It’s been a tough year for the area’s vintage-furniture scene. Favorites such as Trohv, Off the Beaten Track, and Hunted House are no more. Yvette Freeman, owner of the recently closed shop Foundry in Northeast DC’s H Street corridor, laments: “The quaintness of the city is dissolving. We can’t maintain the rent and make prices affordable.” (She still sells her wares at the Old Lucketts Store in Leesburg.) But in spite of the shifting retail landscape, vintage-lovers need not panic. Here, our favorite spots in and around Washington.
To see what’s in stock before you shop, got to attic-dc.com, a listing that catalogs new arrivals at dozens of area vintage shops.
Agent Upcycle
Nichole Phillips opened her shop outside Baltimore with her parents, Bob and Amy Phillips, in May. She sources the furnishings, Bob restores and refinishes many of the pieces, and Amy does some light upholstery and makes the store’s throw pillows. Free delivery within 50 miles. 818 Frederick Rd., Catonsville; 202-256-0964.
Daniel Donnelly
Fans of original Knoll and Eames pieces will love Daniel Donnelly’s showroom, but he specializes in building his own midcentury-style designs in addition to his collection of ceramic table and floor lamps. Donnelly also repairs and restores older furniture for resale and on commission. 1200 N. Henry St., Alexandria; 703-549-4672.
Evolution Home
This showroom works with dealers and consigners to offer a range of goods from antique to contemporary. Many of its customers also consign, owner Susan Driscoll Blount says, and the store handles pickup and delivery for a fee. Real-estate agents like its home-staging and furniture-leasing services. 6239 Shields Ave., Alexandria; 703-519-1911.
GoodWood
Large shipments arrive weekly at this longtime shop, where everything from the rugs to the art on the walls is for sale. Chesterfield sofas are particularly popular, co-owner Anna Kahoe says. The fashion-minded will find eclectic looks for their wardrobes, too. 1428 U St., NW; 202-986-3640.
Home Anthology
Collectors seeking Warren Platner, Paul McCobb, or T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings will find them at this Baltimore-area showroom, where Rob Degenhard and wife Nini Sarmiento have curated some of the best examples of midcentury design. 91 Mellor Ave., Catonsville; 410-744-0042.
Miss Pixie’s Furnishings & Whatnot
Even as 14th Street has morphed into one of the District’s glitziest locales, Miss Pixie’s—a fixture since 2008—has held steady as a destination for designers and consumers alike. Pixie Windsor and her staff scour weekly auctions for everything from postcards and teacups to furniture and artwork. You can also buy farm furniture—tables, cabinets, and benches—that’s made to order. 1626 14th St., NW; 202-232-8171.
Modern Mobler
Douglas Meyers specializes in high-end Danish midcentury-modern case goods—sideboards, credenzas, and dressers—but between his two shops and a vast warehouse, midcentury addicts can find nearly anything manufactured from the ’50s through the ’70s. He’s also a dealer for the reissued designs of Hans Wegner. 7313 Georgia Ave., NW; 3730 Howard Ave., Kensington; 202-882-1648.
Mom N’ Pop Antiques
Shoppers of any taste will find something here, including Eastlake and Victorian-era furniture plus rustic and midcentury pieces. Bill Sims, who opened the shop 30 years ago, especially loves to stock artwork—but won’t reveal his sources. 3534 Georgia Ave., NW; 202-722-0719.
The Old Lucketts Store
With more than 35 antique and vintage dealers, Lucketts has become a pilgrimage for design lovers—not only because it’s open seven days a week but because its offerings expand with monthly flea markets and a “design house” with higher-end goods. Regular workshops teach painting and gilding techniques. 42350 Lucketts Rd., Leesburg; 703-779-0268.
Peg Leg Vintage
Chad and Krisi Hora stock their shop with well-priced items from a variety of 20th-century eras but with a focus on midcentury. If you don’t see what you need, just ask—they might have it in their warehouse up the road. 9600 Baltimore Ave., College Park; 301-477-3423.
Rust and Refind
After a career in the military, Brenda Potts has brought a globally minded approach to her antique and vintage finds—inside Mt. Vernon Antique Center—with an emphasis on European styles. She paints many of her pieces, too, transforming items such as fence pickets into signs and stairway balusters into lamps. She also handles custom work. 8101 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria; 703-619-5100.
Sweet Clover and Chartreuse & Co.
More than three dozen dealers gather for vintage tag sales between these nearby farms on the third weekend of every month, where the variety of furnishings, fabric, architectural salvage, and accessories is seemingly endless. Food trucks are on hand, too. Sweet Clover, 4051 Stanford Ct., Frederick, sweetclovervintage@gmail.com; Chartreuse & Co., 4007 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick, vacrum@chartreuseandco.com.
Tanglewood Works
Say you’ve just scored a great cabinet at the furniture and building-material salvage center Community Forklift, in Prince George’s County, but it needs help. Sue Older-Mondeel’s shop next door offers furniture-painting classes, or she’ll paint it for you. She also stocks her own eclectic inventory rescued from curbsides and estate sales, with an additional booth in the Community Forklift warehouse. 4641 Tanglewood Dr., Edmonston; 415-595-9839.
Freelance writer Jennifer Sergent blogs at DC by Design and can be reached at jennifersergent@verizon.net.
This article appears in our August 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
