Antiquing in Vienna

As an interior designer, I absolutely love searching for antiques when traveling!  Vienna and the surrounding countryside did not disappoint in my pursuit for uncommon treasures.  I found numerous items from antlers to chests and I am so excited to present these gems to my clients, maybe even keeping a few for myself.  

You might be thinking how do I get all of these objects back to America?  As I go on these trips for half business half pleasure, I organize for the items to be secured appropriately, packed into a storage container, and shipped to the US.  

Some of the beautiful antiques that I found during this trip were:

  • Antlers. Hundreds of them! From big to small with simple to extremely ornate mounts.  I even found a tray made of antlers.
  • Chests. My favorite was a dazzling Bierdermeier chest with an outstanding wood grain pattern, key holes, and elegantly detailed pulls. 
  • Walking sticks.  Too many to count!  Lightweight to heavy duty. Light to dark in color. Plain to exquisite engravings.

Some of my favorite finds came from an hour outside of Vienna in a town known as St. Polten.  If you love antiquing as much as I do, you will not want to miss this hidden treasure in the Austrian countryside. 

Among one of the oldest auction houses in the world is The Dorotheum Auction House in Vienna. Today, its goal is to put Vienna on the world’s stage as a top auction destination while preserving the heritage that gave it its start. I adored walking and gawking at all the displays!

The early bird catches the worm!  At the crack of dawn every Saturday in Vienna, they have the Naschmarkt.  Some consider it a cult event where the vendors sell antiques, produce, fruit, cheese, flowers, and food from all over the world.  We had a ball searching through all of the stalls locating unique treasures.

Vienna, Austria is an antique lover’s dream so make sure to designate time during your trip for a one of a kind treasure hunt!


Scott Antique Markets: A Designer’s Dream

As a designer, a large part of my job is sourcing furniture and decor for my clients’ designs. I’m always striving to find unique and beautiful pieces, and going antiquing seems to be the best way to guarantee this. Scott Antique Markets is one of my absolute favorite places to source home furnishing and decor.

Why Antique?

There are numerous benefits of choosing to invest in antique pieces.

Quality & Durability: Most antique pieces were handcrafted long ago. They were made by skilled craftsmen with care and precision which is often lost in flat-pack furniture and commercial retail. When someone fabricates a single piece, you know it’s been given more attention than something made by machines on an assembly line. The piece has made its way through history which speaks for itself in terms of quality and durability. When you invest in antique pieces you know that they’ll last you life time. Not only are they physically durable, but antique pieces don’t go out of style. So you can have confidence when buying an antique that the piece will last you a lifetime.

Investment: Antique furniture and decor keeps its value. In some cases, it even increases in value the longer it’s around. If you purchase an antique piece today and later decide you want to change it, selling the piece should be no hard task. You may even make some money from it!

Sustainability: Buying an antique is one of the best forms of sustainability. Rather than sending the piece to a landfill, it gets to live on with you. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 9.69 million tons of furniture was taken to landfills in 2015 alone. Choosing to buy antique pieces instantly cuts down your personal contribution to this. Antique pieces are the epitome of the “reuse” in “Reduce, reuse, recycle!”

Individuality: Whether it’s a rug, a chair, a vanity, or a vase, if it’s antique, it’s unique! I take pride in the fact that my designs for my clients are always bespoke, personalised and unique. One of the easiest ways to do this is sourcing antique pieces. Because they’re not mass produced, no one will have the exact same piece as you, bringing a lovely individuality into any design.

Scott Antique Markets: All You Need to Know

The Market only opens once a month, so be sure to plan ahead! The Atlanta Market is opening from February 11-14th, so make sure to book a morning or afternoon off to make it there! If not, they’ll be open again next month. They also have a location in Ohio, which is due to reopen in November of this year. For a full timetable, please visit their website. Be aware that admission is $5, to be paid at the door only. But with the variety and amount of beautiful pieces to browse, it’s worth every penny.

The Scott Antique Markets were started by Don Scott who worked for nearly 20 years buying and selling antiques around the country. He was working as an exhibitor when he decided to create his own Antique show with a large focus on Customer Service. The Scott Antique Market in Atlanta was born and shortly afterward they expanded to open a market in Columbus, Ohio. Having been to the market since I was a young teen, I can confirm how wonderful their customer service is!

I usually take a list from a client of pieces that need to be sourced for their design. The home furnishings are sourced from all over Europe. And while they do sell New Home furnishing, their antiques are definitely my favorite to look at!

Here are some of my favorite pieces I saw last time I was at the market!

Favorite Pieces - Part 1

Favorite Pieces - Part 2

Interested in renovating? We’ll go to the market for you! Head to our services page to see how we can help you create the home of your dreams!


Kelley Astore Interiors

Expert Interior Design & Renovation Services of Every Style.

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