Well I made it back from my adventures in the Southeast and have been so crazy busy trying to “catch up on my life” that I’ve only just now had a moment to catch you all up on the second part of my trip. So for those of you who don’t know Nashville is only about a 3 ½ hour drive from Atlanta – and let me tell you it’s a lovely drive. So pretty (for highway driving that is) and if I had stopped everywhere I had wanted to it would literally have taken me 3 days. Unfortunately, I did not have all of that time available I was limited to an afternoon on this trip but trust me I will plan another visit to Nash-lanta and hit all of the places I missed this trip!
Some of the places that I did have time to visit were:
The Downtown Antique Mall on 8th Avenue in Nashville was among my first stops. I’m not sure anyone who doesn’t frequent antique or thrift shops would ever stop at The Downtown Antique Mall. It is within a couple of feet of a railroad track and let me tell you for the 30 min or so I was at the D.A.M. it was frequently shaking with the trains passing by. It is also located in an old factory warehouse and not in particularly good shape. But as often is the case, the D.A.M. falls under that old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover”.
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| The Downtown Antique Mall 612 8th Ave S Nashville |
They have a wonderful array of items – everything from vintage iron pieces to glassware to mid-century furniture to vintage clothing and lots of it! One of the advantages of being housed in an old warehouse space is clearly room for lots of goodies! I don’t think anyone could not find something to love in the D.A.M. except perhaps the noise from the trains of course. While I did leave without purchasing it was mainly because I was short on time and even shorter on suitcase space. Next time I’m bringing an empty one!
From the D.A.M I headed to Franklin – I had stumbled upon Scarlett Scales Blog and discovered she had what looked to be a fabulous antique shop on South Margin Street in Franklin and don't you just have to visit a shop in the south named "Scarlett Scales". Well what I found was not at all what I had expected – it was an extremely small little shop but full of just lovely things. I was tempted by just about everything in the store – very French country (Americanized of course) and many reproductions mixed in with her antiques. Not an eclectic mix at all but it didn’t need to be – it was very well merchandised. And I challenge anyone needing a hostess gift to leave here empty handed. She also has a lovely website for those wanting her wares that are not in the TN area: http://www.scarlettscales.com/
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| Scarlett Scales Antiques 212 South Margin St Franklin TN |
There were quite a few shops in this neighborhood unfortunately I only had time to visit one more before I had to head south. Fortunately I selected the Arbor Antique Mall to pop into. I could have spent all day here!!!!! Their merchandise was so well displayed and clean – no musty antique smell in here. It feels like you are wandering through someone’s home that is jam packed full of interesting and beautiful things and the ladies who run this shop are Southern hospitality at its finest. I purchased several items (forget the full suitcase, I remembered Fedex) and really could have done significant damage had I more time. There were 4 huge glass cases just full of gorgeous costume jewelry…I drool! I will definitely put this on my list of must revisits.
There were so so so many more places I wanted to stop on my Nashville leg of this trip. I will definitely be planning another visit soon. I will certainly head back to Franklin as well as hit Wonders on Woodland who I have read such fabulous things about and had an opportunity to admire from the outside (sadly they were closed the day I swung by) as well as carve out enough time to make all the pit stops along the way to Atlanta. There were so many signs advertising Antique shops along the way it was killing me to just keep driving. I just kept consoling myself with…”just think of it as an excuse to come back”.
All in all it was just an appetizer for what Nashville has to offer in the decorative resale market. I am still looking forward to the rest of the meal. Atlanta next…
