Object Lesson
Art, objects, ceramics and lighting, with some furniture.
Everything here is chosen for color and form, and much of it is functional. Prices are mid-range, and it comes up often when people post their favorite antique shops.
Antique shopping in Pasadena
The best antique shopping in LA
Three blocks of South Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena hold the best concentration of dealers in Los Angeles: the Pasadena Antique Center and the dealers inside it, with Pasadena Antiques & Design, Rhoom LA, T.L. Gurley Antiques and Revival Antiques around it. It’s LA’s answer to the Paul Bert Serpette market in Paris. Park once and walk it.
- Del Mar Blvd.
- 330Pasadena Antiques & Design
- 444Pasadena Antique Center, Annex
- 450Rhoom LA
- 480Pasadena Antique CenterInside: Object Lesson · Chindi Gallery · Forma Strata · Galerie des Objets · Gregory Ducharme · MJH Design Arts · Modern for All · Paula y Gregorio
- 512T.L. Gurley Antiques
- 1 W. CaliforniaRevival Antiques across the street
- California Blvd.
See it on the map The Pasadena Antique Center
480 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Start at the Pasadena Antique Center
“Ground zero for vintage furniture,” this Fair Oaks “landmark” is “where interior designers, set designers (hello, Mad Men), and antique dealers shop”; a “marvelous labyrinth of antiques, art, and vintage treasures,” it runs “from small collectables to large pieces of furniture,” with “something to look at around every corner.” The dealers “definitely know quality,” the staff is “very helpful,” right down to “getting it to your car,” and the prices are “fair for the items”; one convert is simply “obsessed with this place.” Plan to “reserve a morning, if not entire day”: it’s “difficult not to spend an entire afternoon here.”
- Address
- 480 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105, with the Annex at 444
- Hours
- Open daily, 10:30am–6pm
- Parking
- Free, on site
- Open since
- 1976: 50 years on Fair Oaks in 2026
- What it is
- A cooperative of independent dealers under one roof, each with their own space and specialty
- Who shops here
- Interior designers, set decorators and collectors. The Los Angeles Times photographed the set decorator of Mad Men buying for the show here in 2009.
- Dealers include
- Object Lesson, Chindi Gallery, Forma Strata, Galerie des Objets, Gregory Ducharme, MJH Design Arts, Modern for All, Paula y Gregorio
- Not to be confused with
- The Pasadena Antique Mall at Paseo Colorado, or Pasadena Antiques & Design at 330 S. Fair Oaks. Both are separate businesses.
Inside the Center
The dealers
Chindi Gallery
Small fine objects: Americana, Southwestern and lesser-known modern pieces.
Folk and tramp art, old silver, ceramics and metalwork, with an eye for the unusual. One of the best small-object collections in LA, and fairly priced. The dealer also shows at Marburger Farm in Round Top, Texas.
Forma Strata
Handmade modern rugs with restored vintage furniture, sculpture and paintings.
Designer Arvin Olano’s label. The look is calm and layered, with the rugs and vintage pieces chosen to work together, so the space reads like a finished room.
Galerie des Objets
Antique and vintage design and decor, 19th century to the 1960s.
Chosen with a strong point of view and often shown in unexpected pairings. The dealer sums up the approach as “nice and opinionated.”
Gregory Ducharme
Vintage and offbeat design objects, especially Japanese bronzes and ceramics.
A tightly edited space built around small, sculptural pieces, many of them sourced by the dealer in Japan. The display is as considered as the stock; he also takes on styling and merchandising work.
MJH Design Arts
Traditional decorative arts: antique furniture, engravings and Asian ceramics.
Pieces with age and patina, suited to classic interiors from neoclassical to Spanish Colonial. The taste is traditional, with the occasional eccentric piece mixed in.
Modern for All
Restored mid-century modern furniture, mostly Scandinavian and American classics.
A restoration-first dealer: pieces are sold refinished and ready to use, and the business describes its work as design preservation. The space also holds a small library of design books. Nationwide shipping.
Paula y Gregorio
Vintage furniture, Latin American art and folk pieces, and objects with patina.
