A guide to exploring Atlanta’s antiques shops

Spring cleaning sometimes means out with the old and in with the new. But what about out with the old and in with the, well, old?

Atlanta and DeKalb County are chock-full of antiques shops teeming with everything from affordable kitsch to high-dollar extravagance. But they’re not just for collectors anymore.

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LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC

Owner Darlene Cox of Scarlett Loves Rhettro cruises auctions, estate sales and the like for the funky and smart.

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LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC

Even Biggar Antiques’ building is old: It’s the old First Methodist Church of Chamblee, built in 1885.

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Interior designers often use antiques stores as fertile sources. Local movie productions turn to the shops to help dress their sets. Where do you think Madea gets her retro kitchen appliances?

Here’s a starting point to begin exploring Atlanta’s antiques shop landscape.

MIDTOWN

This 3 1/2-year-old shop’s quirky, eclectic mindset fits right in with the stretch of Midtown in which it resides. Its logo, an illustrated mug resembling an afro-crowned, sunglass-wearing Pam Grier type, says it all.

Scarlett Loves Rhettro is a concise pocket of pop culture with equal parts funky finds and rare, smart grabs. Owner Darlene Cox and cohort Stefaniyemiya Ingram constantly cruise auctions, estate sales and the like. The store’s name is an obvious nod to “Gone With the Wind,” but Ingram explains the meaning goes deeper.

Scarlett refers to antiques and Victorian-era items, while Rhettro is a play on words with a reference to retro furniture and other goodies. The hodgepodge inventory ranges from vintage wear and jewelry to art and knickknacks. A velvet portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. ($295) stares down from high. Just below hangs a Seagram’s liquor sign ($285) depicting a Mount Rushmore decorated with booze bottles. A vinyl love seat and chair set from the early ’60s ($450) sits in a back room. Chains suspend a tiny table below a loud, ornate, gold-colored, 1960s chandelier ($895).

Ingram said the store isn’t averse to cutting deals with customers, especially regulars. Frequent shoppers include Tyler Perry’s film production company, which regularly scours the shop for props. “A lot of people are finding the same things online that they can find at the mall,” says Ingram. “But here you get something uniquely different.”

436 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-249-7699.

Imagine a museum where you could buy the inventory.

That’s Biggar Antiques, a 33-year-old antiques store located along Chamblee’s antique row. Even its structure is a treasure. Biggar resides in the old First Methodist Church of Chamblee, which was built in 1885. Enormous advertising signs from the 1880s to the 1960s decorate the exterior. On a given day, you might find everything from gas station and soda signs to amusement park and barbershop signage.

A massive McDonald’s restaurant playground slide from the ’70s with Captain Crook’s bust perched on top ($3,500) calls for attention in the front yard. Inside, an 1880s apothecary serves as storage space for inventory.

Brothers Bill and Jeff Biggar preside over the shop, which boasts low-end items like vintage soda bottles ($3) all the way up to rare signs topping out at $4,500 each. Biggar Antiques supplies film productions with set pieces and props, including the recent period football film “Leatherheads.”

Regular customers buy a wide variety of items. With the current loft-living craze, Jeff notices 20-year-olds using industrial items like warehouse dollies as entertainment centers. “I love showing the younger generation what these old pieces were originally used for,” Jeff says. “We’re really the Americana antique experience.”

5576 Peachtree Road, Chamblee. 770-451-2541, www.biggarantiques.com.

Purple and green flags flap atop a converted, melon-colored warehouse, making Kudzu a bright oasis of antiquing adventure. Shoppers bound up a flight of stairs where a barber pole spins next to a life-size stuffed toy gorilla in a grass skirt sitting on the end of an old church pew. Once inside, a big band soundtrack plays as guests choose which direction to go first. On either side of the large checkout counter are four rows of individual dealer booths.

Owners George and Kate Lawes host more than 100 dealers throughout the store and offer their own stock, too. Practical, artful, collectible, kitschy, downright odd; it’s all here. Individual dealers often offer sales, so look closely for signs in each booth. A massive armoire ($1,195) with three glass doors, ornate floral carvings and green marble accents stands at attention. An original wanted poster of one of Patty Hearst’s kidnappers ($75) hangs near a collection of vinyl records and vintage concert posters. A 1955 diesel engine electric train ($525) parks next to other vintage mini choo-choos.

