Artifacts in West End

We were both off on Friday, so DB~ and I wanted to do something a little different.  Periodically, I pass by this store in the West End on Stueben Street called Artifacts.  It advertises 20,000 items under one roof, so I figured "there has to be one thing in there that we would like".

After checking out the Toynbee tile downtown, we headed over to the West End to scope Artifacts out.  When we walked in, we were greeted by a cheerful saleswoman and saw a very cool 7 foot diameter dining table that DB~ liked.  A few minutes later an older gentleman, who we presumed was the owner, came over to extol the virtues of this table and chairs (and run down cheap furniture you get at every other store).  And this table could be yours (or ours) for the low, low price of $11,000 --- cost of chairs not included.

DB~ then turned around and saw a great chest of drawers.  Great detail, solid wood, all for the low, low price of $59,000.  At this point we realized we were way out of our element.  It slowly dawned on me that instead of finding one of 20,000 items that we would like, it would be more like finding one of 20,000 items that we could afford.  The whole first floor, as is usually the case, was the high-end stuff.  About 1/3 of the first floor was dedicated just to Persian and Oriental Rugs.

Oh, and there was a stuffed giraffe head and neck for $11,500.  DB~ petted it.

We headed up to the 2nd floor for the sheer amusement of seeing what other crazy-priced items we could find.  As soon as we got up to the 2nd floor, we passed by this giant mirror (probably 6-8 feet high) with ornate details in the hand carved wood, complete with multiple baroque-style cherubs.  Price?  A mere $125,000.  There are millionaires who would balk at that price tag.

After seeing some African tribal masks, nautical style tables and painting, and Asian themed furniture, we saw this great lamp:

It's a pitted silver lamp with burlap around it stenciled with "Paris" ,a Fleur de Lis, and some other French stuff.  It would go perfectly in one of our rooms with our existing French burlap pillows with stenciling.  Surprisingly, the lamp was "affordable".  I went downstairs to negotiate with the owner and see if he was flexible on the price.  We ended up getting 1/3 off of it and got it for $130.  As we were checking out, DB~ found a similar style lamp on Pottery Barn's website for $220.  We took it home and it fits in perfectly in our one room.

Artifacts may not be practical for the everyday person, but they do have some really interesting stuff in there. It's worth checking out.