The best places to shop for secondhand furniture in Los Angeles
Recently, after spotting a listing for a pair of midcentury Gunlocke chairs on Facebook Marketplace, I drove to Hollywood and purchased them from a woman I had never met. When I got home, my family was impressed with my purchase but disappointed I went to a stranger’s house alone to pick up the furniture. (Clearly, I survived.)
Facebook Marketplace can be addictive with its endless listings and the ability to shop online from home. But suppose you’re not comfortable buying used goods from a stranger, or you’d like to see the items in person before you make the purchase? (In my case, that means sitting on the furniture to see if it’s comfortable.) Why not take advantage of the many options Los Angeles has to offer when it comes to shopping for secondhand furniture, including antique malls, consignment stores, flea markets, thrift stores and vintage shops specializing in Midcentury Modern furniture?
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Though not all of it is cheap — I’ve seen $30,000 sectionals from France on my shopping expeditions — a lot of used furniture is affordable, helping you save money while also keeping discarded goods out of landfills.
Some tips:
- Bring a measuring tape, because not all furnishings are labeled with dimensions.
- Remember that many stores receive new items daily, whether from a shipping container or an estate sale.
- Shopping for used furniture can be a hunt that requires persistence; if you don’t see something you like today, you might find what you are looking for another day.
- Many stores offer affordable third-party delivery services.
Lastly, this roundup is not a definitive list. If you have a favorite source for used furniture you’d be willing to share, let me know at [email protected]. I may check it out and add it to our list. Now get shopping!
American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, Toluca Lake
Located across the street from Trader Joe’s in a busy shopping district on Riverside Drive, the small shop is crammed with merchandise — lounge chairs are pushed up against pianos, coffee tables and end tables — forcing you to dig a bit to get a decent look at the furnishings. Other highlights included a French antique chair upholstered in contemporary cream suede ($65), a country-style dining room set, an elegant marble bar cart, walnut secretaries and a 20-piece set of Empress china dishware priced at $40.
All donations are tax-deductible and proceeds support the American Cancer Society. You must pick up items within four days of purchase. The Discovery Shop is not responsible for loading furniture.
Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Amsterdam Modern
Shopping is surprisingly easy given that everything has a tag and is clearly marked with dimensions, designer and price. A set of four Arnold Merckx black leather dining chairs were priced at $2,750. A Poul Volther teak dresser was listed as $1,850, and a ribbed Ernst Luthy leather “Turf” love seat was tagged at $7,850.
While the headliner here is vintage furnishings, there is also a wide variety of gift options wedged among the teak dining room tables and chairs, including a selection of gorgeous vintage ceramics.
Despite the dizzying display of goods, the sales staff is incredibly adept in helping you find what you are looking for, whether it’s a Danish modern dining chair or a Modernist coat rack.
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Atomic Threshold
Boehr has seating options covered, from dining room chairs to Plycraft lounge chairs ($6,495) and Brazilian leather sofas ($8,000 to $15,000) as well as refinished Danish modern credenzas and tables from coffee tables to dining and bedside options. Also, Boehr sells his custom footstools ($895 to $1,095) and lighting ($595) made from lathe-turned wood and ceramics.
From the standpoint of resource stewardship, Boehr observed that his customers “feel good about keeping quality vintage stock in use and circulation as opposed to buying new, less soulful furnishings, which will continue to be more of a consideration moving forward into the future.”
Open daily by appointment. Address provided upon request.
Casa Victoria
Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
DEN Los Angeles
“For me, Midcentury Modern is more of a catch-all term for intentional designs and quality made furniture that focuses on form and function,” says Potter. “I focus on vintage pieces as I love the sustainability factor. As long as I stick to the parameters, our inventory will stay timeless and will integrate well with any home.”
On a recent visit, one-of-a-kind standouts included a two-piece sectional sofa in velvet by Edward Wormley ($48,000), a pair of leather Otto Zapf lounge chairs for Knoll ($8,000) and Architectural Pottery and David Cressy ceramic lamps.
For those not prepared to drop $30,000 on a George Nakashima dining table, Potter also offers some smaller, lower price point items as well as occasional sales on surplus goods.
Open by appointment only.
Deseret Industries Thrift Store and Donation Center
Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday.