Just behind the checkout counter in the backyard, a garden area displays a collection of lawn art, including metal sculpture and cement statuary. A trickling koi pond sets the mood. Another outdoor section showcases a small collection of architectural items and outdoor furniture, including a large, white, metal aviary ($895).

Kudzu is planning an art walk in June to spotlight its range of artwork. Kudzu currently features a nice sampling of self-taught artists, including Purvis Young, Hubert Walters, C.M. Laster, Kim Clayton and John Henry Toney. The store also offers reproductions of concrete sculptures by the late Atlanta artist Christine Sibley. A parking lot sale, tentatively scheduled for July, will find dealers slashing prices on specific items and displaying them outdoors in the Kudzu lot.

2928 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-373-6498, www.kudzuantiques.com.

When a fire nearly put Antiques and Beyond out of business five years ago, co-owners Darrell Pearce and John Thomas simply moved next door. The partners bought out their neighbor’s lease and shifted their inventory.

The 15-year-old business is still alive with more than 70 dealers throughout 17,500 square feet. This antiques mall offers a mixed bag of items for varying tastes and wallet sizes. A glassware dealer sells vases, plates and other vintage items starting at $10. Vintage jewelry from the late Victorian era to the 1970s ranges in price from $25-$200 while a seven-piece, custom-made, 1930s French bedroom set asks $6,900.

Other high-end items include a 9-foot tall cherry wood hall mirror from the 1880s ($4,300) and a John Stuart of New York chest of drawers from the 1940s ($800).

Mid-century modern pieces are still the rage, according to Pearce. But the wide variety and price range makes the stock accessible to many budgets. “We’re lucky to have seasoned dealers,” said Pearce, “who know where to buy and what to pay, so they’re not asking outrageous prices.”

Interior decorators and film set designers can be found shopping at Antiques and Beyond. Tommy Hilfiger representatives recently purchased mirrors decorated with seashells for the company’s Miami showroom. And actress Drew Barrymore posed alongside pieces purchased at Antiques and Beyond in the April issue of Domino lifestyle magazine.

1853 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-4342, www.antiquesandbeyond.com.

Originally located in the Garden Hills shopping center in Buckhead, City Issue shut its doors in December 2007 and reopened in March in Inman Park. The interior rivals the sets from swinging ’60s cinema. Owner Jennifer Sams has a keen eye for mid-century modern pieces for the home and office. “We’re trying to make a store that’s specifically mid-century modern, but really accessible to everybody,” she said. This means everything from school desks with industrial or modern designs ($100-$250) to a George Nelson-designed 1964 office desk by manufacturer Herman Miller ($3,900). At least once a week, Sams updates the inventory online with images and descriptions. Customers can’t click to buy. But Sams says interested online parties typically call the store and they arrange purchase and shipping over the phone. On fair weather days, Sams opens up the garage bay door, enticing some of the foot traffic from nearby Freedom Park to stop and take a gander.

325 Elizabeth St. N.E., Atlanta. 678-999-9075, www.cityissue.com.

Don’t let the Midtown road construction scare you away from this hotbed of high-end antiquing. Yeah, it’s on 14th Street, but a quick jaunt down Northside Drive provides an alternate route.

Walk inside and you’ll find most of the pricier, more formal pieces up front. Ornate furnishings and a 17th-century European oil painting ($150,000) are some of the big-ticket items. Then it’s on to the case gallery, where glass cases hold miscellaneous antiques like jewelry, porcelain and Asian artifacts.

The mall is 50,000 square feet and has more than 160 dealers. Items are most varied in the marketplace; the back section of 14th Street Antiques Market. Lower-end items like vintage, monogrammed, cloth handkerchiefs ($25 each) share space with pricier things such as furnishings out of Cher’s home, mid-century modern decor and high-end Italian, French and English furniture.

An in-house lighting store provides solutions for antique chandeliers and lighting pieces that find their way into the 14th Street Antiques Market after a bumpy cross-Atlantic flight. And the store has its own on-site locksmith and restorer to keep its snazzy stock functional and looking good.

530 14th St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-325-4600, www.14thstreetantiques.com.