Whether design is your profession or personal passion, two things are likely true: You have a favorite design period, and at least a few favorite places to hunt for it and other amazing finds that will enrich any home. No matter if your preference is for wide-open markets that roll into town a few times a year or tiny shops on quiet cobblestone streets, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of the hunt and the design high that comes with unearthing that precious perfect item—whether you knew you needed it or not.
Always eager to find new favorite sources, aspire turned to our designer readers to learn some of their favorite spots to uncover decorative treasure and lend a new chapter to the story of an item from our designed past. Let this list of designer-favorite vintage haunts around the country and across the pond be your guide to hunting down that next great piece.
Design by Christine Vroom Interiors. Photo by Sara Tramp
Cortney Bishop | Cortney Bishop Design
I have an array of vintage vendors that I absolutely adore – Eneby in Nashville, Lorenz Gallery in Denmark, 214 Modern in Highpoint, Amelia Talbert in Roundtop, Architectural Anarchy, White Gallery in Charleston, Objekt Gallery, 1stDibs’ Gallery in New York and Galerie Vauclair in Paris. What draws me to these spots is not only their showcase of high-quality items, but also the collectors’ unparalleled eye for curation; their artisan-driven approach resonates deeply with me. In fact, many of the vintage treasures I’ve discovered through these vendors over the years have become featured hits on album, my experiential e-commerce platform for vintage and antique furniture, decor, and art.
Juan Carretero | Captial C Interiors
Brimfield, MA. Nothing like the thrill of the hunt. You get to wake up early to discover all sorts of amazing pieces. Its like Christmas!
John Cialone | Tom Stringer Design Partners
When looking for vintage accessories and furnishings, I love to stop at Redefined Décor in Chicago. It’s an incredible local source with a wide variety of pieces that are well curated. From artworks to small trinket boxes as well as furnishings this is a must-visit destination.
Kim Davies | Davies Design Group
I love shopping and discovering antique pieces throughout Europe and one location in particular is L’ isle sur La Sorgue, France. This charming French town has a fantastic variety of antique dealers dedicated to everything from lighting and furniture to garden objects, art, accessories and textiles. I never leave empty handed and gather endless inspiration as well.
Emily Del Bello | Emily Del Bello Interiors
I love nothing more than shopping the markets in Paris. The vintage pieces you find there are so unique, best pricing, and literally give you a design high. Just going from little shop to little shop… it is inevitable that I come home with a shipload of goods.
Karen Frome | Rise Projects
I love shopping at Lobel Modern because Evan Lobel, the owner, always finds unique pieces that are unlike anything made today. He features many of my favorite 20th-century designers such as Karl Springer, Gabriella Crespi, and Paul Evans. These pieces are hard to find and the ones Evan features are always in beautiful condition or lovingly restored.
Kitchen design by Lucas Goldbach/En Masse Architecture and Design. Stool, wood bowls and art sourced at Eagle Street Market. Photo by Aimee Mazzenga
Lucas Goldbach | En Masse Architecture and Design
Dial M for Modern (Chicago, IL)
This is one of my favorite sources, period. Dial M is an alluring mix of modern, vintage, handmade, and primitive items that always feel interesting and curated. I call the shop’s owner, Tim, my personal art dealer because I have found so many pieces in his shop that now live on my walls. Their retail space is a go-to spot for interesting chairs, tabletop items, and art. They also have a warehouse space which often has larger items such as tables, sofas, and one-off pieces I have not seen elsewhere.
Trilogy Antiques and Design (Three Oaks, MI)
Trilogy has a huge collection of interesting, and well-kept items with a modern style. Where so much antique and vintage shopping in more rural areas can be rusty and farm-like this gem shows that more contemporary pieces have their home in rural Michigan and beyond. The large space seems to have an endless selection.
Eagle Street Market (South Haven, MI)
This is a great spot for items of many scales. The booths and stock are always changing in this busy tourist spot and I always find a treasure. I have sourced numerous vintage glassware items, art pieces, pottery and vintage serveware.
