Massive Oakland Estate Sale this Weekend
Author:Lindsey ShookInterior designers have wonderful estate sales. Not only do they have the goods from their households, they likely have more squirreled away in storage—pieces they created, items that didn’t work for a client and furniture they were planning to restore. When the organizers of this massive Oakland warehouse estate sale (seven estates under one roof) told me it included fine goods from a long-time San Francisco interior designer, I took notice.
Rick Hudson, of Hudson’s Estate Liquidation, couldn’t tell me who the designer is; but he did let me know this: The man worked in the San Francisco market for many years, he maintained an exquisite home above the Castro and he had eclectic tastes. “He had homes here and in Miami,” Hudson says. “He decided to sell his place here, and we have the furnishings for sale this weekend. They are in pristine condition.” (For example, see the chairs with gray-silk upholstery and the Parisian table from Maison Jansen above.)
Also from the designer’s household: A white Brown Jordan patio set with a bamboo motif (left); a hand-painted, chinoiserie chest signed by Katherine Henick (right) and a bench with leather upholstery, brass buttons and ornate legs (center).
Although Hudson says the designer tastes are wide-ranging, he clearly has a thing for chairs. Three examples: A piece with black-silk upholstery and silver arms and legs (note what looks to be a Dorothy Draper hexagon table beside it); a pair of low-backed, gilt-leg chairs draped with resin made to look like slipcovers and a pair of seats with leopard-print fabric (love the wood grain on the backs).
Also up for grabs: a Roche Bobois leather sofa and more Dorothy Draper-style furniture (see the mirror and cabinet to the right of the settee).
Note what looks like framed cross sections of rock above the settee? Those are from an artist named Rita Sargen-Simon. The sculptor-designer, who lived a long and artistically prolific life, moved from Chicago to the Bay Area to be close to her children and grandchildren. Throughout her life, she experimented with materials ranging from Styrofoam (she created the pieces above by first torching the material and then hand-painting it) to metal. Several of her sculptures will be offered at extremely good prices (Hudson says pieces that sell at auction for thousands will be available for hundreds of dollars).
And those are just two lots of goods. An 18th-century French desk and a reproduction armchair likely crafted in the 1940s will also be for sale.
The sale takes place Saturday (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) in the company’s warehouse at 1020 E. 8th St. in Oakland.
