Designer Scores $8,000 Saarinen Table for Just $108 at Thrift Shop
Brooklyn designer Aaron Connelly spotted a marble-topped Saarinen table at a local thrift store, paying only $108 for a mid-century modern icon worth thousands.
In the world of vintage furniture, one person’s outdated piece can be another’s design classic. That can work out well for avid thrift shoppers like Brooklyn-based designer Aaron Connelly, who caught sight of a distinctive marble-topped table in a local store and quickly realized he had to have it.
According to Newsweek, Connelly initially didn’t believe what he saw. But he soon realized his first instinct was right: The table that caught his attention was a Saarinen table, a famous piece of mid-century modern design.
The table at the thrift store didn’t have a price tag, so Connelly sat down by the table and waited over 45 minutes for a manager to come by. Ultimately, the table cost a mere $108, including tax.
Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen created several of the mid-century modern movement’s best-known pieces. His iconic designs for the Knoll furniture company include the one-legged Tulip table and chairs and the upholstered Womb chair. Knoll still makes his designs, and a new Saarinen table can sell for about $8,000.
Like many present-day thrift shoppers, Connelly recorded his experience to post on Instagram and TikTok. Connelly knows what to look for when it comes to design. He founded the Very Creative Agency, where he sources, repurposes, and decorates with vintage design. His work has been featured in a story in Architectural Digest, where he demonstrated how a thrifted vintage screen can double as an unconventional headboard.
But, as avid thrifters know, you don’t have to be a professional designer to score a bargain. All it takes is knowledge, a practiced eye, and luck.
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