Lost & Found Treasures of Old & New (Grand Rapids, MI)
Grand Rapids has such a history in the furniture world and there is always something exciting to be sourced at Lost & Found Treasures. This sprawling loft warehouse is an excellent place to find furniture and other large scale items. A few chairs that I later had reupholstered have come home with me from L&S.
Barry Goralnick | Goralnick Architecture Design Stduio
My favorite place to shop for vintage pieces is Castellarts in Miami. Carlos has a great eye, and I have discovered many treasures at reasonable prices, including Pierre Cardin and other avant-garde designers.
Amanda Gunawan | OWIU Design
Found Objects in Los Angeles! They carry lots of vintage textiles and rugs and visiting their showroom is always such an adventure. The owner, Blake, is very meticulous about his curation and is constantly traveling abroad to get only the best selection of items. The offering is extremely high quality and reasonably priced!
This over-one-hundred-year-old door welcomes visitors to designer Breegan Jane’s Venice, CA home. Photography by Ryan Garvin
Breegan Jane | Breegan Jane
I love sourcing vintage pieces online with 1stDibs. They have such a well-curated collection of items, and they offer shipping from all over. It gives me the opportunity to shop the entire country for specific heirlooms. Their website is user-friendly, and it truly makes the process easy for someone like me who doesn’t always have the time to travel to every antique shop in the region to find the pieces I need.
Margie Lavender | Kligerman Architecture & Design
My best vintage shopping experience is at the Navigli Antique Market held monthly on the banks of the Naviglio Grande Canal in Milan. This flea market is extensive and has Italian vintage and antique everything – furniture, art, jewelry, textiles, carpets, furniture, light fixtures, and more! There are so many unique finds, and it’s surprisingly affordable!
Kelly Maguire | By Kelly Maguire
Modern Antiquarian – An expert in Gustavian and English & French Garden… Margaret the owner also always buys the fun and chic thing you might not even know you needed!
Salt Lizard – Women-owned and Brooklyn-based, these girls know what they are doing and they also have some great prices!
Dan Mazzarini | BHDM Design & ARCHIVE
I have a home on the North Fork of Long Island, and love to hunt for found pieces on the weekend. Beall and Bell in Greenport has long been a go-to for me. The owner Ginger has a great eye, and there’s always something you can’t live without. I’ve picked up a huge marble pharmacy mortar and pestle, split reed furniture sets, and many great mirrors and lamps. Nearby Whiteflower Farmhouse always has a great collection of vintage ironstone on hand too.
Joe McGuier and Megan Prime | JAM
We have a few favorite dealers in Amsterdam that we’ve developed great relationships with. You can’t beat sourcing in Europe as you’re always guaranteed to come across truly unique, one-of-a-kind finds! Closer to home, we love Antik here in Brooklyn, as well as JAM Shop, our own retail destination for vintage furniture, lighting, art and décor that we’ve personally sourced. Nickey Kehoe is a great resource, as well.
Gideon Mendelson | Mendelson Group
I like to shop for vintage furniture through 1stDibs, InCollect, Chairish and Etsy, and various other vendors around the globe. The bigger platforms have so much inventory and great search capabilities that make it easy to find what you’re looking for. For vintage accessories, The End of History in Manhattan is my favorite place to shop! I’m obsessed with their ceramics and I learn something new every time I go there.
JAM Shop. Photography by Gieves Anderson
Megan Molten | Megan Molten
We love using Chairish – it makes the process so easy to filter by style, color and more! We were really impressed with the quality of the pieces and how they arrived to our warehouse as well. It’s amazing to see an antique piece that’s traveled across the country probably multiple times in pristine condition when it arrives then to go back into a historic Charleston home. It’s a very full-circle moment.
Tobe Morrow | Morrow & Co.
We love Hollywood at Home. Peter has so many great vintage furniture pieces. Another hidden gem is The Collective, a small shop tucked away in the Valley Country Market. We always find amazing vintage art and accessories.
