Intro to Antiquing – Tips & Tricks

I am sure many of you are envious of those friends that always find the perfect vintage goodies for their homes! I don’t blame you! Bringing antiques into your home is the quickest way to achieve an authentic looking space. Each piece tells its own story but once you bring it home it becomes part of your story!

So if you have difficulties finding that “vintage junkie” bone in your bodies, then I am going to break it down for you.

Buy what you love not what is on trend

Just because all your favorite bloggers are buying up milk cans and mason jars doesn’t mean you need to buy them. Most people surprise themselves when they begin to scour estate sales because certain pieces will jump out at them and bring back memories from their families adventures and past relatives. Those are the items you want, something that not only tells a story of its own but also relates to you personally.

Don’t pay outrageous prices

I grew up knowing the phrase if the store has the word “antique” in its name then most items are going to be pricey. I am not saying this is true but I will say some stores are pricier than others. Search around your city and look through a few antique stores.

-Price Check: Find similar items that all might have (coffee cans, milk crates, brass candlesticks, etc) and compare prices.

-Individual Booths: Some stores may offer private booths to individual sellers and they will post sales in their booths sporadically.

-Barter: Occasionally you can get away with bartering with an antique store/dealer. This especially holds true if you are buying more than a couple items.

-Go to the source: If pacing through antique stores and flea markets isn’t your thing, you might want to try estate sales and auctions. My personal favorite are estate auctions, you feel like you really worked for and earned the items you find at an auction. I guess the thrill of bidding on items with the auctioneer is pretty awesome too!

Invent a new purpose for something

Just because you find an item and it was known for one purpose doesn’t mean you can’t change it and still appreciate it for what it once was. For instance I have seen clients take vintage minnow buckets and turn them into pendant lights. It is actually a very sustainable act because you have then doubled the life of that bucket by giving it a whole new life and meaning v.s. using new resources and going out to purchase a new pendant light.