Unwanted beauties

In Belgium, the TROC is where you go to barter stuff or buy it outright. Trocs are some of the best places to find antique furniture at reasonable prices, if you're willing to comb through piles of junk.

The beautiful marble-topped oak dresser in the centre was in mint condition and going for only 80 Euros! The carved, mirror-panelled oak armoire to the right, also in fine condition, was a steal at 100 Euros. If only we had room for them in our house, we'd have bought them without a moment's hesitation. An upright piano in walnut, a Steiner (from Frankfurt, or was it Hamburg?) was selling for a shocking 25 Euros! It needed quite a bit of restoration, but had a deep patina and rich tone. Naturally, it was out of tune. It's not pictured here, but you'll have to take my word for it, it was a handsome piece.

We found a nice beechwood table for 40 Euros and a lovely bevelled mirror in an oak frame for 15 Euros. The table will become our new computer desk, replacing the bowed IKEA one that we paid about the same price for last year.