Thursday, July 31, 2014

Barntique Village, Antique Shopping at It's Finest, Located in Moriches, Long Island, NY

I spit at the Hampton's when it comes to antiquing on Long Island. Yeah the Hampton's may be filled with all types of Antique shops, but in reality, these antique shops in the Hampton's are selling their antiques at prices higher than the actual antique is worth. Explain to me how that is fair for the bargain hunter. The thing that makes antiquing so appealing to so many is the thought that maybe one day they will run into an odd item, pay little for it, and later on in life discover its worth thousands.
In the Hampton's, these dealers already know the items worth, and the item gets a price tag to make sure they get paid top dollar, and the customer... well the customer walks away with some antique worth less than what they paid. Fun, fun.
For me there is not a single Antique shop/center in the Hampton's that even comes remotely close to Barntique Village located in Moriches, Long Island, NY.
The Barntique is not given the credit it deserves online, so I am here to spill my guts about everything about the Barntique. Heck, if you google search Barntique Village crap comes up in the search. A small description of nothingness... where the heck are the reviews?! How come so many people are unaware of this Antique like MALL!?
The Barntique Village consists of 18 shops incorporated in an 1800's village, all located near to one another are 18 charming shops. Walking into the Village is seriously like walking into a different time period in history. The shops all have a historical charm to them, and the antiques... my Lord, there are so many that one becomes overwhelmed with joy.
The Barntique is pretty hidden located on Montauk Highway with nothing but a sign stating it's name and number of shops. It's easy to miss if you're not looking. However if you pull into the dirt driveway of this area you will notice just how many treasures await the eye.
At first I was a bit scared, I must admit it. The place seemed vacant, out of place, and out of this time period, and there were no other shoppers in the area.
However I knew the shops were open, because they had many antiques just lying out on the lawn on picnic tables, benches, and on the grass. Items on the lawn included old fashioned baby bassinets, carriages, cribs, and swings. Old fashioned indeed, and quite charming.
There were antique bicycles, wagons, glasses, plates, toys, bird houses/feeders. My eyes could not sit still, there was something for everyone.
There are approximately 16 shops in all, some shops are just as old as the items they sell, while others are relatively newer wooden sheds and buildings.
My fear disappeared once I started looking around. I walked into the first large building I saw. This building is an actual historic home, where the first floor of the home is converted into an antique shop. Cute man, cute!
In this shop I was greeted by tons of items, it was actually hard getting my eyes to focus on just one thing, there was just so much to see. Antique dolls, jewelery, plates, and paintings were what made up the first room. In the side room there were pieces of furniture from the 18th century, and many old crystal dishes, plates, and odd items such as penis shaped ash trays. I knew I could not spend all my money in this one shop; there were 15 more to view. But I knew if I didn't find anything worth wild, I would come back for the odd penis ash tray. Heheh.
The next shop I wandered into was located smack in the middle of the lawn. In here I found a slew of apple items. Apple items are what I collect, and usually when antiquing, this is what I look for. I bought a porcelain apple rolling pin that hangs on the wall, and I could not resist the bowl that resembled actual lettuce.
Upstairs in this shop old clothing can be bought. Here I found old outfits from the 30's and 40's. In this room you can also buy old jewelery, toys, and one shelf was dedicated to old salt and pepper shakers.
After placing my goods in the car, I went out for round 2. A shop across the way from the other shop was selling old glass. here were glass pieces in purples, pinks, blues, yellows, oranges, greens, and every other dang color you could think of. But what shocked me most was how there were pieces displayed under black light that actually glowed. Gorgeous! These pieces are radioactive and cannot be used. However what a piece to have in the cabinet under a black light! These pieces were expensive and the largest teat set was already SOLD. However every time I visit Barntique, they have new glowing pieces in stock.
The next shop I was greeted by a strange woman who seemed to follow me around. Her shop is located in the very back of the Village. While browsing her non-stop annoyances actually caused me to leave. One one occasion she had me blocked as she tried showing me her items. However as uninterested as I was, she kept at it. I know she was just trying to make a sale, but really, if she would have just left me alone and let me view her items I probably would have found something I liked. She seemed to be focused more on what she wanted to get rid of. The shop however would have otherwise been awesome, she had some nice pieces, however she got too close for comfort, and I had to leave quickly.
A shop located to the left of this shop was basically a dump. Things were piled in boxes everywhere, and it was impossible to make my way to the back of the store to view things because of the mess. However with a little time and patience, I was digging through boxes of treasures that included books from the early 1900's, old paintings were piled on top of one another, and there were tons of antique perfume bottles. This shop is neat because there is no one there breathing down your back as you slowly view items scattered about the shop.
The shop across from this one sells the cutest of items. What I loved about this shop was that most of their items were very, very unique. She had glass fruits, old post cards in box loads, comics, old toys, and adorable kitchen items. Here I picked up a $10 wriggly snake charm. It was metal with ruby's for the eyes. It seemed more like an old child's toy, but the way it wriggled when I touched it really made it a one of a kind piece I had to have.
Across the way from here is another shop that is dedicated to only selling old lamps. There were hanging lamps in the most unique designs I have ever seen. From crawling vine ceiling lamps, to stained glass, mosaic, and lamps in odd shapes such as flowers, turtle shells, and fruits. I fell in love with an $80 vine/rose hanging lamp. However seeing how I don't have my own house yet, I figured it would get hurt in storage as it was very fragile.
There were so many other shops to look through, and I walked away with so many different unique items; and yep, I even went back for the penis ash tray. I just had to have it. Haha.
There truly is so much to see, prices are very fair, and I could spend all day just looking, and still I would not have even barely seen half of what they have to offer.
Barntique Village is by far one of the best stops for antiquing on Long Island. The antique shops out in the Hampton's don't even come close to the atmosphere, and items that Barntique has.
Barntique Village is located at 327 Montauk Highway, in Moriches. Opposite of the Post office. Look for the hand painted sign, and arrow pointing to the way.
You can also call 631-878-4594. Do call for hours of operation before you make your trip.

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