Design Utopia Hollywood
It’s fun to dig through her Melrose Avenue shop, with its colorful Joseph Magnin gift boxes from the 1960s, Paul McCobb china, a stunning Maria Kipp textile lampshade from the ’50s, patio furniture and Kai Kristiansen dining chairs. Prices are fair, ranging from the low to medium. Also, while Nash stocks custom pieces, the most interesting item during a recent visit wasn’t made by hand: It was a locking mechanism for a bank vault.
Open weekends and by appointment.
Habitat for Humanity, Pasadena ReStore
Shoppers can peruse two floors filled with an assortment of sofas, coffee tables, chairs, armoires and building materials such as doors and windows. (There is clothing too.) On the second floor, I spotted a white linen sofa ($275) and a blue midcentury-style tufted sofa ($225) in excellent condition. If you’re looking for office equipment, there is a room with a wide selection of desks (my favorite, a sleek white midcentury-style desk, was $75). Elsewhere, Frigidaire refrigerators were $400, handsome media centers with a few scratches were priced at $45 and bookshelves were $70. There was also an excellent selection of bed frames and stylish side chairs for $45. The store lists some of its inventory online, so you can shop from home.
ReStore offers local pickup only, but, like many thrift stores, it provides third-party referrals for delivery. The store also hosts a “Free Furniture Saturday” on the last Saturday of the month, allowing customers to take home two pieces from among select items. Items must be picked up and transported that day by customers.
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Hernandez Furniture
On a recent visit, owner Pedro Hernandez was on hand to point out Scandinavian ribbon-back dining chairs by Dux ($1,500 for four), a sculptural sofa outfitted in stunning green vintage fabric ($2,975) and a rosewood lounge chair by Ebanistería Caivinagua ($1,575).
Like so many vintage showrooms, there are lamps stacked on coffee tables stacked on credenzas, but it’s not off-putting. The staff is friendly and willing to pull down items for you to check out or offer further details about various items.
Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Home Consignment Center Calabasas
In addition to upholstered swivel chairs priced at $199, there were several new sofas on display, including an enormous Positano leather sectional from Costco (priced at $4,399.99 online) on sale for $2,559.99 and a handsome mirrored highboy listed at $319.99. Several upholstered rocking chairs that were on sale for $249.99 would be a great addition to a nursery. There was also a surplus of outdoor furnishings outside the entrance to the store.
The store lists prices but not dimensions, so be sure to bring a tape measure with you. The store offers help with loading goods into your car and third-party delivery referrals if necessary.
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Huntington Collection
You may find a pair of comfortable Sherrill Furniture down swivel chairs in a red and gold brocade fabric on sale for $150 apiece, for example, or an antique oak 19th-century dining table with eight chairs and six leaves for $1,650. (A mahogany dining room table with three leaves and six chairs was priced at $595.)
The store also stocks dressers, sofas, armchairs and accessories, including a contemporary Artemide Tolomeo floor lamp, which usually sells for more than $1,000 and was on sale for $450. A lovely Turkish wool rug from ABC Carpet & Home was priced at $799.99.
This store is a fun place to shop for affordable housewares, including glasses, barware and complete china sets from brands such as Lenox, Longchamp, Spode, Haviland and Dansk. There are also printouts attached to many of the products explaining their history and pricing, which is helpful for comparison shoppers.
Buyers must pick up items within two business days or the items will be subject to a $10-a-day storage fee. After two weeks, the items will be sold. The store does not offer delivery service but recommends a second party that it works with regularly.
Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
King Richard's Antique Center
On a recent visit, many of the stalls had a great selection of Midcentury Modern furnishings, including a yellow Adrian Pearsall sectional for $2,550, a Broyhill dresser for $1,250, Eames-style lounge chair and ottoman for $1,200 and a three-piece Corbusier sofa and chairs for $1,850. Fun stuff included a commercial popcorn machine, an Elvis statue and a historic Route 66 clock.
Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Staff will help you load your car and also help you transport oversize goods home through their trusted third-party services.
Long Beach Antique Market
Held the third Sunday of every month at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 4901 E. Conant St., Long Beach. $10 for general admission, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. $15 for early admission, 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. Children under 12 are free.
Melrose Trading Post
Tickets are $5 (with $2 booking fee if purchased online).
