the mint dry sink

by | May 4, 2017 | All Things Home, Antiques, Favorite Finds | 34 comments

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One of my blog readers gave me the nicest compliment a couple of months ago.  She said something like, “I love that you love nice things, but you can let them go.”  I keep coming back to those words as I’m deciding what to keep and what to sell.

Loving a piece isn’t enough.  Hoping I will have the perfect place for it isn’t enough.  If I use those two arguments as qualifiers, I would keep everything.  Those two arguments are factors, but I also have to think about versatility.  Can I use the piece in a variety of ways, in many different rooms, giving me lots of options as I set up in a new home and studio?

I love this dry sink and I have been holding onto it in the hopes that some day, I could hook it up to a drain and wall-mounted faucet and love it every day I wash my hands in it, rinse something off, or fill a pitcher of water.

This sink is not very versatile, though.  I mean, it can be used in many different ways, but it wouldn’t work in every style of home and it would only work in a few rooms…a bathroom, kitchen, perhaps a porch or mudroom.

So, I’m letting it go in the hopes that someone else has the perfect spot for it and they will love it every time they use it.  And if I ever have the perfect place for a sink like this, well, I can hunt for another one.

I know I won’t find one just like this, with the pretty minty-green paint and the wide white enamel sink…

…but good finds are everywhere and there is always a new treasure that makes my heart race a little faster when I spot it.

I am considering keeping this chalkboard, though.  I fall more in love with that gold frame every time I use it for a picture, which has been a lot lately!  I actually have two that are similar, so I will have at least one to sell at Lucketts.

The dry sink will definitely be in the truck coming to Lucketts…

…although I may need a minute when it’s sold and carried away.

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    34 Comments

    1. Randi

      This is lovely! And I can see why you are having a hard time parting with it.

      Refinishing furniture is fun, but also frustrating since I want to keep it all. But I don’t have to room, so I sell it.

      Have fun at Luckett’s. It sounds wonderful!

    2. Becky

      It’s such a great piece. I like how you have it staged with the dish drainer and dishes. I wish your customers would send pictures of your furniture in their own homes. I’d love to see how this piece is actually used.

    3. Kim

      I know you like to think that “good finds are everywhere,” but that simply is not true depending on where you live. You happen to live in an area where there are jaw-dropping greatness finds (PA), but this is not everyone’s predicament. It would take an immense effort to find even a small piece of old furniture to be repurposed for many people, unfortunately. And anymore we can’t afford to pay the shipping fees to buy something from one of the “hotspots.” It’s sad.

      • Marian Parsons

        Yes, I do acknowledge that some places are better for antiquing than others and prices can vary greatly, but the world has gotten smaller and, with more traveling antique fairs, I think good pieces are accessible most places. You might have to travel a bit or pay a bit more, but they can be found with some determination. 🙂

      • Diane

        Ah Kim we have the same predicament here in Portugal…everyone thinks they own an antique and think that things are worth fortunes when in reality they are just ordinary piece that i could pick up in the UK for flumpence/ What you do Marian selling old repurposed furniture would not work here, the younger generation just don’t want old furniture they see it as dark and like their grandma’s…they just want Ikea furniture…its a real shame because they just don’t get repurposing yet…there are a few people doing it but in the main they just cant be bothered, they just aren’t into “doing it yourself” on anything! I can see why they think their furniture is worth more than it really is and that is because of the lack of choice when it comes to buying furniture…apart from Ikea and a couple of other smaller furniture shops…most furniture is still made by hand…they don’t have big department stores here and so furniture is expensive, so their idea is this piece of furniture cost me 1,000 euros 10 years ago so I want to sell it for 900 euros…they don’t get depreciation of what is ordinary! They don’t do antique fairs here…they have a large exposition in Lisboa and Porto but definitely not fairs and we have travelled believe me! They have OLX but this is not the same as craigs list or ebay and sometimes the prices are just silly and it makes me laugh!

    4. Farmmom Karen

      I love your candor! You have actually encouraged me to get rid of things that aren’t versatile and it’s VERY freeing. That’s saying a lot for this “treasure collector.” May the Lord bless you with an equally beautiful dry sink!!

      • Pam from Maryland

        Well said Karen, !!

    5. Tanya

      Oh my goodness! What a great piece and if I had an actual workshop for my stained glass work I would definitely make a place for it. I know whoever purchases will love it as much as you do.

    6. Sue Pagels

      I agree with another reader, sometimes it’s very difficult to find another piece at a decent price, especially in our area! People watch Pickers or Antique Road show and will price a small oak commode (washstand) at $350 or a broken down beat up dresser at $250 – it’s insane! I think it’s wonderful you can let things go, I am getting better at it, but sometimes it’s still difficult, especially since I have family pieces I don’t want to part with. Thanks too Marian for getting back to the furniture and Lucketts posts – I do read you pretty much every day, especially if it’s furniture related!

      • Marian Parsons

        Yeah, we see that around here, too. Some people put insane prices on pieces that need a lot of work. Today, in fact, I found some French caned chairs with a nice shape and frame, but the seats were punched out of all of them. They were charing $125/each for chairs that needed to be entirely redone. Craziness.