Run by a designer couple with a strong point of view: chunky oak furniture and textured, patinated objects, put together with a mid-century eye. Their own restored Eichler, furnished from the shop, was featured in Dwell. Prices range from modest to serious.
On the block
Around the Center
Pasadena Antiques & Design
A multi-dealer showroom on two floors: art, rugs, lighting, furniture and decor.
Up the street from the Pasadena Antique Center, this “two-story haven for art dealers, rug sellers, chandeliers, Asian pieces, and even a shoe shine stand” packs in “tons of dealers and pieces spanning across decades and regions.” It’s “a fun place to walk through,” and the chandeliers at the entrance are “really enchanting.”
Rhoom LA
Mid-century to postmodern furniture, lighting, objects and art.
Between the Pasadena Antique Center’s two buildings sits “a refreshing contemporary vintage store displayed in a gallery setting,” with pieces “so beautiful, that you feel as though you’ve walked into an estate home.” Expect everything from small gifts to “rare, one of a kind pieces,” all “priced reasonably.”
T.L. Gurley Antiques
Rugs, furniture, art and garden pieces.
A few doors south of the Pasadena Antique Center, owner Tim Gurley is “a treasure” with “a great eye for the good stuff,” and his rugs, furniture, art and garden pieces are “packed with quality and character.” Browsing here “felt like walking through a museum,” with “tales and tips” from the owner and “amazing finds and reasonable prices.”
Revival Antiques
Restored lighting, antique furniture, ironwork, tile and garden pieces.
Revival deals in “restored lighting, antiques, garden pieces, textiles, and vintage tile.” Its California Boulevard showroom, a short walk south of the Pasadena Antique Center and “the most southern antique shop on Fair Oaks,” is a “huge place” with an “amazing collection of spanish and european furniture, lighting, accessories, gates, railings, ironwork.” A “nice team” lets you “wander without being bothered,” and there’s “free parking, in the shade, which is not that easy to find in Pasadena.”
- Park once
- Parking at the Pasadena Antique Center is free, and everything on the row is a short walk.
- Second Sundays
- Start at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, about seven minutes away, then finish on Fair Oaks.
Pasadena
More antique shops in Pasadena
Hollis Pasadena
European, Asian and South American antiques, plus handmade furniture and accessories.
Maude Woods
Vintage and antique furniture, art and objects alongside new home decor.
Pasadena Antique Mall
Multi-dealer antiques, vintage and collectibles.
Pasadena Architectural Salvage
Salvaged antique doors, vintage lighting, hardware and plumbing fixtures, 1880–1950.
PCC Flea Market
Monthly flea market: antiques, clothing, records, jewelry and collectibles.
Rose Bowl Flea Market
Monthly flea market: vintage clothing, furniture, art, collectibles and crafts.
Uncharted Antiques
Industrial objects, art, lighting, mid-century furniture and oddities.
Questions
Before you go
Where is the best antique shopping in Los Angeles?
Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena: the Pasadena Antique Center and the dealers inside it, with Pasadena Antiques & Design, Rhoom LA, T.L. Gurley Antiques and Revival Antiques within three blocks.
Is the Pasadena Antique Center the same as the Pasadena Antique Mall?
No. The Pasadena Antique Center is at 480 S. Fair Oaks Ave. and has been open since 1976. The Pasadena Antique Mall is a separate business at Paseo Colorado, and Pasadena Antiques & Design is another separate business at 330 S. Fair Oaks.
Where do LA interior designers and set decorators shop for antiques?
Many start at the Pasadena Antique Center on Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, where specialist dealers offer memo and rentals. The Los Angeles Times photographed the set decorator of Mad Men buying for the show there in 2009.
Which dealers are inside the Pasadena Antique Center?
The dealers include Object Lesson, Chindi Gallery, Forma Strata, Galerie des Objets, Gregory Ducharme, MJH Design Arts, Modern for All, Paula y Gregorio.
What are the Pasadena Antique Center’s hours?
Open daily, 10:30am to 6pm, with free parking on site.
How long has the Pasadena Antique Center been open?
Since 1976, so 2026 is its 50th year on Fair Oaks Avenue.