Tag Archives: mercatino usato

Tavolo

28 Feb

Another trip to a local mercatino usato (2nd hand shop).  I wanted to show my mom what they’re like here in Italy and she was amazed at all the great finds.  The shop was full of  antique dressers with marble tops and carved wood detailing (30euros), little matching wooden bedside cupboards (20euros), antique desks(70euros), pianos(500euros), tables, beds, closets and more.  So many great finds for such amazing prices. Most of these items would be found in high end Antique Shops in Canada with high price tags on them.  And strangely enough the high priced items are the exact ones I absolutely would never purchase (used IKEA furniture, horrible “bedroom sets”, pressed wood cupboards etc).

This time I came home with an amazing old solid wooden table with no woodworm in sight.  It’s perfect for my front entryway – a place to dump keys and cameras and papers. The underside of the table is full of old rusty hooks which I assume were used to hang pots and pans or tools.  Maybe even to dry fresh pasta dough? A good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint was all that was needed.

Here it is in it’s new home. Not a bad table for 25 euro.

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Mercatino Usato

17 Jan

Today I discovered, with the help of a friend, a new mercatino usato (second hand shop).  Amazingly enough it is only a 15 minute drive from my house.  Why did I not know of this place this past 10 years!?  It is absolutely gigantic and filled with everything under the sun.  There are buildings upon buildings jam packed with old accordians, wrought iron bed frames, antique cameras, hand painted eggs, ceramic vases, horse saddles, crystal glassware, fireplaces, wash basins, wooden closets/desks/drawers/beds.  Among all the garbage there are treasures to be found.  At one point we were poking through one of the derelict warehouses to find an actual tree growing in the middle of it and poking out of the roof.   Here are a few photos I took incognito while wandering around (never know if these shop owners appreciate people taking photos of their wares).

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My little bench

23 Nov

I’ve mentioned in the past how much I love the Mercatini Usati here in Italy.  Every time I visit one of the few second hand shops I come home with some sort of treasure.  I bought this little bench at a shop a few years ago for 5 euro.  It was old and dusty and an ugly varnished brown.  But look what a coat of white paint and a little handmade quilt can do!  I painted the inside a bright blue which gives it a bit of life when opened.  It’s at our front door so when all the various children come in with their various hats/scarves/gloves it’s really the perfect place to put it all.  And I use it as a place to collapse every now and then.  And then the kids just dump all their belongings on my lap instead of in the bench.  In any case…I’m very fond of this little bench.

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Mercatino usato

9 Nov

One of my favourite things to do on a rainy day is visiting the various mercatini usati (second hand shops) in the area.  There aren’t so many around but the few that I know of always have many treasures to be found at a very low price.  Lately I’ve had a fixation for soup terrines.  I make soup a lot in the winter and I was always annoyed at how ugly the big pot looked on the table and that the soup usually went cold after a few minutes.   So…considering soup terrines aren’t the most “in” thing and that they are actually really hard to find new, I went hunting in my local mercatini.  And I found a nice one.

Definitely from the 50’s or 60’s as you can tell by the pattern and colours.

While there I also found this sweet, tall, skinny teapot for my daughter.  She loves to have an herbal tea in front of the fire and what better way than to serve it in this?  Plus, it cost 1 euro…

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