When students look for affordable and unique furniture, they turn to Bloomington's treasure chests of antique shops. Charmingly lining Kirkwood Avenue and surrounding areas, many of the antique shops offer an eclectic mix of furniture from the 19th century up to the 1950s and '60s that students use to furnish their apartments. Hand-crafted wood chairs, desks and oversized trunks used as coffee tables are just some of the wide variety of items students buy at antique shops. \n"A lot of students pick up used clothing or something to decorate their apartment," said Nancy Garrett, owner of The Garret antique shop. "They will buy a wine rack, small table, chair or desk."\nThe Garret is a two-story shop carrying vintage clothing and richly upholstered furniture, mostly from the 19th century.\n"We try to have something unusual," Garrett said. \nAntique stores offer a variety of clothing, furniture and dishes that are often one-of-a-kind. Summer House, located at 320 S. Walnut St., has an array of colorful dishware from the '50s through the '70s. Green fondue pots, '60s-style highball glasses and green and blue martini glasses are just a few of the pieces sold at the stylish shop. \n"People who shop vintage are those who appreciate things that are unusual," said Summer Walters, owner of Summer House. "People who antique already have a strong sense of style and they don't need mainstream to guide them."
How to Antique \nPieces in antique shops vary and include \nmassive oak tables from the late 1800s, as well as retro lamps. Furniture is often made of cherry wood, mahogany wood or iron, and usually has more than one use. Becky Clayton, assistant manager of the Antique Mall, located at 311 W. Seventh St., said when students go antiquing they should have an open mind about what they are looking for and how they can use it. The Antique Mall is home to cherry and mahogany handcrafted wood-frame sofas and chairs, old rugs, lamps and vintage clothing. \n"A dresser doesn't have to go in the bedroom; it can be used as a buffet or serving piece," Clayton said. "Usually, when I am looking for something in particular, that is when I find something I wasn't looking for." \nSince many of the pieces in antique shops are unusual or taken from parts of houses, owners said it takes creativity and flair to decorate with vintage or antique pieces. \n"It takes more imagination to use vintage things than new things, and it's more fun," Clayton said.\nVicki Helber, a clerk at Foursquare Architectural and Antique Salvage, said now is perfect for antiquing around Bloomington.\n"Daytripping in the fall is fun," Helber said. "A lot of people will come in right now looking for Christmas presents for people who like old things." \nThough antiquing means hunting around rooms full of old things, many of the pieces have higher values than brand new furniture. \n"It certainly holds its value better than new things," Clayton said. "New things are considered used when you take them out of the store. It is a far better investment than buying something new. You get what you paid for it when you are done with it." \nClayton added that antiques have a special appeal because of the originality of the pieces. \n"Different is always good, a little strange is good ... maybe a handcrafted piece of furniture that one person has done that hasn't been manufactured. Now with mass production it is hard to find one of a kind anything." \nWalters said she feels antiquing provides an outlet for people who are into old things and can appreciate something that might not seem valuable at first sight.\n"That's why we do it, because of the hunt," Walters said. "That's the fun part is seeing that something is worth more."
Putting it to good use\nFoursquare Antiques and Architectural Salvage, located at 727 W. Kirkwood Ave., is known for having a mix of pieces that appeal to the unusual. Antique bathtubs line the sidewalk outside and religious statues, columns and mantles form a vast indoor collection. \n"We have a lot of stuff from old churches and seminaries because they are tearing down a lot of them," Helber said. \nFoursquare Antiques specializes in selling items to renovate a home or makeover a room. The shop is filled with doors, dresser handles and door handles, as well as frames. \n"We sell a lot of bathtubs because they are in vogue right now," Helber said. "A new one, with shipping, costs up to $2,000. A lot of them are made of acrylic instead of (the traditional) cast iron, with porcelain fired onto it with lion feet." \n"You can't buy anything this nice; they don't make them out of this nice of wood anymore," Helber said. "An entry door at Lowe's costs $500 to $600; here you will pay $150 to $200. Also, a lot of decorators come here to buy mirror frames and lamps." \nBusiness owners often buy antique lamps and chandeliers from The Garret because they specialize in lighting and lamps. \n"Urban Outfitters bought chandeliers from us and Uptown Café bought lighting fixtures from us a long time ago," Garret said. \nWhen people buy antiques, a part of the process is restoring its natural shine and color, but, Clayton said, because vintage or antique pieces already have a little ding here or there, buyers don't get stressed out if pieces get scratched a little more because the scratch adds to the patina of the piece. Clayton said antiques are special because you always wonder who had it before you or where it has been. \n"It's like something is reborn again when someone else buys it"
