My best auction buy: Harry Wallop

Consumer journalist and broadcaster Harry Wallop and his wife became big fans of online auctions after discovering the joys of decorating Endymion House, their Art Deco holiday home in Cumbria, with 1930s pieces befitting the house’s ‘Poirot glamour’.

Tell us about your favourite auction find

It's an Art Deco figured walnut drop centre dressing table, with triple-bevelled mirror back, and matching wardrobe. I don't know the exact age or provenance, sadly, but they will be 1930s.

Harry Wallop’s walnut dressing table

Were you looking out specifically for Art Deco?

My wife, who is from Cumbria, and I bought a holiday home in the Lake District, which unusually for the area was built in 1938 in the Art Deco style. Perched on the hillside, in the foothills of Skiddaw, with distinctive Crittal windows and clean lines, Endymion House was calling out to be restored to its former glory. Our idea was that if we furnished it with mostly 1930s pieces we’d have both a fabulous holiday home and be able to let it out to people who wanted a dash of Poirot glamour alongside their walking holiday. Luckily – and somewhat surprisingly – we discovered buying original pieces from auction was in nearly all cases much cheaper than buying new furniture from the high street.

Why do you love them so much?

The pair – the dressing table and wardrobe – immediately say: "Art Deco", 1930s, faded jazz age, without being too shouty or clichéd. They are the very opposite of swanky. I also love their scale, which is really quite dinky. The wardrobe is less than six feet high, but plenty big enough to store clothes. They are in a bedroom, and they add to the space, rather than dominate it.

The walnut dressing table and matching wardrobe are kept in the 'Christie' bedroom at Endymion House, Harry Wallop’s holiday home in the Lake District

How did you find them?

We bought them from Duggleby Stephenson auctioneers of York via thesaleroom.com in 2019. I'm afraid to say that one of the reasons that I love them so much is the ludicrously low price we picked them up for. The hammer price for the pair was £50. So, the total (including buyers fees) was £63.48. Find me two pieces of well-made, stylish furniture from Ikea or B&Q that you pick up for such a cheap price? You just can't.

Where are they now?

They are in the 'Christie' bedroom of Endymion House. And they give me pleasure every time I see them.

Any tips for other people looking to buy at auction?

Don't forget the buyers' fees, which on a cheap item don't add up to much, but start to be significant if you are spending many hundreds on an item. Also, make sure you check out the location of the auction house when you are bidding online. The joy of finding a great piece at a great price is diminished if you discover you have to ship it from the other side of the country.

In 2020, Harry wrote all about his experience of buying Art Deco pieces for his home from thesaleroom.com for an article in the Financial Times. The full article is available here.

There is always a rich variety of Art Deco furniture listed for auction on thesaleroom.com and the style is consistently popular among bidders. Fans of the period will also enjoy reading about our favourite picks of beautiful Art Deco objects coming up for auction at the end of July.