8 places with aged-to-perfection wares
Here’s a sampling of stores in Orange to get you started on your treasure hunt.
Country Roads Antiques & Gardens 204 W. Chapman Ave.; (714) 532-3041;
www.countryroadsantiques.com Seventy vendors of vintage furnishings fill three buildings. The eclectic mix includes vintage chandeliers, McCoy pottery and architectural elements such as columns and corbels. Check out the open-air nursery at the back of the store for watering cans, Adirondack chairs and concrete statues, as well as Space 5B up front for industrial steel tables, filing cabinets, stage lights and tractor rotor blades — functional artifacts, ready for your wall. Elsewhere 131 W. Chapman Ave.; (714) 771-2116 The boutique carries an upscale collection of fashion that runs from the Victorian era through the 1960s: sweaters, hats, bags, scarves, gloves and loads of costume jewelry. Ogle the sherbet-hued chiffon and lace cocktail dresses from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Also available: handsome vintage luggage. Joyride 133 W. Chapman Ave.; (714) 771-2118; www.joyridevintage.com Robert Houston’s store for men carries vintage ties, Hawaiian shirts, cowboy boots and pith helmets. Confused about a certain item? Houston will explain what things are as well as why and how you wear them. “We teach a lot of guys how to tie bow ties,” he says. “It’s nearly a lost art.” The Vault Fine Antiques & Estate Jewelry
75 Plaza Square; (714) 288-1130;
www.thevaultfineantiques.com In 2006, former auctioneer Garre Swain and his partner, Gary Nordgren, set up their business in the former 1912 Campbell Opera House building on Plaza Square. Their small, vault-like space showcases fine antiques such as art glass from the Victorian and Art Nouveau eras, as well as early California paintings and estate jewelry, especially Victorian and Art Deco engagement rings. George II
114 N. Glassell St.; (714) 744-1870;
www.georgethesecond.com Owner Jeff Parris sells European antiques in the 1886 George Schirm Bakery building. Filling the lofty space: consoles, dining tables, chairs, clocks, lamps and an impressive array of French, English and Belgian bedroom furniture from 1890 to 1920. He modifies the beds into queen- and king-size sets in an adjacent workshop. Walk to the back to view his impressive, 300-plus-piece collection of stained-glass windows. Grand Avenue Antiques 140 N. Glassell St.; (714) 538-3540;
www.grandavenueantiques.com The 1931 building used to be Bertmann’s Tasty Bakery. Owner Diane Zalay is happy to point out the original Duchess oven door on the back wall. She specializes in 1900 to 1930s American oak pieces. Bookcases and china cabinets line walls hung with art from the 1900s to 1950s. Mr. C’s Rare Records 148 N. Glassell St.; (714) 532-3835 Everett Caldwell opened his shop in 1977. The 900 square feet are chockablock with vintage vinyl that covers “nearly every kind of music that was made, except operas and classical,” Caldwell says. Prices run from $1.25 into the thousands of dollars. Vintage record players are also available. Antique Station and Antique Depot 178 S. Glassell St., (714) 633-3934; 155 S. Glassell St., (714) 516-1731;
www.antiquestationdepot.com Set in a 1940s Alpha Beta supermarket, Antique Station is a sprawling, 11,200-square-foot collectibles store. Seventy-five vendors sell a smorgasbord of old things: tin doll houses, Fiesta dinnerware, sports trading cards. During a recent visit, Carolina’s Appliances had a Coldspot refrigerator from 1948 and an early Wedgewood 1950s stove. An even bigger sister store, the 19,000-square-foot Antique Depot, sits across the street.