apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Try Urban Ore (Berkeley) or the Alameda County Flea Market for sweet fixer-uppers for a song. I bought something similar at UO and fixed it up. Total cost, $80.

Community Thrift on Valencia Street between 17th and 18th in the Mission. Don't expect to find the perfect thing the first time you visit. Go a couple of times a week and in a month or so you'll find what you want. Be prepared to do a little sanding, staining or painting and you might have to replace a few knobs. However, I have furnished my entire life from this place - apartment in the city and a country cottage, plus all manner of project for friends as they moved and decorated. Cheap!

If you have a slightly higher budget you could try Harrington Brothers on the corner of Valencia and 17th, but their stuff isn't necessarily better and the prices are often goofy high for what they're selling.

Alemany flea market at he base of Bernal Heights on Sundays or the Alameda flea market at the old navy base on the first Sunday of the month.

Try Mickeys' Monkey on Haight & Pierce - very reasonable prices for funky stuff.
I also just went to the SF Antique Mart on Bayshore Blvd (near U-Haul) and I was wildly impressed with the size of the place (hundreds of dealers) and the cool stuff in there from all different eras. Pricing ranges from "what a steal" to "they've got to be kidding". I highly recommend it!!

I second Mickey's Monkey. I found a great vintage dresser there for $200 and also bought a lovely bookcase for $40. I happen to walk by there daily though so I'm always able to check out their new finds. And they also deliver!

Craigslist is where I find my vintage items.

There are also a couple guys who advertise on Craigslist for their pieces, including www.eamesloft.com - Tom is a great guy, his pieces are moderately priced and he also delivers for a reasonable fee.

Past Perfect on Union and Klassiks by Lynne in Emeryville have nice pieces as well, but expect retail prices due to the fact that they're renting retail spaces.

I highly recommend Uhuru Furniture on Grand Ave in Oakland. Urban Ore is disorganized and lots of the stuff is in bad shape. At Uhuru, they cannot keep inventory in this store -- I recently bought a wonderful solid wood desk made in 1909 for only $130 and it's in great shape! I can't believe that people are so generous to donate their art deco, Victorian and mid-century furniture to this nonprofit http://uhurufurniture.blogspot.com/

For example, this deco sideboard is only $130 -- geez! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hvUgLTILEVE/Sk7IeopOysI/AAAAAAAAIIc/iukpnaKNrDE/s400/DecoSetSideboard1.jpg