        Glad you like the furniture posts!

    7. susan

      I love this piece. I wish I could part with some things. I am getting overcrowded.

      I asked my husband to take me to Luckett’s next spring instead of the Country Living Fair. It looks wonderful.

    8. Mir

      I love that you can let things go easier than I can. However, have you ever had that one piece that you let go and you wish you hadn’t? That is what is so hard for me to get past… worrying if I will regret the loss.
      Regardless, I love your site, and your pieces are beautiful.

      • Marian Parsons

        I’ve had a few pieces that I miss, but not any that I regret selling and I think that’s what makes me so willing to let pieces go.

    9. Noelle

      Whoever grabs this one will be one lucky lady (or gentleman!) 🙂
      I would love to see how people have used the pieces they purchased from you in their homes….! Sort of a “where are they now” post 🙂

    10. Naomi S.

      Yes, “breaking up is hard to do!” This is such an unusual piece with the enamel sink. I wonder if the sink is original to the piece. I’ve never seen a dry sink with an actual sink in it. I have too much furniture in my little house but I, too, have a hard, hard time letting go of any of it. I think it’s harder, like the other reader said, when the items are from family which many of mine are. They stir so many memories just looking at them.

      But, even though we cherish our various possessions I think it is important to remember that they are only things. And when we have too many things passing some of them on for others to enjoy is necessary and sometimes freeing. This is advice that I still don’t act on very often. But I think I am getting better by small increments at letting go. I hope to just keep practicing and improving at de-cluttering my life. And that is what I would encourage others to do, too. Marian seems to be our shining example in this area. Thanks, Marian!

      • Marian Parsons

        Yes, I agree with you that this might be a wood dry sink that someone fitted with an enamel sink later on.

    11. Leila

      That’s a find. Would be wonderful on an outside porch or pitting shed. The sink would work wonderfully to mix things up and then pit them up. Wish I lived closer as I would snap that up in a second. That is not an easy find.

    12. Leila

      And of course I meant potting shed and pot them up 🙂

    13. Kathryn

      Won’t find something like that in my western end of the US. And if you did it would cost an arm and a leg for sure. But when you move you will have all kinds of inspiration for your new place. Keep moving forward…happily

    14. Robin Leach

      It’s lovely! I also wish we could see photos of your things in their new homes!

      • Marian Parsons

        That would be a fun post! Some of my customers do e-mail me pictures, so I’ll ask if I can get some updates.

    15. Beverly

      Do you sell your furniture locally?

      • Marian Parsons

        Right now I am just preparing pieces to sell at the Lucketts Spring Market in Berryville, VA, but afterwards, I will have a “lucketts leftover” sale as well as a moving/studio closing sale locally.

    16. Jane

      I am in the process of doing that at the moment, decluttering the house of furniture. I didn’t realise how much I had collected until there was a lot less in the rooms. Plus, letting go of things means there is opportunity for new treasures to be discovered. 🙂

    17. Maggie

      I am in the process from moving one house to another House we own which has already been furnished. I am having a hard time giving up stuff from our original house. I think if I can’t use it there I may repurpose it and sell it . My husband is going crazy because the new house is packed with “stuff” I may want! I have many antiques passed down from my parents and emotionally it is hard to give them up, but it must be done!

    18. Andrea

      As newly weds 30 yrs ago we bought an old dry sink used in a general store. Over numerous moves, it was used as a baby changing table, for storage in the mudroom, in a dining room, and now as a kitchen island! Hope someone will enjoy this pretty mint sink as much!

    19. breida stutzman

      Marian – you could create a hashtag for buyers to post pics of your pieces in their new homes…
      -b.

    20. Susan

      I bought VIP tickets for Luckettes. I am RUNNING to your booth! I love everything you have and how much love you put into it. ❤️

    21. Jessica | Petal + Ply

      What a great piece! Man do I wish we had the budget to renovate our sunroom right now. This piece would be perfect. I believe the room used to be a porch but was enclosed at some point. Since it is off of the kitchen and family room I have plans to eventually redo it as a combo space – butler’s pantry/breakfast nook -storage/shelves and counter on one side two chairs/small table opposite. This piece is really inspiring me!!

    22. Cecelia Krajcar

      I think it would be fabulous in your studio in which to wash your paint brushes!!!!!!

    23. Pamela

      Love your dresser,love that color of blue, but then I’m a sucker for light blue and most shades of blue. Your hydrangea is so pretty.

    24. MaryLisa Noyes

      I have no doubt someone will give it a happy home! It’s awesome!

    25. Melissa Morehart

      Marian, I am in the process of getting new dinner plates and I’m struggling between white and glass. I have some vintage glass salad plates that I love, but I also love the farmhouse luck. Where are your white dinner plates from that are on the dry sink. I collect and love ironstone as you do, and didn’t know if these work like restaurant grade ironstone plates. I still have four teams at home and want something that’s going to last for a long time to come. Thank you so much!

    26. Melissa Morehart

      4 teens at home. Lol And farmhouse look! Sorry about that

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