Pro tip: Since there’s frequently a line at the main entrance on Melrose, head for the one off Fairfax, which is often less congested.
Merchant
“I wanted it to look like a house,” says co-owner Denise Portmans, who runs the store, along with an Atwater Village location, with her artist daughter Sara Marlowe Hall. “I like things that are a little unusual.”
The stores are an homage to Portmans’ mother, an artist and ceramicist, and they are stocked with Midcentury Modern furniture, vintage Moroccan rugs, contemporary ceramics from Paris and Italy, and goods by local artists such as Heather Rosenman and All Roads Studio. On a recent visit to the Santa Monica store, prices ranged from $120 for a wooden wine rack to $2,500 for a vintage leather safari chair. Portmans also is open to making deals.
The second showroom, Merchant Modern East, is at 3127 Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village.
MidcenturyLA
The first two front rooms have the clean look of a high-end designer showroom and offer an opportunity to sink into the many low-slung circular sofas and lounge chairs on display.
I like to dig through the two less formal rooms in back, which are brimming with rugs, chairs and credenzas, and include many items on sale.
Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Motley Design Warehouse
Motley specializes in vintage midcentury modern designs from Denmark and modern and contemporary art from California. Its 7th Street showrooms are packed with furniture — dining chairs, tables, desks, sofas, rugs and textiles, tableware and shelving, such as the modular 1970s Cado Royal System. A small space is devoted to vintage clothing. Find daily sale items in its outdoor parking lot.
Open noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and by appointment.
Out of the Closet Super Store
On a recent visit to the thrift store, which benefits AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s HIV services, I found a pristine Midcentury Modern-style sofa in ivory linen for $175 and several other sofas and chairs priced between $80 and $200.
There was a good selection of frames, and some unique display shelves and bookshelves, including a restaurant-style baker’s rack for $45. The store is organized well, which makes it easy to shop for housewares, including lamps, glasses and assorted china. This location is an excellent place to stock up if you need wine glasses or want to furnish your kitchen.
Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Pepe's Thrift Shop
Like other L.A. thrift stores, Pepe’s has an impressive selection of frames, in addition to lighting and chandeliers. All furnishings are marked with blue tape that includes dimensions and price. Midcentury-inspired custom furnishings also are available.
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Pop Up Home
“I wanted it to feel like New York,” Beanum says of the airy third floor, which is filled with curvaceous furnishings in leather, velvet and corduroy. “Everyone is interested in postmodern furnishings right now.” In addition to furniture and accessories, including a wide variety of ceramics, artwork is mixed in with the furniture and decor as part of UNREPD, a gallery devoted to emerging and mid-career artists of color as well as women artists and LGBTQIA+ artists. Beanum also offers custom upholstery.
Rebound Furniture and Consignment
All furnishings are tagged with pricetags that include dimensions, which is helpful if you’re looking for something specific. The store also lists its inventory online, so you can look before heading out.
Open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Revival Vintage Furniture
Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Rose Bowl Flea Market
SV Modern
The small showroom is loaded with mostly small-scale stuff — think chairs, side tables, credenzas and a few sofas. But Lopez says they have found their niche by pairing some of the bigger furnishings with art, accessories and music. “Our clients enjoy walking back and forth between the record shop and the furniture showroom,” he says. “They all want beautiful, original furnishings so they can be in an environment where they can create.”
Because the shop is small, don’t expect to see the same thing from month to month. That really won’t be an issue, Lopez says, because the store gets new things in to be sold every week.
Open weekdays by appointment and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Saasaan
Nabavi sells a large selection of leather sofas from Scandinavia, including Stouby and Børge Mogensen designs starting at $595, as well as lounge chairs, cabinets (“Queer Eye’s” Bobby Berk scored one) and dining tables and chairs.
Some pieces, such as a Danish dining table in rosewood with three leaves ($2,500), have been refinished, while others, such as the teak sideboards and a quartet of teak dining chairs (on sale for $495), are in their original condition.
Open by appointment.
Santa Monica Airport Outdoor Antique and Collectible Market
Park (blessedly easy to do), pay your $5 admission fee (kids are free) and stroll through a wide assortment of vendors selling everything from African textiles and shabby-chic housewares to midcentury furniture and home accessories (the bags of scalloped linen doilies were a hot seller on a recent visit). You never know when you might discover a gem among one seller’s heirlooms, such as some Sascha Brastoff ceramic plates.
