Can anyone recommend where to buy antiques (or at least old and nice) furniture near Vaud (could over the border in France). The places I've visited - even the dusty old ones in the middle of nowhere - are astronomical. Really don't want to buy any more future landfill from Ikea...

Thanks

www.ricardo.ch is the best. buying things here in the EF is also a good source of unexpensive furniture. IKEA, Landfill? I think most of their stuff is made from recycled and recyclable goods. If then a council hasn't got a facility to do that I think it is not IKEA's fault.

However I would also buy old furniture as it hardly ever devalues. Place an add here of what is it you want and maybe someone has it and don't need it anymore.

There's the flea market, last Sunday of each month, in Nyon by the lake.

I tend to call it over-priced junk, but some people call it antiques. Maybe worth visiting if that's the kind of thing you are looking for.

You could try Rolle, there are a few antique shops there, but I couldn't tell you what the prices are like.

There are some gems to be found in that flea market. Also, there's an antique dealer in the old part of town just by the lake who's been going out of business for the last couple of years. He's seems to be almost out of stock, but it's worth asking what he has tucked away. We got a couple of really nice pieces- small table and freaky looking leather chair- for great prices from him. Can't remember the name of his shop but it's about 20 meters down from the creperie on the same row.

I have found a few things on anibis.ch (look under mobilier - décoration) - good to be able to search by pictures to get a quick overview of what is there. Also got some decent dining chairs with wicker seats, in fine condition, for 10chf each from the saturday market on plainpalais in geneva. Loads of stalls there with lots of furniture and some quite reasonable prices.
WRS also has a lot of classifieds, tho quite a lot tends to be ikea. http://www.worldradio.ch/classifieds....php?a=5&b=221
Hope that that helps!

This is what I do for a living, and have been doing for decades, on three continents. I'm going to give you some serious inside scoopage, so pay attention.

1. Le Landeron, near Neuchatel, is chock full of antique stores at very, very reasonable prices. You may have to climb over things and peek behind things, but you could furnish a house from the stuff in that one village.

2. Just north of Lausanne, near Crissier, is a store called Le Troc. Take the 18 bus to the end of the line at Timonet. Hike directly up the big hill to the 2-story commercial building on the right. There is a large billboard plastered on the side of the building that says Troc. The store takes up nearly all of the top floor of that building. It is jam-packed full of glorious goodies for pennies on the dollar.

3. Come to my house. I've got tons of fabulous things that I will sell you, especially lighting, flokhati rugs, paintings, posters and even a spare Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofa and a Grete Jalk coffee table.

4. Do like I do every weekend and go to a brocante faire. (The one in Nyon is crap. The one in Plainpalais in Geneva is good, especially on Saturday as opposed to Wednesday. The one in Villeneuve is crap. The one in Lyon on Sundays at the canal is orgasmic.) To find them, you go on the website www.vide-greniers.org. (This means "attic sales"). Halfway down the homepage is a picture of a map of France and Switzerland with little red and green dots on it. Click on the map. The map is covered with localities that are having sales, mostly on the weekends. Green dots are usually lower-end items--think garage sale stuff. The red dots are much higher-end things including alot of furniture.

Any more questions, just ask. Happy to help. I'm also for hire, in case you just want me to get the sh*t and decorate your house.