Any great "Junk" and used furniture stores in SA? (Houston: for sale, mattress)

[MPinSC]

Hubby and I are still looking at a move to SA, though the timetable is now probably summer.

I'm a great junk-shop haunter, and have picked up some fabulous pieces of furniture, etc for next to nothing. I can afford expensive stuff, but it's more fun to find it! I'm one of those people who's not above getting out of the car to check out what's thrown out on the curb. ;-) I know all the good shops here in Charleston, but where are the good ones in SA?

I don't mean the "antique" ones where everything is all cleaned up and displayed prettily (and priced for that). I mean the ones where the place is packed to the gills, and you're digging around in the corners and peeking behind the headboards and the dust for that "find" of a cool chair that needs a little love, or a funky vase.

I'm a midcentury modern fan, and I know that Houston has tons of shops dedicated to that era, but my BEST finds have been in plain old crappy junk shops (like my vintage Case Study daybed that I nabbed for $35!)

So, any junkers on the forum know where the good spots/stores/flea markets are?

[googie2525]

Case Study daybed for 35? Is it an original George Nelson? Either way, that rocks! Now, as for finding good, and cheap, MCM "junk" in San Antonio, whew, that's tough...On the upside, San Antonio ain't hip to MCM yet, so if you find it at some crappy ol' junk shop, it's gonna be cheap, unlike say, Houston, where they've already been on the modern bandwagon for quite a while now...now, on the downside, and here's the rub: I can never seem to find anything MCM here! When I've rarely stumbled across anything even remotely MCMish, it's almost ALWAYS been at an estate sale, and thus, marked up really high - MCM or not. As far as flea markets, thrift stores, etc., I always seem to come up empty-handed these days, lots of beat-up women's shoes and early puke-green 80's sofas (and, of course, the obligatory stack of worn-out Herb Alpert records). Granted, I actually found some cool stuff back in the heyday of junking, BEFORE eBay came along and ruined everything, but in the last few years it's been primarily junk, and NOT "cool junk." Unfortunately though, back then (like late 80's, early 90's), I had no idea what "MCM," or "Eames" was, and was basically just looking for weird old lamps and obscure rockabilly and loungey LP's, and I probably missed out on some primo furniture finds.

Now there are a lot of junk shops around here, that's for sure, but mostly like dollar-store related type bores. Um, the Goodwill in King William sometimes has a few cool things though. Not so much mid-century stuff though, think Brady Bunch.

Bussey's Flea Market has always been a favorite, but they're generally overpriced and picked-over these days too. I found a cool Tiki Bar though years ago there, it was huge, too big for me to haul off, but I often wish I had bought that sucker in retrospect.

Sorry I couldn't be more help to ya, but I'm pretty convinced the days of really cool thrifty finds are pretty much over, much to my chagrin...best bet I guess would just be hitting those estate sales, especially the ones in ritzy older neighborhoods (Olmos Park, Oak Hills, Terrell Hills, etc.), where some cutting-edge types in the 50's may have actually bought Eames, Miller, etc., you MAY be able to bargain them down on the last day/hours of the sale if you find anything you dig, especially if the family runs the sale. I haven't witnessed a treasure trove booty of MCM at one yet, but then again, I'm not a morning person, and tend to just sleep through most of the estate sales these days.

Good luck, and happy hunting. Hope this wasn't too much of a downer!

Oh yeah, if you dig on mid-century, but hate the pricetag, I recommend 2bmod.com, they have cool, relatively inexpensive (compared to the real thing) reproduction stuff.

[smuboy86]

try some of the Junk/antique shops along upper austin highway....from eisenhauer north there are a couple that come to mind.

[MPinSC]

Thanks for the lengthy reply, googie! No, the case study bed is not an Eames (I wish!), but it is period, with the cool angled back cushions and maple frame, etc. Yeah, pickings are slim since the advent of ebay. I've also had good luck with estate sales that were just people selling off their parents junk themselves.

I bought a HUGE (8-feet long) danish modern sideboard on legs with a glass top, 2 smaller teak side pieces, a ladies long low vanity dresser (the middle part top lifts up to reveal a jewelry area with sliding drawers inside), a matching man's vanity, and a signed orange and black Klaus Daeniker abstract (Swiss artist). The furniture is all solid oiled teak, stamped "Denmark", and all for $400. The lady had inherited her parents ranch house and was remodeling - had contracters coming to knock walls and lay floors, so wanted her parents "weird old stuff" OUT of the house.

If you have the Atomic Ranch book, the sideboard on page 97 is nearly a twin of mine - except my base is a good 2 feet longer. I love the named design furniture - Eames, Bertoia chairs, Saarinen, etc, but am not averse to mixing in no-name period stuff or knockoffs or a smattering of Ikea.

The junk shops here, I've found I have to go in and check often, about weekly - because the good stuff goes quick. I'll check on the site you posted for some good knockoffs. :-)

smuboy, thanks for the tip. I think I'll have fun poking around once I get there.

[googie2525]

"weird old stuff" - ha, classic!

[wCat]

Keep an eye on the auctions at Vogt Auction house on Broadway. Held every Tuesday. They get containers with Skandinavian and Dutch items on a fairly regular basis. It's hit and miss, but ask them and they usually know in advance when they'll be having that kind of auction. I like things a bit more traditional and "common", but my son goes nuts when he sees some of their stuff.

Also....this is not high doller auction furniture. The do have some VERY nice things generally, but the selling prices are fairly reasonable. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

[MPinSC]

Thanks wCat - taking notes, here!

[fierce_flawless]

I honestly don't know if they'd have what you're looking for, but Furniture For a Cause (on Blanco I think?) has a LOT of stuff and it's all for charity. Everything is second hand, and they had a wide range of styles the last time I was in. We bought a sofa loveseat there with a premium mattress for $75 last year. Might be worth a look.

Otherwise, I find the best things at little hidden thrifts, church thrifts, etc.

[EdgarAllanPogi]

Why not go for new stuff? You can get it at reasonable prices. Here's a Hoffman, Mies Van Der Rohe and Eileen Grey setup.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by m95roadster

Why not go for new stuff? You can get it at reasonable prices. Here's a Hoffman, Mies Van Der Rohe and Eileen Grey setup.

Roadster....is that for sale in SA? I love that Barcelona chair....it's a classic....but I haven't found any for reasonable prices. Where did you find this?