Good Secondhand (Furniture) Shopping in Abilene

When I’d been in Abilene a year or so, I met a couple of young airmen at an Eternal Threads event. They had a couple roommates, had just moved into an apartment and were looking to furnish it at a reasonable cost. (They were in the wrong place for furniture, but they did find a couple gifts for women in their life.) I wish I or the other woman who joined the conversation had known then about the following:

1. Home Again Consignment – 1415 S. 1st – I’ve always experienced good service here, and a good stock of changing pieces. Quite a large selection, and all of it reasonably priced. Plus, it’s nice that they have photos of items online, so you can get some idea before setting out.

Down the street from Home Again also are Rust ‘n’ Roses and Stokes & Company. Also possibilities, but smaller, with a mixture of more antiques and decorative items. The Furniture Junk It is nearby as well, and they specialize in re-painting and/or refurbishing not-too-old furniture. I believe they also have a steady (as in, there’s a waiting list) business making custom dining tables using an old wooden base, for example.

The nice thing about these is their proximity to one another.

2. Among Friends – 1502 S. Treadway – A good selection of used furniture, sometimes with antiques mixed in, and attractively displayed.

If you want to, while you’re nearby, check out this other little gem:

Abilene Commercial Kitchens – kitchen supplies!

Public are so welcome, and they are so personable in here (plus, they have the cutest dog, a chocolate lab!). I pretty much love this place and would buy up every item if I could. I got some of those (not expensive!) great, rimmed cookie sheets like Ina (the Barefoot Contessa) uses. I’m even eyeing the toothpick dispensers. The whole place is awesome!

Now, the two places for furniture that I’ve just discovered are these:

3. Palazzo Reale on Butternut (1301/1307). What their website doesn’t say is that the location includes a regular retail store on one side, and an area with dealers booths with secondhand/antiques on the other. I discovered this because of photos of furniture  on Craigslist, along with the address.

This illustrates a steady truth about Abilene right now. **Lots of times it’s next-to-impossible to find things out about the city online.**

Hence, part of the motivation for this blog!

There really was a nice selection of cared-for items that were priced well. One booth in particular stood out, because of it’s owner’s talent for painting and distressing pieces. They all looked very fresh and attractive. This booth also featured a looping video about a certain kind of special paint, also for sale.

I liked the selection of pottery in the other side, too. Big, bright pots, some in fun but sophisticated shapes like frogs or ducks.

and

4. Interiors Consignment – more high end, but still approachable. What stands out here are the rugs, fine art, and quirky, circular show room. Everything is very handsomely displayed. There were more high-quality, expensive antiques mixed in with more modern pieces.

That’s it for now, but this should get the ball rolling for people looking for good furniture at reasonable prices in Abilene!

Also, here’s a link to the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s list of antique shopping, a good place to start – although I can’t guarantee how updated it is. Abilene really is a good place for antiques, I think because we’re kind of hard to get to geographically… I’m planning another post about specifically antique places. Don’t be put off though, by the word “antiques.” Most of the places listed are not the ultra-expensive types of very selective places.

Another note: I like to point out that “nothing in Abilene looks like much from the outside.” After almost four years here, I am still struck by this fact repeatedly. Which means, keep your eyes peeled and maybe start developing a different mindset about shopping local. Something like not judging a book by it’s cover maybe. Something like digging for treasure maybe.

Anyone have anything else to add? Your favorite places for secondhand furniture?