Although the market is popular with interior designers, it also offers a surplus of vintage fashion — handmade hats, jackets made from crocheted granny squares, tribal dresses and Native American jewelry. You’ll also find several plant sellers, including rare succulents and pottery at the Succulents and Cactiholic Shop. The market is at 3223 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica, and costs $5 to enter.
Son of a Vet Thrift Shop
There was a wide selection of artwork and frames, including a stunning black-and-white photograph for $14.99. I purchased a brand-new 18x24 frame still wrapped in plastic from Aaron Brothers for $11.99. If I needed kitchen supplies, I’d head here, as the shelves are stocked with everything you might need — from toaster ovens to crockpots and china to wine glasses ($1.99).
The store does not handle delivery but has affordable third-party referrals.
Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
St. Vincent de Paul of Los Angeles
Sofas were available in every style, from modern leather to Victorian-style seating in flowery fabrics. A three-seater in good condition was $99. Similar lounge chairs were priced between $79 and $99. But not everything is cheap. A pristine leather club chair was on sale for $299 and a minimalist three-seater sofa in cream-colored linen was $349. A chest of drawers that looked brand-new was $399. A red leather sectional was $800. My favorite item, a custom-built dining room table with hairpin legs, was $249.
One of the sales staff told me there was even more furniture than what was on the showroom floor.
Unfortunately, furniture dimensions are not listed with items, so bring a tape measure. Once you remove the receipt from an item, you have 15 minutes to purchase it. Otherwise, the item will be retagged and resold. All sales are final and sold as-is. Ample parking on site.
Open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Also in Long Beach at 2750 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., (562) 494-9955.
Studio Hope Boutique
Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Sunbeam Vintage
Many of the furnishings in the 6,500-square-foot former movie theater are displayed in period vignettes, including a baroque living room with chandelier and gold lamé walls, a midcentury cabin with an Eames lounge chair, a velvet sofa and fireplace, and a cozy den with a velvet sofa and a Danish Modern wall unit. Custom sofas and sectionals start at $1,395 and are available in more than 100 fabrics. Estimated turnaround is eight weeks.
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
The Mart Collective
Open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Salvation Army Boutique Store, Santa Monica
Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Urban Americana
The finds on a recent visit included a leather and chrome Wasily chair by Marcel Breuer ($495), a Westnofa dining table with four chairs ($6,995), a pair of rare sculpted Modeline of California lamps ($2,995) and bright-red Eames molded plastic chairs ($220 apiece).
For your al fresco needs, a large outdoor area offers a wide assortment of vintage ceramic planters and outdoor patio furniture.
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Vintage Concept
Like their father, the brothers specialize in 20th century design and Midcentury Modern and Danish modern furniture and accessories; they also offer restoration and upholstery services.
The pair opened a second showroom right next door, which offers more Midcentury pieces along with artworks. You might find a Fritz Hansen leather and wood armchair ($1,200), a vintage Adrian Pearsall-style Cloud chaise ($1,800), a George Kasparian club chair reupholstered in soft gray sherpa fabric ($975) or a pair of fully restored Brasilia nightstands ($1,650).
Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
West Coast Modern L.A.
You might find the perfect dining room chair, Sputnik pendant or Berber-covered Eames lounge chair, but you can also create something new. Ramirez has stacks of fabrics on hand if you are interested in ordering a custom sofa, sectional or chair to your specifications. The walnut Midcentury Modern-inspired credenzas, which are made to order in custom sizes and finishes, have hand-carved sculptural doors.
Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. and noon to 4 p.m. Sun.
simplymod
Shaller has been dealing in Midcentury furniture since 1996 and goes to Denmark yearly in search of beautifully designed goods. “I like good design,” he says. “Danish quality is on another level — the types of wood that were used such as teak and rosewood.”
The showroom is filled with sofas and chairs, credenzas, pendants from Norway and Denmark, and artworks and ceramics from all over the world. Many of his finds are not in the showroom itself, so if you have a special request, contact him directly. He just might have it, and if not, he likely can find it for you.
Open by appointment and noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
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