If you spend your days watching Antiques Roadshow or trying to find the perfect china tea set or rosewood cabinet to impress the guests, then there is nothing better than checking out all the antique and vintage furniture shops in Singapore. It seems like many are big fans of the old-school aesthetic as we have quite a handful of stores filled to the brim with vintage furniture and knick-knacks. Set aside a day to shop-hop these cool stores so you can nail the blast-from-the-past look right at home.

1. Hock Siong and Co

For anyone looking for a vintage rosewood cabinet, teak day beds or upcycled tables and desks, visit this warehouse in Tai Seng. You can easily spend an entire afternoon browsing through the collection it has amassed through the ’70s and ’80s. It also has pieces from hotels that have gone through refurbishment.

Be charmed by reworked pieces like old sewing machines turned into coffee tables, wood from old furniture and rattan chairs transformed into mid-century modern pieces, and even old iron window grills repurposed to dining tables. If you have some cool ideas in mind, Second Charm also makes custom furniture with salvaged old scrap pieces.

If you like everything vintage and old-world, Singapore Trading Post has a great collection of pre-loved pieces like grandfather clocks, bronze statues and old posters from the 60s. Inspired by the tradition of the East India Trading Company, this furniture shop carefully sources for items from places that inspire them around Southeast Asia.

This long, three-storey shophouse on Craig Road is the only one on the block that’s not been refurbished, and for good reason. It is lined and packed with trinkets and treasures – from jade cabbages in cabinets, porcelain plates on the walls and typewriters lining the stairwells, to old Chinese dressing tables and an ancient music player that looks like an oversized, numberless grandfather clock with the functions of a pianola.

One of the oldest furniture shops in Singapore, Teong Theng Co specialises in classic rattan pieces. Established in 1945, this place is one of the very few places in Singapore where you can find the iconic rattan swing, rocking chairs and the iconic seashell chairs common in households in the past. Sturdy and weatherproof, it’s no wonder rattan furniture have not gone out of fashion over the years.

Stacked up to the ceiling with homeware and knick-knacks from yesteryear, you find yourself manoeuvring your way around ’40s art-deco ashtrays, ’70s cantilever dining chairs, ’60s remote-control tin toy cars, an Eames-era plastic champagne container, a ’60s pod chair with inbuilt speakers, and an avant-garde fibreglass chaise longue – all the while trying not to knock over standing cylindrical lamps. There’s something for everyone: the old dears will be reminiscing about the good ol’ days and the young folks, well they’ll lap up the second-hand retro-chic on offer here.

Started in 1995, Journey East is known as the go-to place for beautifully restored art deco and retro wood furniture sourced from Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Dating between the ’20s and ’60s, the pieces on offer all bear European design flair, from art deco to mid-century modern to Dutch colonial.

Every piece is either old or built from FSC-certified recycled wood. Besides its vintage offerings, the brand carries eco-friendly reclaimed teak, industrial-styled furnishings made from iron and wood, and modern furniture pieces.

Tan Boon Liat Building is a treasure trove for beautiful furniture, antiques and artworks. Head to level 11 for The Past Perfect Collection, which has antique furniture spanning the British, Dutch and Portuguese era in India. The pieces are sourced and handpicked from India – and were once part of the stately colonial mansions.