Mona Ross Berman | Mona Ross Berman Interiors
There is no substitute for the patina, singularity, and richness you get with vintage. An absolute favorite place to source is from auction houses and we access those, most of the time, via liveauctioneers.com which aggregates thousands of smaller, regional auctions from all over the world. It’s a great way to find exactly what you are looking for as well as discover items you never knew existed.
At the risk of divulging some of my best “trade secrets” I love the sales that Stair Galleries in Hudson New York and Millea Brothers in New Jersey run and make an extra effort to check in on what they are offering on the regular.
Tami Ramsay | CLOTH & KIND
So many! For vintage and antique furniture we love sourcing from all the vendors at 214 Modern at High Point Market. We are also big fans of Austin, TX based dealers Joint Details, Show and Tell Vintage, and Uptown Modern for super cool furniture and lighting; Modern Redux for all your ceramic dreams and for the altogether wildly unique and weird, you must shop Uncommon Objects. We recently opened a CLOTH & KIND gallery within our Athens, GA office where we’ll be showcasing some of our favorite vintage finds.
Todd Raymond | Studio Todd Raymond
Morentz in the Netherlands. We love the pieces they have and it feels very curated. Joost and his team are wonderful to work with, and we know that the pieces we buy from them are the best quality!
Elena Sadler | CarbonShack
The Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA. Designers of ALL disciplines come to source, shop and find inspiration for their next best seller. 2,500 vendors and 15,000 to 20,000 buyers every month. The Rose Bowl Flea Market is one of the most famous markets in the world. Prices are still affordable and the inspiration is second to none!
Design by Cortney Bishop. Photography by Katie Charlotte
Mark Schubert | Phillip Harrison Interiors
I used to live in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago and Scout was always one of my go-to shops to wander into as they always have very unique and one-of-a-kind items. You could find anything from vintage paintings or screenprints, classic iconic furniture pieces from the 50s and 60s and even random decorative objects or barware.
Not too far from Andersonville is District and they appeal to more of the midcentury design aesthetic and offer everything from vintage furniture items such as dressers, desks and consoles to reproductions of vintage sofas and chairs. They always have art by local artists on display which is wonderful to see and learn about the people in our community.
Architectural Artifacts is a Chicago staple. Everyone around town knows of them and you can spend hours walking through their showroom not knowing what you are looking for, but when you find it… it is magic.
Joshua Smith | Joshua Smith Inc
I love traipsing the fields of the Round Top Antiques Fair (I am from Texas after all!) and the Brimfield Antique Flea Market.
Outside of markets, I love scouring smaller, local antique shops. One of my best-kept secrets is a shop in Millerton, NY called Montage Antiques. They have some of the best items with the best pricing! In fact, I was so inspired by their store that I decided to open my own when I made the move to Manchester, VT and realized the lack of antique or furnishing shops for miles and miles. I source a lot of my vintage items for Joshua Smith Home from France, managing to fill a 40-foot container with a second container arriving soon. We’re excited to have our grand opening in June and become a beloved antiques and furnishings source for the local community!
Lauren Svenstrup | Studio Sven
South Loop Loft sets the standard for vintage, not only for the quality and selection of their products, but also because their expert staff truly does serve as a partner in the design process. Founder Beth Berke travels the world in search of coveted vintage pieces and collectible art and also supports up-and-coming artists to introduce treasured and new finds that pair well in many of our projects. The team’s responsiveness and willingness to clue you in on alternative selections or sneak peeks of their next container makes you feel like you’re receiving an exclusive take on what’s coming out next.
Christine Vroom | Christine Vroom Interiors
My favorite place to shop for vintage pieces is the Long Beach swap meet. You can find some really special treasures roaming through the rows of vendors. I love the fact that I can spot a specific piece of art, accessory, or even a piece of furniture that can be reworked, re-finished, re-framed and make it magical and completely original. My clients love when they know they’re the only owners of these found items, as compared to large box retailers.
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