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Old-fashioned finds

Brownstone Antiques
This Andersonville shop is like your grandma's attic: full of durable vintage items steeped in nostalgia—minus the musty smell and dust. Offerings include stacks of stained-glass windows (about $125 each) that can be installed or hung on a wall as a unique alternative to yet another art print. We also found a tasteful, well-built china cabinet with subtle interior lighting—worthy of displaying your finest china or quirkiest coffee mugs—for only $225, and a retro-cool 1940s-era wooden radio for $85. 5234 N Clark St at Farragut Ave (773-878-9800)

Faded Rose
Shabby-chic pioneer Faded Rose showcases classic looks that define the frilly, feminine decor craze, like an enormous mirror framed in an ornately, carved white-washed wood trim ($825), and the plush and velvety upholstered "Sylvia" chair by pricey designer Cisco Brothers ($2,194). For a more subtle (and cheaper) way to go shabby-chic, bring home a breakfast-in-bed tray table with a handpainted rose design ($40) or a café table with a mosaic-tile top ($168). 1017 W Armitage Ave between Kenmore and Sheffield Aves (773-281-9301)

Scout
If you don't have the patience for antiquing but love nicely distressed, ancient items, check out Scout for one-stop treasure hunting. Items recently spied there include an unconventional, banged-up metal nightstand ($200) and a set of six circa-1950s grade-school chairs made of metal and hard maple ($600). Hand-forged pewter items from Italian design company Match ($13–$400) are new, but they complement the flea-market finds. If you're after a conversation piece, bring home the eight-foot Indian chief ($600) that owner Larry Vodak rescued from the junk pile of a high school's theater-prop room. 5221 N Clark St between Farragut and Foster Aves (773-275-5700)

White Attic
You won't unearth any ridiculously cheap finds at this intimate Andersonville shop, but hand-painted, delicately hued pieces like the "Naperville" farm table ($1,895) and the "Nana" china hutch ($875) are one-of-a-kind items you'll want to hang onto for a long time. Each piece requires hours of scouting by the store's owners, who then scuff, prime, paint, weather and varnish the objects in shades of white, pastels and black. The resulting unique items have an instant, lived-in look. Accent your furniture with the shop's discerning selection of lamps and ceramics. 5408 N Clark St between Rascher and Balmoral Aves (773-907-9800)

For more oldies but goodies:
Broadway Antique Market 6130 N Broadway (773-743-5444)
Antique to Modern 5202 N Damen Ave (773-878-1008)
Lisa's Loot 4907 N Damen Ave (773-506-8201)
Modern Times 1538 N Milwaukee Ave (773-772-8871)

Future-tense furnishings

Abode
The stratospheric price tags at Abode are not for the faint of heart, but if you won't settle for anything less than up-to-the-minute modern design, you might not need the defibrillator. We'd gladly set aside hard-earned Benjamins for one of Abode's sophisticated bar units. The Hunguinho bar ($8,700), with its lighted interior for showcasing classy cocktail glasses, would be at home in a bachelor's retro Rat Pack pad. If you'd rather keep your booze out of sight, the Open Square bar ($4,950) is a better option: It looks like an unassuming cabinet, but the corner doors conceal enough storage for a fully stocked bar, and another secret panel pops open to reveal a hidden drawer. 1904 W North Ave at Wolcott Ave (773-227-6400)

Cassona
Though this pair of showrooms isn't for the Jetsons set, their offerings give an update to styles from around the globe. A large leather trunk ($450) is a textured take on modern, and a large ladder bookcase ($495) can be used as a mod-deco room divider or filled with novels and knickknacks to make it antique-quirky. The store also imports pieces from other countries, including Mexico and the Philippines, with a few made-to-order American sofas thrown in for good measure. Every piece has enough personality to stand alone, but is simple enough to seamlessly coordinate with a variety of motifs. Several furniture collections in a range of finishes fill Cassona's two locations. 5241 N Clark St between Berwyn andFarragut Aves (773-506-7882) ü 1509 Chicago Ave, Evanston (847-328-0995)

Urban Source
From bright, bold wall-papers to striking textured fabrics, Urban Source specializes in the finishing touches that complement your design scheme. Browse through hundreds of fabric swatches ($45–$145/yard), pick a pattern that matches your style (from flashy to understated) and the crafty staff will use it to make a pillow, reupholster an old chair or cover a headboard. Pick a shiny, silver wall covering to make a tiny bathroom sparkle, or brighten up a plain wall in a dimly-lit basement apartment with vertical stripes of vivid blue or pink fleur-de-lis–patterned paper ($30–$90/yard). Spice up boring cabinets by replacing traditional wood fronts with translucent colored acrylics and shiny metal meshes. Or suspend metal chain-link curtains (around$25/square foot) to artfully divide spaces in a loft apartment. For tips on addressing your specific needs, consulting services are available for $95 an hour. 1432 W Chicago Ave between Greenview Ave and Noble St (312-455-0505)

