Where to find architectural salvage and antiques? 

You love anything weathered, rusty and worn. Chippy paint and patina make your heart pitter-patter. Reclaimed wood and repurposed furniture beat anything shiny and new. I’m going to tell you the best 7 places you can buy architectural salvage and antiques no matter where you live!  

It helps that I have a professional “junker” for a mother-in-law. She buys, repurposes, and resells vintage pieces for a living so I’ve been given the insider scoop on where to find these treasures. And since treasure is what you’re looking for, you can consider it a treasure hunt. You never know what you’ll find in these places but are guaranteed it’ll be something good! 

And if you are new to adding repurposed pieces to your home, and are unsure what exactly to hunt for, and then what you could use it for, then I have just the gift for you! Click HERE to download my free checklist 50 Favorite Flea Market Finds for inspiration on what you can be on the lookout for. I’ll always be adding new blog posts and videos to highlight an item on that list! 

Best 7 Places to Find Architectural Salvage and Antiques:

1. Online

I love searching for the exact antique or vintage item I’m looking for from the comfort of my couch and having it land on my doorstep a few days later…. God bless the internet! Because of this modern-day convenience, you can find amazing architectural salvage and antique treasures for your home no matter where you live! I’ve listed a few online places that I love searching below, but remember the online world is endless and google is your friend!

Etsy and Online Shops

Treat Etsy like google and simply search for exactly what you’re looking for! It has lead me to find a few shops that consistently sell vintage pieces. I also wanted to share with you some online shops that curate more luxury antiques so that you can see a whole range of options when it comes to finding vintage pieces for your home.

1. Perspective Design Co. 
2. Lynn Michelle Design
3. Peoria Architectural Salvage
4. Hogg Barn Antiques
5. Boxwood Avenue
6. Chateau Sonoma
7. Dreamy Whites Lifestyle
8. Whitetail Farmhouse
9. The Cotton Shed
10. Castle and Story

Instagram

I’m a total fan of these emerging shops that take place on Instagram. Sometimes they’ll have auctions or flash sales and sometimes you simply shop their feed. Please note: these types of flash sales can be very popular and you have to be ready to buy! These shops will announce when they’re going to list the items and then you have to be the first to say SOLD! It’s a lot of fun!

1. Authentic Farmhouse Market
2. My White Porch Shoppe

Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Ebay

And of course, you can search these places for what you’re looking for. These types of online places will be less consistent in what you find, but they’ll also usually be a better price.

photo credit: Bearly Making It Antiques 

2. Salvage Yards and Mills

I’m listing my 4 favorites below but you should google “architectural salvage yards near me” and see what’s available locally to you!

1. Bearly Making It Antiques in Marion, KS

If you’re in Kansas looking for antiques, you have to stop by and see Oggie and Dennis and because they have ev-er-y-thing! They’ve been collecting for years and have even been featured on the show Pickers. They have an antique shop in town but you have to go down the road to check out their mill if you’re looking for bigger items and amazing architectural salvage. They have absolutely everything you could imagine there and it’s all incredibly organized. They’re open every Saturday rain, shine, or snow! I know this because I’ve shopped there a few times in the snow and it was still totally worth it!

2. The Old Grainery in Payson, IL

As I’m writing this post I haven’t visited this warehouse in person, but I plan to this year! I’ve been following their Etsy page and Instagram account for a while now and drool over everything they find! And they find a TON of farm primitives, antiques, and collectibles.

3. Second Chances in Monett, MO

Tina and her husband are another favorite duo of mine who are full-time antiquers. They have a few barns full of repurposed furniture and antiques and the cutest little shop on their property. Check out their Facebook page HERE to see just a glimpse of what they have to offer… that’s how I found them!

4. Bald Eagle Barnwood in Lecompton, KS

Darrin and Tyler are the go-to guys for reclaimed wood! They are the best, hands down, game over… you have to check them out if you’re looking for repurposed wood! They take down barns and old houses that were going to be demolished. They remove the nails, organize it neatly in their shop, and load your truck for you. They are the nicest guys and I get most of the reclaimed wood to build my signs with from them. Need a reclaimed wood wall? Check out Bald Eagle Barnwood. Want to build a reclaimed wood table? Check out Bald Eagle Barnwood.

