Should I go?

The good drugs from the 60s still hidden in that lovely Mediterranean coffee table cabinet 😜

Of course, OP.

Otherwise Blake and Rufus (OK, Blake) will buy all the treasures.

No. If their kids didn't want any of that shit, why would you?

It looks exactly like what it is: a bunch of crap that old people used to own.

This is the quality content I come to DL for.

Honestly, I would buy that old parcel post scale because it's cool as hell.

I love these chairs, just look at the detail at the bottom. To die for. Nothing like olive velvet for that 70s look, they are divine.

Driving to Santa Rosa...

R5 they’d be perfect for our Throne Room in Montecito

^ Whoever goes please take this nutjob with you and leave her there

[quote]Otherwise Blake and Rufus (OK, Blake) will buy all the treasures.

Who? This is the second time someone's mentioned them and I have no idea who they are.

^ Everybody who's anybody knows our dear friends Blake and Rufus. Do try and keep up 🙄

Here they are, R9, introduce yourself!

The sofa is fabulous and would fit right in themed room in a club like the Castle were the goths hang out and pretend to be vampires.

That Ethan Allen-style sofa is a troublesome sight.

I'll take all of the BVM portraits and statuettes, as well as the female orientalia. They're perfect for our shrine room.

The sewing machines, the tools inc the drill press.

Asian

Ironic items only

I don’t think that furniture is all that old. Looks like a typical Korean American household.

I was going to snark too (is that a genuine Bob Ross in picture #4?), but the more I looked, it just made me sad. Someone's old Catholic grandparents died, and now their whole lives are being thrown on the trash heap for us to ridicule.

And those workshop pix flashed me back to my own father, who died a few months ago, and left his cellar workshop looking a bit like that too. Clearing and sorting it was my job, and it really takes me back to those days after his death.

Funny, I went to this same estate sale in San Jose several weeks ago. All the same stuff, down to the coffe mugs.

I want to be man mounted on that couch for the first time!

I want the lovely ‘cocktail length’ sofa! I’d reupholster it with a single cushion. Nobody wants to sit on a crack!

Wall-to-wall carpeting!!

I think SlumsofCupertino is a great handle

Everything looks to be in good condition, except maybe the dolls.

The sewing machines might be interesting.

Depends on what prices they're asking.

Caftans

Earrings

Some of that kitchen stuff looks great. WIth wooden handles, or made almost entirely out of wood.. That's fantastic quality.

The postal scale at #27 and the sewing machines at ##47 and 76. Grab all the cleaning supplies and circa 1970 Christmas decorations, too, on your way out.

i live in Santa Rosa!

Estate sales should be "regular" DL thing. Like "Tasteful Friends", but for artifacts instead of houses. Should we call them "Delightful Estate Sales" as an homage to the OP's opening line?

Taking on other people's old crap is how you become a hoarder.

I might go, thanks! I love old tools. Also, looks like a cool coats. I might like a few paintings though hard to say. Some of the outside furniture looks interesting.

I went. It was delightful. I'd guess the former residents, probably in their late 90s, were Italian Americans. It appeared they lived there since the late 60s or early 70s and never threw anything away. The house was a spacious custom ranch, had tons of storage space, and was in a beautiful wooded neighborhood.

The prices were great. Full sets of flatware, service for 10, for $45. A full set of China for $45. The barware was unexceptional, that's what I'm usually looking for The sofa was fabulous, mint condition. The two olive green chairs were gone as was the painting above the sofa but the hideous giant lamps were still in the living room. Everything was in the rich warm tones of the 70s. The window treatments were all custom and a sight to behold.

I just bought a few empty picture frames and vintage ornaments. I seriously considered buying the metal wall sculpture linked below, it was only $45, but I don't really have room for it at home or in my space in an antique collective.

If those ppl were in their late 90s, then that ‘70s decor was something they did in their 50s.

R34 My mother was born in 1926, decorated her 70s home in her 40s, was 54 in 1980,

Couples back then had more money to spend on decor in their middle age. The house was not 20-30 something decor, but mature adult with some bucks decor.

R35 - me, OP.

Are they selling the house? Is there a listing?

Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

R35, I was just thinking that the '70s decor was kind of outlandish, considering what came before it. All those earth tones. That's pretty good if someone in their 50s could adapt to the times.

R19 is sweet but R31 is right.

As I get older and see old things in good condition, like what's in that house, I think it's nice. Why buy new stuff when the old stuff still works? On top of that, the old stuff was simply made better.

At this point in life, I have what I need and I'm a cozy minimalist. I wouldn't buy or want anything that's in the house at OP, but I can understand people's fascination with it.

People get overly invested in nostalgia.

The Thomas Kinkade is absolutely to die for, I would put it in my drunken artist collection!

It was an old Polish woman's house.

R37, I checked listings in that area and it's not there. A nearby house is priced at 1.3 million. There was no sale sign at the house either. I didn't think to ask about the status of ownership when I was there.

One serious downside to the location is it's very near wildfire burn areas. Although it's in a beautiful, intact neighborhood of large homes on large lots, some nearby homes were lost in recent fires. You could see recovering hillside forest that were too close for comfort. I would not buy in that area. The house is off Los Alamos Rd. Farther up the mountain road homes burned, also west of it in an upscale neighborhood called Sky Hawk homes also burned. That area was ringed in fire, many homes lost.

I linked one of the lots for sale.

R41, I agree. I'm in the business of buying and selling vintage and antique items. People treasure them and are really into giving new life to old objects. It's surprising how many millennials shop in the store, looking for home decor or things for their collections. Vintage collectors can be inventive and imaginative, often quirky and fun. We get excited about our finds, often repairing and restoring them. It's really fun to see what people collect, there is just about something for everyone.

