Senior Citizen Day at Atlanta Area Goodwill Stores

It has been some time since I've been able to get to the Goodwill Stores in the area on Tuesdays - Senior Citizen Day (a whopping 25% off).  Today, I managed to visit three out of four of my "go-to" stores.  The stores (and donation centers) in this area are well managed and carefully stocked.  I have been in some stores in other locations/states and they are definitely not all the same.  The people working in the Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Dunwoody stores are clearly proud of their work and customer focused and that is evident in the good-sized buying crowds.  I love the Goodwill model - they are in business to provide jobs and job-training and that is a great goal in this economy.

My major shopping interest is to find heirloom quality upholstered furniture to refurbish and have professionally reupholstered for my Wydeven Designs business (link to website).  I have purchased top-name products like Baker, Thomasville, Henredon and others at these stores.  My criterion is that the bones are intact and solid and that there is no visible damage on major components like woodwork.  I do refurbish some of the wood but I want the underlying structure to be solid.  My upholsterer is VERY, VERY good and replaces and enhances any innards that are even slightly questionable.

In addition to upholstered furniture, I also buy feather/pillow inserts, books and sometimes, designer purses.  There are probably other things I should be looking for, but this is my usual list.

Buckhead Store - Roswell Street

My first stop was at the Buckhead Store - usually my favorite.  Because it is in a trendy, upscale area, the prices are sometimes a little higher but they do tend to have great merchandise.  Today, I found a great set of Norwalk Club Chairs that are in good shape other than awful fabric (my favorite condition since I will replace it anyway and the cost tends to be lower is in rough shape).  The Norwalk brand is a very good one - I have had Norwalk pieces in my home - but the stores are no longer in business.

Chairs.  Love the shape and I paid this price MINUS 25%!

I bought a set of down/feather inserts (accent pillows) and was intrigues by a strange little footstool but didn't buy!  A really nice set of crystal stemmed lamps caught my eye but I couldn't visualize where I needed them.

My next stop was at the Sandy Springs store (also on Roswell Road).  They had a lot of furniture but nothing of the quality/potential that I am looking for so I passed on it all.

Sandy Springs Store

I do sometimes buy these loose ottoman if I need one to go with other chairs but I have a pretty good stock of them.  I did love the tall glass vase and am looking for something like this for mantle decorations.  Unfortunately, they did not have a pair.

My last Goodwill stop was the Dunwoody store (near Perimeter Mall).   It is my best "book source" - whoever donates to this location has great taste in literature.  I have a tall stack of books next to my bed so I didn't even glance at books today - I have to finish my biography of Walter Cronkite and some others before I add to the pile!

Dunwoody Store

I had a great day shopping and am looking forward to seeing my Norwalk chairs totally transformed.   I am still struggling to add a facebook connection to my blog, so here is the direct link - link to Wydeven Designs Facebook page.  This blog is featured on the following link parties - Savy Southern Style