estate sale travels

If it's not already abundantly clear, we like estate sales (understatement of the year there)...

But in addition to finding things for the house, estate sales are a great way to start learning how to navigate around a new city.  Not only that, but we've been known to go to lots of sales just to see a particular house, even if there's nothing listed that we're interested in.  Most of the time it's nearly impossible to take good photos due to crowds, clutter and impossibly bad lighting.  Naturally, that doesn't stop me from trying...  So here are some of my favorites.

This was a mansion in McKeesport (it was listed on Old House Dreams a while back).  It was worth buying for the fireplace alone.

This is a stained glass transom in a Scheibler apartment building (I believe Whitehall), none of my other pictures are clear, which is an absolute shame.

This was an English Arts and Crafts mini-mansion in Squirrel Hill.  The original entrance was boarded up, I would have loved to have seen it in it's heyday.  A strange mix of very high end entertaining spaces, and very small, almost cloister like bedrooms.  I brought home a bunch of furniture and the entire original kitchen... I also plan on shamelessly copying the stained glass when I get my skills up to snuff.

incised Grueby? tile

arts and crafts maidens on all the columns

original beam lights

This was a converted carriage house in Shadyside

Here are some random homes we've come across.  They always seem to be back lit, so the pictures are terrible, but I highly recommend making the black one full screen - soooo many cool details (and it's black)! 

In Greensburg I think?

stunning font

this one belongs to a historical society, but could really use some attention

look at their carriage house!

 And lastly, perfectly fractured slate sidewalks...