The best second-hand furniture shops in Singapore

Hock Siong started as a karang guni business in the 70s but in 1999, owner Toh Chin Siong began buying items from hotels – usually when one was going through refurbishment or renovations – and restoring it before reselling at his store. Besides hotels, he also started procuring hand-me-downs from show flats, furniture shops that have closed down, and the occasional beautifully appointed home. This is probably why there is a wide range of styles at the warehouse. Scan the floor and you'll find vintage rosewood, mid-century and downright opulent furniture – but that makes it all the more to browse through. 

Second Charm will take you down memory lane with its vintage furniture and homeware that range from mid-century modern, art deco, Scandinavian and decorative French styles. Most of its vintage chairs, ottomans, coffee tables and chests (from about $150) have been refurbished – some have even been re-upholstered – as have its home accessories such as lamps, doors, windows and other salvages. Second Charm takes custom orders, too, perfect for if you want a reproduction done.

If your idea of fun is rummaging through stacks and stacks of antiques, secondhand furniture and old stuff, a whole day at Junkie's Corner might just please you. The store was established in 2003 and was founded by collectors who have been gathering antique and vintage collectibles for over three decades. Find rosewood calligraphy tables, Chinese medicine chests, antique wardrobes, display cabinets and other vintage items like old telephone receivers and even limited edition beanie babies. 

This long, three-storey shophouse on Craig Road is the only one on the block that’s not been refurbished, and for good reason. It is lined and packed with trinkets and treasures – like antique bookshelves, porcelain plates, typewriters, old Chinese dressing tables and more.

Stacked up to the ceiling with homeware and knick-knacks from yesteryear, you find yourself manoeuvring your way around '40s art-deco ashtrays, '70s cantilever dining chairs, '60s remote-control tin toy cars, an Eames-era plastic champagne container, a '60s pod chair with inbuilt speakers, and an avant-garde fibreglass chaise longue – all the while trying not to knock over standing cylindrical lamps. There's something for everyone: the old dears will be reminiscing about the good ol' days and the young folks, well they'll lap up the second-hand retro-chic on offer here.