Sample Sale

It was Friday night and for the first time in a while, we had no plans.  None.  Hubby had no interest in leaving the house due to his cold and I wanted to do anything but stay home.  So I had a ‘date’ with my oldest daughter!  I took her to the Michigan Design Center – can you say Sample Sale?  About twice a year, the MDC has a Sample Sale open to the public where designer furniture, accessories, and even fabric samples go up for sale at reduced cost. 

I’ve posted about this Sample Sale before (search:  Michigan Design Center) and I usually find a few items (it’s tough to walk out empty handed!).  This trip included a fabric find and a heavy weight white wall paper made with beady dots.  It has such lovely sparkle to it that I’m thinking of making an inspiration board with it.

There was so much to see that we spent about 2 1/2 hours just taking everything in.   We even came across one of my favorite paintings up for sale.  I visit her every time we come to the MDC but this time it was different.  She wasn’t in her usual suite location (there are about 40 suites at the MDC), but rather part of a display in one of the designer suites.  I honestly can’t remember how much the painting costs, but it was waaay beyond my budget.  Wish I had a skirt just like hers…

Gorgeous furniture and fabrics in every corner.  But be prepared.  The pricing, while discounted, still can run in the thousands for some items.   I happen to key in on a narrow dresser that had beautiful lines and wasn’t too tall – but the cost was nearly $5k.  Don’t get me wrong -  you can definitely find affordable items, just be prepared for the occasional sticker shock.

Cost to enter the showrooms is $5.  Sign up with your email and they’ll send you $2 off the entrance.  Kids under 12 are free!

My daughter even scored this cute zebra bag (above)!

It was nearing 9pm and we were getting hungry.  The MDC has a cafe on sight, but just our luck it had closed shortly before we got there.  So we ended our ‘date’ with dinner at Noodles and Company and discussed the snow falling and all that we saw in the showrooms.  Awesome night!

Images:  House of Many Hues