5 Expensive Things That Are Worth It: Collector’s Edition
An art and design lover’s take on the viral TikTok trend
By now you’ve probably seen the latest social media trend: influencers sharing their favorite expensive things that are worth the money, with little to no context and plenty of affiliate links.
Here’s the Conversation Pieces version: five practical, unglamorous things that serious art and design lovers shouldn’t skimp on.
Custom framing
Yes, custom framing can be insanely expensive - especially for large format pieces. But in my experience, it’s absolutely worth it: a professional framer with a well-trained eye can both advise you on aesthetics and, importantly, ensure that your artwork is protected from long-term damage with UV protective glass, acid-free matting and backing, and airtight dust covers (if only those moldy Patrick Nagel prints had been properly framed!).
Case in point: I worked with the team at Foursided Chicago to dream up a custom frame for this original miniature painting I picked up in Uzbekistan. I never would have thought to do a float mount - exposing the distinctive rough edges of the silk paper - or a deep forest green mat that matched the green in the book cover at bottom right. I’m thrilled with the results; it was $250 well spent.
Professional rewiring
I can feel my sister rolling her eyes as I write this: she will be the first to remind me that I have a growing stash of light fixtures all waiting to be rewired.
And she’s not wrong: my rewiring queue currently includes Murano sconces snagged for about £100 on Portobello Road, a pair of tiny cloisonné boudoir lamps from a medieval-church-turned-flea-market in Norwich, and yes, the infamous Parisian flea market chandelier that I schlepped home in my carry-on.
Unless you happen to be a certified electrician, rewiring is a task best left to the professionals. Antique lighting especially often requires specialized expertise: condition issues can compromise the integrity of the entire fixture. I’ll report back on pricing once my pretties have made it out of the closet.
White glove packing, shipping & delivery
I’ve been on the receiving end of more shipping and delivery mishaps than I care to admit: an 88-inch wide marble-topped credenza that barely fit up the back steps of my second floor walkup, celadon lamps that disappeared into thin air while in UPS’ care, and a furniture delivery that was mistakenly processed as curbside rather than in-home and resulted in a sweet delivery man nearly having a heart attack on my back steps.
Yes, paying a premium for shipping is annoying - especially for items that were otherwise a good deal (read: the $350 88-inch credenza). But it’s a better alternative to your items arriving late, damaged, or not at all. And white glove delivery services typically require you to confirm that the item was delivered to your liking before closing out the job; for me, that extra sense of security is worth it.
I’ve paid anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $1,000+ for packing, shipping and delivery and always, always purchase insurance for the full value of the item. UPS couldn’t compensate me for the months I’d spent hunting for my celadon lamps at auction. But I did get a refund for their full replacement value - though notably not the buyer’s premium - along with the packing and delivery fees.
Buyer’s premiums & other auction fees
I was elated to win this églomisé vanity at auction, especially after a heated bidding war that quickly blew past the $600 high-end estimate, finally landing at a $1,300 hammer price. But I had serious sticker shock when I received the invoice: the 27% buyer’s premium stung a lot more at $1,300 than it would have at the $600 estimate. And because I had placed my bids via LiveAuctioneers - rather than directly with the auction house - there was another $116 vague “online payment fee” tacked on top.
If you, like me, are addicted to auction buying, there’s unfortunately no way to get around paying buyers’ premiums. But you can save on extra fees by bidding and transacting directly with the auction house, rather than via a third party like LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable.
In rare cases, though, the auction house may agree to refund the buyer’s premium: I noticed when my vanity arrived that the dimensions quoted in the auction listing were materially different from those of the actual item. I politely asked the auction house to refund the buyer’s premium as compensation, and lucky for me, they obliged.
Personal property insurance (and custom riders for high-value items)
In my appraisal days, I wrote appraisal reports for insurance claims of all kinds: fires, floods, tornados, thefts. Most of our clients were lucky: their items were sufficiently covered by their blanket homeowner’s or renter’s policies, and they were reimbursed by their insurance company for the full replacement value.
Others weren’t: they were devastated to learn that their high-value items put them over the blanket coverage limits for their policies, meaning that in some instances they were reimbursed for only pennies on the dollar for their most valuable items.
It’s worth speaking with your insurance provider to ensure that your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance offers adequate personal property coverage for the contents of your home; higher value items may require a specific insurance rider supported by a formal appraisal. Personally, I work with my insurance agent to update my coverage limits annually based on my latest acquisitions.