Scott's Antique Market

When we were up in Atlanta for New Years Eve, we visited with one of Todd's friends. She has an adorable apartment filled with great antique store and ebay finds- old Pyrex and depression glass, my beloved green Mason jars, an awesome vintage milkshake maker, and the neatest factory cart coffee table I had ever seen! It was from her that I first heard about Scott's Antique Market. Scott's only comes to Atlanta once a month so we looked up the dates and this past weekend we packed up the car and headed back to Atlanta. We had planned to spend all day Saturday looking around but after a late start (it's always my hair's fault) and realizing there was far more area to cover than we first realized...we knew we would need more time.

We quickly decided that Saturday would be our look day and if we saw anything we couldn't live without, we would come back on Sunday to buy it. I figured this would be the only way to prevent impulse purchases as I am a big believer in waiting a few days to purchase something to think it over. Todd is the complete opposite and if he wants something, he buys it without much thought. And wouldn't you know...I was the one throwing my arms around a teal bookcase that Todd spotted at one of the last booth's we visited. This was only after I had purchased a factory cart coffee table of my very own from the same vendor. Luckily we didn't have the car space to bring both home so he moved the "SOLD" tag from the table to the bookcase and it was all mine!

Scott's is spread between the north and south exposition centers, including many outside vendors. We found that the north building seemed to have more traditional furniture and antiques and the south building was very "Resoration hardware"/ shabby chic/ French country.

Outside of the south building is an amazing salvage "store" with old house remnants. Old doors, windows, claw foot bathtubs, crystal door knobs, ladders and hundreds of skeleton keys. There were old mantles, tin ceiling tiles, rusty house numbers, shutters and salvaged wood. Although some of the prices were a little steep, the south building was easily my favorite.

I think our first trip to Scott's was a success. We left with flower pots, picture frames, an old GE fan, an old camera, and a beautiful teal bookcase that has parked itself in my living room. Now that we "know the ropes" we will add Scott's back on to our calendar and give it another go. It's too good not to!

For those of you thinking about making a trip to Scott's, here are some tips:
1. Bring cash. Not all vendors take credit cards and if they do, they charge you 3% to use it. Todd thinks it was easier to talk the prices down when we paid with cash.
2. Look through all of the vendors before you buy- if you're looking for something common like a dough bowl or Mason jars- you will probably find it cheaper somewhere else so keep looking.
3. Bring a tape measure if you plan on looking for furniture. There is a Home Depot across the street from the south building which was a lifesaver when we had to load up our bookshelf and needed rope.
4. Prices drop on Sunday. The later you wait, the lower the price will go because they don't want to load the stuff back up so if you're willing to wait (and risk it being sold to someone else) you will get a great deal on it.
5. The vendors start packing up early on Sunday so don't count on having a lot of time to browse.