Antique Stores: Find Your Perfect Treasure Without Wasting Time

December 16, 2022

Decorating

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I'm Tessie -Welcome home!

I enjoy shopping at antique stores because I like EVERY room to have something vintage. This could be a sentimental object from my family’s past or something I’ve found at a local shop. Either way, mixing something older with modern pieces creates a magical combination. It makes a home feel “collected over time” and creates a depth of interest that’s hard to replicate.

Why shop at antique or thrift stores?

Buying vintage adds uniqueness, charm, and character to any room. But my favorite reason to buy used is that it’s great for the environment. Often times you can buy something at a fraction of the price, the quality is superior, and it helps to give old things a new life. Whether you’ve shopped at antique stores for years, or are just starting out… Here are a few of my favorite tips. 

How to shop an antique store

  1. Know what you’re looking for
    • The shopping begins long before you head to the store. I like to keep a note on my phone of specific items that I’m looking for. Inside the list I also include measurements of my space and any ideal measurements of the piece I’m searching for.
  2. Take Photos of your space before leaving the house
    • I always like taking photos of my space before a shopping trip. I find it super useful to reference the photo as I’m looking at a particular object that I’m considering buying. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to determine the visual fit of an object as you’re referencing the photo.
  3. Always carry a tape measure
    • I like to keep a tape measure inside my purse at all times. That way, if I’m ever out and decide to stop at a store, I’ll not only have my wish list of items on my phone, but I’ll also have a tape measure handy. 
  4. Walk through the store several times with a specific lens
    • As I’m shopping through a store, I like to shop with one specific item in mind. For example: if the things on my list are a yellow vase, an antique picture frame, and a piece of furniture, then I would take 3 different passes through the store. The first time I’d only look for yellow vases, the second time I’d look at all the picture frames, and the third time I’d focus on the furniture pieces. Thrift and antique stores can get incredibly overwhelming VERY quickly, so I find this method works really well for me. 

The #1 Mistake to Avoid

Wandering through a store to see what “catches your eye”.

If you’re shopping to relax or hang out with friends, then by all means start wandering! But if you’re doing a serious shopping trip then I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve found that when I buy things after using the “wander method” I often come home with things that I don’t actually need and don’t have a great place for.

My Favorite Antique Store Finds

Antique vases like this one from my bedroom nook.

antique store vase

Colored vintage glass! I can never get enough and I love it in my piano room.

vintage glass from antique stores

Random doo-dads like this old brass bell. Things like this are great for bookshelf styling.

vintage bell and blue books

Artwork! Yes please to all the vintage artwork like this one in our guest room.

vintage artwork from antique store

Miniatures for my miniature collection!

Tessie Fay miniature collection

Small furniture pieces like this end table in our family room.

modern living room with antique store end table

So those are a few of my favorites ❤️ I’d love to hear about any of your favorite finds. Let me know in the comments below!

Sharing is Caring

If you enjoyed this post I’d love for you to share it! It’s one of the best ways to help support content creators and hopefully, it will help your local antique shop as well.

See you next week!

xo, Tessie

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MORE ABOUT ME

I'm Tessie -Welcome home!

I'm in my mid-forties, a mom of teenagers and adult children, and soon to be empty nester. I’m figuring out this new stage of life and am excited to band together with YOU as we transform midlife dread into the best decade of our lives. 

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