Today I’m sharing my favorite thrifting and vintage shops in Knoxville, TN. Over the past year, I spent a lot of time browsing these shops, so I hope someone will take over for me now that I’ve moved 🙂
If you find something amazing, tag me on instagram @sarahmdorseydesigns, I’d love to see!
Remember, with thrifting, you won’t always find something amazing, but if you check in enough (at the right store) you will definitely find something! My general tip with stores – if I find a few things that remotely catch my eye or quality pieces, I come back. If it’s all particle board and massive sofas, I’ll move on.
Here are a few of my favorites!
LOCATION:
115 Sherlake Ln
Knoxville, TN
(West Knoxville)
Old roller skating rink, stand alone building
EMPLOYEES/ATMOSPHERE:
Very nice and friendly, but don’t ask about anything you see in the back .. they aren’t willing to pull anything out – you have to wait until it’s on the floor. Also, they don’t negotiate on price. Standard thrift store smell, but not too bad.
MERCHANDISE:
Consistently have something that catches my eye – a pretty large furniture area. They do overprice somethings, like Mid Century Modern pieces. But, some of the prices are very reasonable. If you see something that you like, grab it, because things sell quick here. I’d recommend getting there early – 9:30-10:00 am.
This bamboo canned chair is great, but I passed due to the hole in the back (upper left), and the fact that I have way too many chairs right now.
Knoxville, TN
Habitate ReStore:
LOCATION:
1511 Downtown W Blvd
Knoxville, TN
Strip Mall/Office Complex
(West Knoxville)
Next, vintage stores!
Bearden (between West Knoxville and downtown Knoxville) is known for vintage shops.
LOCATION:
EMPLOYEES/ATMOSPHERE:
Very nice! Like Nostalgia, I’ve never bought anything big here, but I think they probably would negotiate a little.
MERCHANDISE:
You’ll always find something that you like! Prices vary vendor to vendor, but you can grab a great deal!
A&R Used Furniture & Antiques:
LOCATION:
706 N Central St
Knoxville, TN 37917
(Downtown – Happy Holler)
Happy Holler is and up and coming artsy neighborhood – empty store fronts mixed in with stores and restaurants.
MERCHANDISE:
Amazing! So much eye candy! If you love Mid Century furniture, you’ll definitely find something that you love. The prices aren’t super cheap, but reasonable. Definitely worth a stop!
Retrospect:
LOCATION:
1121 N Central St,
Knoxville, TN 37917
(Downtown – Happy Holler)
EMPLOYEES/ATMOSPHERE:
Good! Vintage Mid Century Modern feel.
MERCHANDISE:
I’ve never bought anything here before, but they always have a few pieces that I love. Prices are moderate.
If you’re downtown, stop by Cafe 4 for lunch/dinner! mmm chicken and waffles!
If you’re around Knoxville, TN I hope that you find this list helpful!! If you find something amazing, tag me on instagram @sarahmdorseydesigns, I’d love to see your finds!
Fun post! If only I lived in TN, I would eat this up! Now we just need you to do one once you get used to your new area in MD. 😉 I'm in Annapolis and I'm sure we must have great stuff here but I am horribly bad at knowing where is an overpriced dealer, while missing the real gems bc the Salvation Army store is smelly. 🙂 Would love to know any MD inside places you find! Thanks and keep up the awesome posts!
Yes, the smell can be pretty bad! ha! But the prices make up for it (sometimes 🙂 I'll do a Maryland post sometime soon!
Thanks so much for this post. I'm about 20vminutes from Knoxville and am always on the lookout for good thrift shopping. I've been to Nostalgia but not the others. Will definitely check them out!
Yay!! I hope you find some amazing finds!! 🙂
I bought that bamboo chair from Karm! Haha great minds think alike. I replaced the cane in the back using some advice from the fun guys at the Woodcraft store. I totally agree with your descriptions. I wish you hadn't moved so we could be shopping buddies. Don't worry, I'll take over the thrifting hunt for you.
So funny!! I'm glad that you replaced the canning – the chair wouldn't be the same without it! I'd love to see a picture sometime! and if you're on instagram, tag me with your finds, I'd love to see what you find!
Those are some great thrift stores! I love the "Standard thrift store smell, but not too bad" 😉 my daughter calls them the stinky stores. My favorite sounds like it would be the one with the two cats of course.
Thanks for the list, Sarah! I moved to southeastern KY about a year ago and Knoxville is the closest big city. I've been to Nostalgia but I'm looking forward to checking out some of these other spots!
You should definitely check out the Goodwill on 17th Street near the UT Campus. That store is cram packed full of awesome things – eye candy galore!
I'm heading to Knoxville in a couple weeks. Anybody know of any stores new since this post?
POP Weasel Emporium is a brand new vintage shop located at 611 N. Gay st. Hours Wed-Sat noon to 7pm. Plenty of FREE parking! This is a POP culture vintage shop that offers mid-century, industrial, vintage toys, victorian, medical oddities and so much more!
Great write up. We’re going to the museum soon and were wondering where all the good thrift stores were since my sister and I buy to resell. Her ex boyfriend said there weren’t any good thrift stores there but I didn’t believe him. Now we need to find a reasonably priced place to stay for a couple of days. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks 😊
Hi! Glad that you found it helpful 🙂 I”m not sure about lodging, but downtown has some nice store/restaurants and Turkey Creek area has lots of retail stores/restaurants. Mellow Mushroom is great for pizza!