain is on the decrease. Take care.

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    1. If I love everything I buy I'm hoping they will all live in harmony with each other.

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  21. Yes, that will had lots of nice storage to your new place. You sure are having fun putting this together. Hope the sore back heals up soon!

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    1. I'm having a LOT of fun, perhaps too much, it's going to be hard to stop shopping 😃🤣

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  22. Love seeing you do up your new home. We remain in rental. House 1 fell through, house 2 looking decidedly dodgy. Fingers crossed!

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    1. Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear this 😔. Fingers definitely crossed 🤞🤞🤞

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  23. I remember being offered 4 ercol chairs back in the 90s for next to nothing. I refused as they were too low for me and hubby who are tall. Boy do I wish I had had somewhere to keep them the prices now are eye watering.
    Love your sideboard. I also had a sideboard many years ago that no one wanted I loved it and when I finished with it gave it to neighbour who ended up using it for his guinea pigs (converted it) that is now worth thousands of pounds. The beauty of this furniture is that is was made to last.

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    1. I LOVE the thought of a sideboard being converted into a Guinea pigs hutch, what a brilliant idea. Better that than it just being trashed 😃

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  24. I'm drooling over that sideboard, it's divine! Beauty and functionality... what more could you want (well, affordability!!) You got it all!

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    1. I was thrilled to find it, now it's nearly time to get it to the annexe and it's final resting place :-)

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  25. I love Ercol. I've inherited my Mum's giraffe 'room divider' which is beautiful as well as useful. Enjoy it x x x

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    1. I had to Google that ... WOW!! You lucky thing, it's gorgeous, and have you seen how much they fetch these days!!

      For anyone else that's interested ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293986718987?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-153316-527457-8&mkcid=2&itemid=293986718987&targetid=4585100932135018&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=398826040&mkgroupid=1304021050087368&rlsatarget=pla-4585100932135018&abcId=9300500&merchantid=87779&msclkid=51543c88d73c19b9c5e75c2b5f4daef1

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  26. They are both beautiful pieces. I like furniture that has a story behind it. X

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    1. Yes, a back story does make things come alive doesn't it.

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  27. My goodness! What a bargain your Ercol sideboard is and so attractive! Intrigued by Vinteriors. Must have a look at that. The other item of furniture is lovely too. I'm wincing after reading your replies to people as your back must be really awful!

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