For more au courant accoutrements:
Orange Skin 1429 N Milwaukee Ave (773-394-4500)
Modernica 555 N Franklin St (312-222-1808)
Sprout Home 745 N Damen Ave (312-226-5950)
CB2 800 W North Ave (312-787-8329) ü 3757 N Lincoln Ave (773-755-3900)

Artful accessories

lille
The exquisite mouth-blown glasses by Juliska ($48 for an 8oz glass) at this Wicker Park shop are too ethereal to be relegated to your cupboard, demanding a more public display. A classic china teapot receives an artful update with a black tree-limb graphic ($187), adding a classy touch toSunday afternoon tea parties. Frame-worthy serving platters get a dose of decoupage ($183) from designer Jon Derian, who decorates them with delicate cut-out photos. On a larger, more functional scale, lille features a small selection of luxury designer furniture, like the Stingray vanity, part of a one-of-a-kind series from R&Y Agousti ($3,200), with a wood surface resembling exotic, leathery ostrich skin. 1923 W North Ave between Winchester and Wolcott Aves (773-342-0563)

Tabula Tua
This Armitage Avenue stalwart is known for its high-end ceramics and extravagant furnishings, and yet somehow the store remains entirely unintimidating. In fact, it's downright comforting. The interior is painted in happy shades of green and yellow and filled with a kaleidoscopic clutterfest of bright serving platters, prismatic glass vases and richly textured tablecloths. You might balk at a $22 napkin ring, but vintage, collectible glasses with kitschy, U.S.-state–related designs are only $12 each. Small paintings of fruits and vegetables from Peter Hoffman's Garden Collection series are $55 apiece. If you're in the market for big-ticket whimsy, splurge on one of the jewel-toned glass lamps from designer Monica Willard that dangle from the ceiling ($575–$1,210). 1015 W Armitage Ave between Kenmore and Sheffield Aves (773-525-3500)

The Wooden Spoon
Looking to cook up a kitchen-décor scheme that's both pretty and practical? This shop feels more personable and homey than bigger culinary-themed stores—maybe because the owners live in the apartment upstairs. Affordable accessories include a colorful, rounded retro egg timer ($10), vintage flour jars ($32) and a hand-painted café sign ($34). True kitchen fanatics can invest some dough in top-drawer tools of the trade like Wusthof knives ($40–$99) and hefty Le Creuset cookware ($15–$214). Cooking classes are held three times a week in the store's huge demo kitchen. 5047 N Clark St between Carmen and Winnemac Aves (773-293-3190)

For more objets d'art:
Stitch 1723 N Damen Ave (773-782-1570)
East Meets West 2118 W Lawrence Ave (773-275-1976)
Equinox 3401 N Broadway (773-281-9151) ü 609 N State St (312-335-8006)

Budget-friendly buys

The Brown Elephant
Still struggling to furnish an apartment with basic necessities? For a fraction of what you'd fork over at national chains with overpriced furniture, you can outfit your home with some great finds at this resale store's three locations. (Even better, a portion of all proceeds is donated to organizations conducting AIDS research.) On the day we visited, we spotted an antique kitchen table with chairs for $70. Keep an eye on the changing stock at each shop, because the same dresser you saw in the Pottery Barn catalog could show up here a few months later. Fill your kitchen cabinets with quirky, deliberately mismatched porcelain dishware for a few dollars, or spring for a fully matched set ($20–$50). 5228 N Clark St at Farragut Ave (773-271-9382) ü 3532 W Irving Park Rd at Drake Ave (773-549-5943) ü 3651 N Halsted St between Waveland Ave and Addison St(773-549-5943)

European Furniture Importers
The no-frills name of this cavernous warehouse is about as glamorous as the industrial stretch of Grand Avenue it calls home. But what EFI lacks in pizzazz, it makes up for in a wide-ranging inventory of contemporary sofas, rugs, chairs and lighting fixtures. Much of it is well-executed knockoffs. Italian-made replicas of classic midcentury-modern designs like Saarinen tables ($299–$2,200), Jacobsen plywood side chairs ($79) and Noguchi coffee tables ($699) share floor space with modern-day pieces from such innovative designers as Blu Dot. Frugal furniture freaks will be pleased to discover prices often lower than at chain stores and showrooms. 2145 W Grand Ave between Hoyne Ave and Leavitt St (800-243-1955, www.eurofurniture.com)

For more bargain treasures:
Marshall Field's Furniture Outlet 4000 W Diversey Ave (773-202-6300)
Pier 1 Imports Visit www.pier1.com for locations
Bed Bath & Beyond Visit www.bedbathandbeyond.com for locations
Crate and Barrel Outlet 1864 N Clybourn Ave (312-787-4775)
Dom Itp 5212 W Belmont Ave (773-545-5618, www.domitp.com)