The Art of Home: Seeking a find at the flea market

On the third Sunday of every month, thousands of shoppers converge on the Long Beach Antique Market, which bills itself as a cheap, unique and vintage flea market with style.

With more than 800 vendors spread out over Veterans Memorial Stadium, the market can be overwhelming and is not for the fainthearted.

Costa Mesa interior designer and flea-market-flip extraordinaire Deborah Waltz knows her way through the bazaar.

“Vendors on aisle corners have higher traffic and are typically more expensive,” said the savvy shopper. “So it’s important to weave up and down the rows.”

Waltz, who owns the painting studio and shop Peinture at SOCO, has learned a thing or two from navigating flea markets and garage and estate sales. Even before she opened the shop three years ago, when she was decorating homes for a living, Waltz would visit auctions to find old furniture that could be refurbished and made into statement pieces.

The vintage lineup in Long Beach is one of many outlets Waltz uses to locate timeworn treasures that she can restore at her shop. She also has frequented sales in Old Town Tustin and Salvation Army outlets.

Waltz has learned that community swap meets, which charge relatively cheap rents, attract vendors who are hobbyists and have time to scour estate sales and “find cool stuff.”

“I see these garage sale signs when I’m driving, and I have to tell myself, ‘Stay focused,’” she said.

Waltz advises people to toss out any shopping lists before embarking on a trip. She has found that whenever she is on a quest for a certain piece, she never finds it and now prefers to let serendipity rule.

She has learned many survival strategies, like bringing a wheeled utility cart stocked with wipes to clean rust off hands and a measuring tape to assess whether a piece will fit in a planned space.

Waltz, who said she particularly looks for old furnishings, since she has found that the pieces are usually better built than newer goods, encourages shoppers to see beyond the ugly when it comes to a shabby piece of furniture. Scratches and dings are simple repairs, she said. But she advises shoppers to move on if the construction is unsteady or the hardware dented, signs of lower quality.

At most stores, heavy furniture and large accessories will most likely be wheeled out for buyers by employees pushing carpeted dollies, Waltz said. Loading zones enable buyers to pick up their merchandise and pack it into a car. Some vendors deliver, she said, but most likely they will charge extra.

Waltz transforms her antique and vintage items using Chalk Paint, a decorative paint by Annie Sloan that doesn’t require priming, sanding or striping before use. Painting a piece of furniture, she said, is much easier and more fun than conducting a major restoration. Older pieces look better and stand out, she added.

Waltz said Peinture is an opportunity for professional designers and do-it-yourself artists to paint pieces themselves without facing the typical preparation tasks.

The store’s workshop, Furniture Painting 101, has students bring in a small piece of interior furniture on which to learn the basics of using paint, clear wax and dark wax application, as well as how to distress a surface.

If a piece is ornate with several carvings, she suggests that it be painted a lighter color, since every embellishment will stand out. Paint, she said, can also be applied to upholstery since the fabric can be waxed, sealing in the color and material.

These are all tools that Waltz uses on furniture that she finds on her various hunts.

Used chairs, buffet tables and vintage hutches in her storefront have all been purchased at swap meets and repainted by Waltz. She said she enjoys showing her students where to find unique pieces and how to turn an old item into something useful and beautiful.

One of her favorite finds was a set of wooden orchard crates reading “Hunt,” her mother’s maiden name. Today, the slatted cases are used in her mother’s kitchen.

“Some of my best things have been found when I was willing to search in baskets and get my hands dirty,” Waltz said. “That reminds me of one more tip. Don’t go with a guy, because they get so bored easily. It will only stress you out, and trust me, you don’t want to be rushed.”