We are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing secondhand shopping opportunities where we live here in Waynesboro, Virginia. My mom is my antiquing buddy, so she and I go out two to three times a month to hunt for unique pre-loved goodies for each of our homes. Even if we don’t purchase anything at all, there’s just something about the thrill of finding something super special that makes each of these excursions worth it. It just so happens that The Factory Antique Mall (i.e. the largest antique mall in America) is about a 20-minute drive from our home, so I thought I’d give you a brief tour of the 147,000-square-foot warehouse. Keep scrolling for the small amount of the mall that I was able to capture during one outing (it’s physically impossible to do the entire thing in a single day, in my opinion), and I’ll also be sharing my best tips for having an organized and productive shopping experience.

The main reason that you haven’t heard me talk about this incredible antique mall before is that very few vendors offer exclusively mid-century antiques. The goods are generally much older and more in the primitive style than I usually go for, so I’ve only been to the mall a handful of times. You’ll see that I pictured one of the few mainly mid-century booths in photos above, and I love everything about that booth (no surprise there), but it’s the exception in terms of the big picture. I wish there was a little more variety for someone like me who loves retro antiques, but the mall is still such an amazing place to visit for inspiration. I should mention that other booths certainly have 1960s treasures to offer, but that era seems to be more hidden. If you want mid-century antiques, be prepared to dig and hunt for a long time. There’s something very enticing about that, though, so I definitely encourage you to make a day of it when you’re in the mood!

On this particular day of shopping, I was looking for unique finds to photograph in my hostess gift ideas post that recently went live on this blog. You can click here to see the post I’m referring to, which features the beautiful handmade vase you see pictured above, as well as a set of vintage ceramic tea cups that I also purchased at the Factory Antique Mall that day. I also really wanted to find the booth of YouTuber and pro antiquer Amanda’s Mercantile. You can see her space photographed below, and it’s a must-stop-shop if you want to see really lovely curated goodies. Her level of commitment to finding the best of the best when it comes to secondhand is kind of unmatched, in my opinion, so definitely check it out if you visit the mall. Amanda’s booth is currently straight back from the entrance on the lefthand side (specifically, on the corner of McCoy Boulevard and 9th street).

If those slightly random-sounding street names caught you off guard, I have to say that one of the best parts about this insanely large antique mall is the fact that it has street names. This system allows you to find specific booths much more easily, and it also makes tracking down items that you found but initially passed on much easier. My advice if you find something that you’re interested in is to take a photo of the tag attached to the piece so you can have a record of the booth initials. Then you can use the store map to retrace your steps and find the item again if you decide you just have to have it after all (been there!).

I also loved this next shopping tip that Amanda shared in one of her Factory-Antique-Mall-specific YouTube videos. She suggests turning left after you walk past the checkout counter at the entrance. Everyone generally takes the right-hand path through the mall, so if you go the opposite direction, you theoretically have a better chance of perusing booths that maybe aren’t quite so picked over. This direction will also take you past the in-store café in case you want a bite to eat as you shop!

As I said, I consider ourselves so lucky to live where we do in such great proximity to amazing secondhand stores. You can see a full list of my favorite nearby antique stores here in my archives, and let me know if you’re aware of any others that I may have missed. I’ve gone ahead and added the Factory Antique Mall to that post so it’s properly up-to-date, and I also have plans to share Lexington-based antique stores to the lineup in the coming weeks, too. While my budget and the size of our home don’t allow for me to go secondhand shopping quite as often as I’d like, the thrill of the hunt is still one of my very favorite pastimes. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more posts like this, and shout if you saw something pictured here in today’s post that you would have bought for yourself.