Antiques Freaks

Editor's note: We're giving away a gorgeous tote designed by Erin Flett for AU. To learn how to enter, click here.

Here at the Maven, we love a good antiques/junk shop. Not the decorative kind of junk, mind you (well, actually, our illustrator Shawn and his wife, Erin, do like their knickknacks) but furniture and architectural elements: beat-up cabinets, rustic French farmhouse tables, stained-glass windows, you name it.

Usually, we buy everything at Chesley's Auction Gallery in Corinth (one of Maine's best-kept secrets — look for a future post about it), but this weekend, we did a little antiquing. We were on a mission: looking for dressers, cabinets and a dining table.

On Saturday, we started late, so we only made it as far as The Old General Store on Route 1A in Hampden, which is a good spot for interesting items at relatively low prices. Though we didn't see anything we wanted, the selection is always changing, so we'll be back.

Next up, we headed to the Antique Marketplace & Cafe in downtown Bangor. This antiques superstore is so much fun to visit, but the furniture tends toward fine pieces with price tags to match — a little too formal (and big) for our farmhouse.

We left empty-handed and decided to do the Ellsworth loop on Sunday. Of course, we stopped at the new Marden's — which is the place to be if you're in need of a mounted buffalo head. We weren't, so we headed into town to J&B Atlantic, one of our favorite stores. The new furniture here is great (and they were having a sale), but so are the antiques. There were a few beautiful dressers and mirrors, but nothing that fit our space, so we hit the road to the Big Chicken Barn.

If you haven't been to the Big Chicken Barn, it's a must. If you have, you totally get what all the fuss is about. The store has the largest antiquarian book selection in Maine, and the antiques vendors range from the very low-end to the very high-end. Somewhere in the middle, we found what we were looking for: a glass-front mahogany china cabinet for $125. When we went to check out, we found that it was 20 percent off — what a steal! Jason went back and picked up a rustic painted bench to use as a plant stand, and we were on our way.

Since we were driving toward Bucksport we stopped in Orland at Old Things (located on the Castine Road). This streamside shop feels like a hidden gem, though we're sure many tourists discover it every summer. Here, we found all sorts of things we loved, including the coolest Hoosier ever, but nothing that was quite right for the house. If you're in the area, make a point to stop here, because it's worth the quick turn off Route 1.

After a quick and much-needed stop at Wahl's Dairy Port, we were on our way. And though we didn't find everything we needed, we managed to load up the truck. Plus, now we'll have an excuse to do another antiques loop.

What are some of your favorite antiques stores in Maine? Let us know by posting below.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Secondhand Rose, Caribou
Hand Me Down Antiques, Presque Isle
Lille Antiques, Grand Isle (Lille)

Anonymous said...

Aquarius Antiques in Town Hill and the now closed Super's Junkin' Co. in Somesville.

Beth said...

I like Cabot Mill Antiques in Brunswick, a multi-dealer shop located inside Fort Andross.

Ellen Nixon said...

Bo Mar Hall in Wells. It is huge and a bit overwhelming but we found a whole wall of Fiestaware there one day!

Anonymous said...

i actually made a list of all my favorite antique malls and flea markets in maine a while ago (since the last time there was a list online it was from 2002! ugh). LOVE the big chicken barn BTW. let me know if i missed any!

http://broke207.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/maine-flea-market-list/

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