Monday, August 27, 2012

Weekend Adventures: Renniger's Antiques

So this post is actually about a week late. We spent this past weekend with family and making sure we were prepared for whatever Isaac might have in store for us. But two weekends ago I talked Dan into going to the Mt. Dora Flea Market with me. It's one of those things that we do every so often.
 
Of all the flea markets in our area, I think Mt. Dora is my favorite. Runner up would have to be the Webster Flea Market. But they are only open on Mondays, so it's really hard to find time to make it out there. And when I do happen to have a Monday off, it's usually the same Monday everyone else has off too, so the place is really crowded. Anyways, let's get off this tangent and back to the whole point of this post.
 
Which is what? Well, we thought we'd be smart and get to the flea market super early so that we'd be done before the intense Florida heat got too bad. We were at the flea market by 8. What we didn't plan for? The fact that it would still be raining when we woke up and that the majority of the vendors would be taking their sweet time setting up. We literally made it through the entire flea market in maybe an hour. That's a record people. None of the outdoor vendors were even set up, and those are my favorite spots to find neat things.
 
Since we made it through the flea market portion so quickly, I decided to push my luck with the hubby and ask him if we could go over to the Antique Center. I had never been there, so I had no clue what we'd be in store for.
 
 
Dan agreed, mainly because he knew I was feeling bad about making him wake up early, drive an hour out there, and only spend an hour walking around. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen these pictures showing just how enthusiastic Dan was about looking at antiques.
 
 
He was a good sport about it though. Like I said, I had no clue what to expect from the Antique Center. But I started to get excited before we even walked through the doors. They had these benches flanking the entrance. I love the shape and simplicity of the benches. If these were for sale, and we actually had a backyard, I would have taken one of these benches home.
 
 
The majority of the antique center is indoors. Makes sense. Expensive antiques don't need to be outside. Plus, most of it was furniture, and who would want to unload that stuff every week? Here are some of our favorite indoor finds.
 

Dan really liked the lantern. Thought it would be cool if it still worked. I loved this cabinet with the metal inserts. This would make the perfect buffet in a dining room. Or even an armoire in an office or bedroom. I'd probably change out the pulls though. Maybe with something like these?



There was tons of pottery and china at the Antique Center as well. I was definitely drawn to the blue & white pieces. And of course the milk glass.

We headed outdoors to check out some of the other vendors. We stopped and admired this huge weather vane. The owner of this booth made a lot of his own things. Plus he had a bunch of cool looking knobs and pulls to update any piece of furniture.

I think my favorite part was the Street of Shops. It was a bunch of small cottage-like structures with lining a small street. All of the cottages had been turned into small antique shops. And you could tell these shop owners took pride in their cottage by the amount of detail they put into their porches and gardens. The whole street was covered by beautiful, large oak trees, so it was nice and shady.


 
We didn't find anything that we couldn't live without, so we went home empty handed. But that's okay. Just means more money to put towards our debt snowball. Its still fun to walk around flea markets and antique shops and imagine where things might fit into your home. I think I had the most fun looking at a piece and figuring out how to update it so that it had a more modern appeal, but still keeping its antique look.
 
So that was our trip to Rennigers. Not sure if we'll go to the Antique Center again. Lots of great pieces, but everything was out of our price range. But we'll definitely be going back to the Flea Market.
 
What's your favorite "go to" flea market? Find any great treasures lately?

 
 

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