3. Flea Markets

Ok, seriously… how fun are flea markets these days?! Most of them now are huge events with food trucks, live music and of course shopping. It’s totally my idea of a girl’s day out! Grab your french-style market bag, put on your skinny jeans with booties, gather your girlfriends and make a day out of shopping these vintage markets! Heck, go one step further and make it a girl’s road trip because there are some a-maz-ing markets to shop that would be worth the drive! I have so many favorites that I can’t list them all but wanted to share these 5 with you...

The Marburger Farm Antique Show- Round Top, Texas

The mother of them all… this is the flea market of all flea markets. It takes place in Round Top, Texas and lasts for dayyyyys because you need days to see all that there is. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in Round Top, it doesn’t exist. You’ll definitely want to print off and bring your checklist 50 Favorite Flea Market Finds with you; there’s SO much there it could be difficult to focus because you’ll want it all.

The Found Cottage Mercantile Market- Holland, MI

If you don’t know Liz Marie Galvan you must be living under a rock. She probably has the best taste in shopping for antiques of anyone… we’re talking Joanna Gaines level. She owns The Found Cottage in Michigan where vintage goods are sold but she also puts on her own vintage market which is 100% on my bucket list to visit! She curates vendors just as well as she curates pieces for her home so you know it’s good!

Vintage Market Days

Just about every state has one! Once, twice, sometimes three times a year this market will pop up near you with hundreds of carefully selected vendors. They’ll have live music and food trucks and I personally know it’s a blast because I’ve been a vendor before! I sold my vintage framed signs at Spring Vintage Market Days Kansas City and you can read about it in this post HERE.

Vintage Pickin’- Alabama and South Carolina

My friend April puts on this amazing market where she also selectively curates the best vendors around. If you follow April on Instagram you know how fun she is and you can imagine how fun her market is too!

First Fridays- Kansas City, Missouri

While the other markets I mentioned happen annually or semi-annually, First Fridays in Kansas City, Missouri occurs every month! The weekend of the first Friday of the month, multiple stores located in the historic west bottoms of Kansas City, open with hundreds of vendors selling everything you can imagine in their curated and styled booths. My mother-in-law Kathy and her sister Jo have spaces there in Good JuJu so stop by and check them out! You’ll find unique pieces for your home that no one else will have.

4. Auctions

If you want to find antiques for the best possible price, you need to go where the junkers and the pickers go… and that is auctions. Don’t be intimated that it’s hard to understand the auctioneer; you’ll get the hang of it I promise. You’ll also get addicted because it’s sooooo much fun! You might be surprised at how competitive you might get! My tip: know what you’re looking for and know the maximum price you’d pay for it. Because when you start bidding against someone you might be tempted to just “win” the item to beat the other bidder… not that I know that from experience or anything.

5. Estate Sales and Garage Sales

These are other places that they junkers shop. Check your newspaper for what sales are happening near you!

6. Antique Shops and Booths

I love that anyone can have their own little store in this way. So many people are selling their collected and found treasures in their own curated and styled space. These spaces are often similar to those set up at flea markets but are open year-round!

7. Thrift Stores

Oh goodness, what you can find at thrift stores! They’re hit and miss in my opinion so I don’t shop them often, but no doubt that will be where you’ll find the best price! It’s worth making a quick run-through one to see if they have what you’re looking for. 

I hope this list has you excited to shop and search for unique treasures for your home! Now that you know where you can find them, start thinking about what you’d like to look for!   

If you love the idea of shopping for antiques and architectural salvage but need some inspiration, be sure to download my checklist 50 Favorite Flea Market Finds!   

And be sure to watch and subscribe to my YouTube channel because I’ll take you along with me as I go to these fun markets and show you creative ways to use the vintage pieces in your home!