I only like this piece. It would look good in a den or home office. It has a later 60s/early 70s look. It could liven up an ordinary room.

R47, it was an old school "hi'fi" with built in record player and radio.

I think you guys are talking about "console stereos." The image at R48 is not a console stereo. R48 does not have a built-in record player. The record player is sitting on top.

The console stereo has a lid that lifts up. The record player and dials for radio would be under the lid. The one pictured here has a record player on the left, radio in the middle, and storage to the right and below. (That's what it looks like, at least.)

A barf bag?

The dolls are hideous.

R49, that was the photo that came with the Hi-Fi article. The console at the estate sale had a built in record player and sound system.

My father had a console like the one you pictured. He called it a hi-fi, his name, not mine. It nurtured it for years and we listened to many wonderful long-playing albums on it. I had a small record player in my room. Fond memories.

The first word to come to my mind was "Davenport."

Call ahead and ask if they have anything in brown tones. Because if not, well, it would be a waste of time.

I see dead people.

Thinking of retiring to Santa Rosa. Should I?

The wooden bench and the sewing machines

R56 Why not? It's lovely, close to San Francisco and surrounded by parks and hiking trails, near the ocean and home to the beautiful Russian River. Also wine, beer, and lots of recreation, community theater, excellent music venues, and a sizeable gay community. Blue county in a blue state.

Downside: Expensive (not as bad as SF and surrounding counties), drought, floods, and wildfires.

[quote]Someone's old Catholic grandparents died, and now their whole lives are being thrown on the trash heap for us to ridicule.

As well they should be.

['quote]Thinking of retiring to Santa Rosa. Should I?

There's an LGBT retirement facility there.

You'd never get the farts out of that sofa, but it matches. All of the sixties furniture matches. I'd buy all that plus the postal scale, the decanters and every old tool caddy from the garage.

The huge amount of recent kid’s toys and items made me curious. Didn’t anyone in the family want the Baby Yoda slippers? They had to have been bought in the last two or three years.

r58, do you live there? Am a Bay Area native, have lived in SF for 42 years and know what you mentioned, but you put it succinctly (except for SR being "home" to The Russian River". But wondering what it's like living there.

I love the 50s-60s era painting in the last photo - I would have purchased that. It looks like some my parents had.

R56, not in Santa Rosa but in Sonoma County. I grew in SF and the Northern Peninsula.

I've been here 30 years and there are many differences. More parking, less trash, less traffic, although it's getting worse and some areas are better than others. I live in a neighborhood where there is a lot of street parking and little crime. I missed the diversity of Peninsula but that's improving. Mostly it's Whites and Mexicans but a lot of other ethnicities in much smaller numbers. People really make an effort to be kind. There are also a lot of retirees and student enrollment is declining because of the cost of housing. Still cheaper than San Francisco.

What I love is so much beautiful nature close at hand, I never tire of driving country roads. The City is still close enough for shows and museums but there is also really good local theater here and many fantastic artists. The ocean is also nearby but it's best to visit the coast on weekdays. I'm 20 minutes from Napa County, a little farther from Marin, and there are tons of day trips you can make that feel like little vacations. It's also a foody paradise with locally grown produce, meat, cheese, breads, and of course wine and craft beer. I'm surprised I don't weigh 300 pounds.

You should spend more time exploring the area to see if it might be for you. Many people moved here from SF and the Bay Area and I just met a guy who moved here from Utah. But because of the fires and cost of living, people are leaving, too.

R56 True, the Russian River does not flow through Santa Rosa and you probably know the source is in Mendocino County. That was a bad choice of words on my part. Some people have been talking about changing the name of the Russian River but I don't think that's going to happen.

I'm 70 and in SoCal, but I was born and raised in the East Bay (Contra Costa), but haven't lived in the Bay Area since the '70s. I'm getting tired of the heat and I probably will need to move anyway at some point in the future since I have stairs. Seriously considering the North Bay. I have relatives and friends in the area, and I've visited many times. I spend a whole month in Healdsburg one summer and loved it. I also have a house (inherited and rented out) in Napa, and while Napa is nice, the house itself is not ideal for my situation.

I've always shied away from Sonoma Co. thinking it's too far away from a good airport and it's inconvenient to get to a major city. But those things are getting less important as I age ... so I'm going to have to give it some serious consideration. I really like the Oakmont community (have had relatives who lived there), and I know there are other good options for seniors. I also saw there's some new building going on west of the 101. While it would be nice to have a new home for once in my life, it probably doesn't make sense to be buying a single-family home in a non-senior community.

And then there's the fire issue. Two of the hotels (Fountaingrove Lodge and Hilton) I'd stayed at during past visits burned down in the big fire from a few years ago. Scary.

did u go. did u get their stuff, op?

r65, you may have just changed my and my partner's lives. Am sold on Santa Rosa now. Will be spending a week there next month to just hang out. Long distance partner lives on the East Coast and retires here with me next year at long last. I hope to be able to retire the following year, sell my house, and move to Santa Rosa. We will not buy in a flood zone, and will have a fire evacuation plan, or just always be aware that we've had OK lives.

r67, Oakmont is exactly where we're looking. Getting listings every day. Unrelated, but I think we chatted here a few years ago when I was thinking of retiring in Palm Springs. You live out towards the San Bernadino/Riverside/Diamond Bar area? We both are from the East Bay. I may have joked about moving to Rossmoor. Santa Rosa has a SMART train station now (to the Larkspur ferry to SF) and an airport with flights to SEA, PDX, LAX, and DEN, which can lead to more interesting places, if we can afford them -- and if we are still mobile.

OP, I grew up with that "Mediterranean" 70's crap. It was hideous back then. And, you had to watch Lawrence Welk with Gramma at full blast because her hearing aids were always on the blink. All in Earth Tones.