OTHER CITIES: 
The Best Vintage Furniture Stores in Toronto
- Posted by Catherine
- Filed in Best of Toronto
- June 13, 2008
You can't swing a Danish teak side table without hitting a great vintage furniture store in Toronto. Vintage furniture can be bought as-is, refurbished, or you can get vintage essence by picking up a reproduction of a classic.
Most of the stores listed here offer a little of all of the above. But they're all good options, and they all get us out of the stores where one beige starts to look very much like another, and back into the scary and exciting world of personal style.
There are often strong personalities behind a vintage place, and pieces are selected according to the owner's tastes.
In addition to furniture, you'll find sundries that they also happen to like. Like Freitag bags at INabstracto, cutlery at Machine Age Modern, or rentable vintage bikes at Koma.
This ain't Ikea.
Photos at top, from left to right, taken at: Zig Zag, Morba, and Machine Age Modern.
Queen West Antique Centre
It's a massive antique, vintage, retro flea market, just down at the bottom of Roncesvalles Village. Milo Baughman chairs 6 for $2495. Science classroom themed pieces as well as vintage U of T filing cabinets. Everything is well-cared for, the inside of a set of drawers was getting an orange oiling while I browsed. The inside. Impressive. More...
Zig Zag
Like every other condo-owning museum go-er, you could get a reproduction of Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich's Barcelona chair, or, for less money and more backstory, you could pick-up Zig Zag's set of two original Robert Haussmann's 1955 Bauhaus-inspired bronze-plated Swiss versions for $1095. More...
Phil'z 20th Century Design
It seems everyone sells reproduction Eames recliners (personally I think we can point to Frasier), but not everywhere has an Eames Sofa Compact (Phil'z does -- $2995). For square footage, it's not quite in the same league as the Queen West Antique Centre, but it does go on and on, and back and around. Lots to see and covet. More...
INabstracto
Kate Eisen is one of West Queen West's longest standing residents, going back to Stardust Lounge days. And, as the writing on the papered up window says, don't panic, she's not moving, just renovating. Like the best vintage stores, INabstracto showcases a curated collection rather than just whatever's going. More...
Machine Age Modern
With its fluid lines, Verner Panton's S chair beckons you to sit down. But his Pantonova Dining Set, available at Machine Age Modern for $12500, goes in a slightly different direction. It looks about as inviting as sitting on a whisk, but it certainly catches your eye (and there's always the option of cushions). More...
Red Indian Art Deco
For years I couldn't get past the name, but if you go inside you'll be rewarded with all the deco your eyes can take in. Unaltered scavenged finds, it's a deco wonderland. One man's obsession has led to a brilliantly cultivated store. Fantastic credenzas, free-standing radios, lamps, tables, and that's just the furniture (which is all currently 20% off). Pieces that are unapologetic about their style. More...
Smash
I want to open a restaurant, only to justify the purchase of one of Smash's commercial oak fridges for $4000 (just like the one at Cinnamon Girls). Smash's grand opening of their huge warehouse space was just this past Tuesday. Pick up a rolling library ladder from Putnam ($450), or a vintage dental cabinet ($850). Smash has everything and the sink(s), like the impactful 1930s one for $625. More...
Morba
Morba. Also known as "the place with the metal chairs out front". Near the door are a George Nelson Marshmallow chair ($1185 marked down from $1495), a Zig Zag chair, an Eames chaise, and a Corona chair. Dig deeper in the back (not literally, it's packed in so efficiently you could be buried alive) and you'll find original pieces, and plenty of curiousities. More...
Bungalow
Bungalow is lifestyle vintage. Buy your clothes, your furniture, your accessories and freeze time. Lots of Scandinavian teak, original and reupholstered. A more complete inventory, not limited to the dining room and living room, but also stocking bedroom and office furniture. More...
KOMA Designs
KOMA has grabbed just about every furniture adjective there is to describe their store "archaic, antique, vintage, retro, mid century modern, contemporary, urban, imported, exotic", but it's true, they do have a bit of everything. I'm adding "surgical" to that list to cover some of their more distinctive pieces. And I'm pretty sure I was admiring the Giger stools at LeVack Block over brunch, then found their source at KOMA. I heart Toronto. More...
Submit a Review or Comment
Submit a Review
I got a great deal at Phil'z, but it was a little sketch. Paper receipts, only cash accepted. I love Machine Age Modern, they are really accomidating and have remarkable one of a kind pieces. Red Indian Art Deco is hard to navigate and is less customer service focused, but the price is right so I can't complain!