Antiques are often a far more affordable way to buy furniture than buying new. That and you’re much more likely to find something unusual that you won’t see all over the place.

However living in London it can sometimes seem hard to find these bargains. Obviously there is Ebay but that can mean a bit of travel plus you don’t get to try before you buy. Antiques shops tend to either be over priced, full of  uninspiring pieces painted a tasteful colour and presented as something special; or stacked so high with everything on top of each other it can be hard to make anything out.

So it was great to visit Crystal Palace Antiques. It has been recommended before but this was the first time I had visited. Spread over four floors it’s a great mix of pieces with enough variety to happily browse through yet edited so it’s not just a great pile of furniture stacked to the ceiling. Plus the prices seems fair (and much cheaper than the quality new alternatives).

Here are some of the things that caught my eye (which seem to be mainly mid century stuff – my taste must be changing!).

Looking inside this dressing table,

We found some rather interesting books…

And this is what the shop looks like.