Antiques & Modern

Antiques and Modern is the real deal. Kobie immediately got that we wanted a hit of authentic mid-​century designer vintage in a living room chair and within minutes showed us exactly what we were looking for in the Berkeley warehouse. Chris and the staff quickly did the on-​site refurbishment of the piece and we left very happy with our purchase and pleased with a 5 star shopping experience.

Having recently moved into a larger 50s construction house, my husband and I started cruising the bay area for period furniture. After visiting many overpriced and understocked furniture stores, we discovered Antiques & Modern. Chris and Kobe guided us through their vast inventory, and we immediately found the perfect dining table. Having chosen our dream table, we described what we sought in terms of chairs to Chris, and soon after they received a shipment of 10+ matching chairs. Chris and Kobe’s knowledge of period craftsmanship and the diversity of their selection and sources are only rivaled by their excellent prices and customer service. Having furnished our dining room under budget, we’re looking forward to working with Chris and Kobe to furnish the rest of our house.

Completely obsessed with Antiques and Modern. Decided to venture to the warehouse, after seeing great reviews for their store — and we were blow away by the vast selection, beautifully refinished pieces and above all else, the genuine help from Chris and Kobie.
Chris guided us through a process of elimination as we walked through the hundreds of options of dining chairs — finished, unfinished, different styles & colours, until we settled on the most beautiful set of 6 refinished teak Johannes Andersen chairs.
Within a week we went back, looking for a set of lounge chairs. We found a pair of beautiful teak Illum Wikkelso chairs that required some refinishing — new strapping, new wool cushions and foam, and some major repairs on one of the arms. We were skeptical to say the least, but they were able to restore the chairs (steaming and buffing the wood) into perfect condition — we were shocked at the transformation.
Chris and Kobie are delightful to work with — and have also been excellent at keeping an eye out for the next piece that we need. We will be returning again and again.

Best place for vintage Danish mid-​century furniture anywhere! If you’re looking for vintage mid-​century furniture and you can’t find it here… might as well give up! Chris and Kobie are really good to work with and really know their stuff. Both are really nice. They have a showroom and a warehouse location, so go see both! The wife and I have bought 5 pieces from them since buying our new home and they’ve always treated us well. We stop in every so often and get ourselves into trouble :-). Really great place! I’m giving them a «moderate» price rating because, well… it is vintage furniture, but their prices are really good (don’t tell them I said that :-)).

We bought six chairs that A&M refinished and reupholstered for us. We’re very happy with them. A bit pricy but the quality is *very* good and they look great. They also refinished an older table for us that now looks almost new. We’re very happy. The refinish work was done in a reasonable time as well. Their big warehouse in Oakland is full of amazing stuff. Anyone who appreciates Mid-​Century design and/​or Danish Modern will fall in love with this place.

Mid-​century aficionados beware, this place will steal your heart.
Beautifully refinished, all of their pieces are a work of art in itself. From chairs to credenzas, any lover of Danish curves will have their jaw dropping to the floor by the time they’ve traversed the tiny front showroom, into the abandoned church front lawn, and through their enormous warehouse in the back.
Owners are super friendly too. A one-​of-​a-​kind stop in you are in the market for that 1950s retro look.

We got amazing service here. We walked in just before closing, but we were given lots of time to browse and chat about various issues of design, etc. Left feeling much better versed in design and antiques, which was unexpected! We are still considering buying a phenomenal chair, but the price tag is a bit high (though they are definitely willing to negotiate, and sent us home with a printout of details). Will update this review if we do purchase the chair, but just had to write now to recognize the awesome experience.

We recently completed a full day of browsing many of the mid-​century modern vintage furniture shops in San Francisco and Berkeley. Chris Howard’s shop was easily the most impressive and productive stop on our list. If you’re looking for Danish Modern furniture, mostly teak, along with other exotic hardwoods, his inventory was easily the finest we shopped. From the minute we stepped into his shop, we were warmly welcomed and guided through their collection. Chris and his staff do an incredible job refurbishing and restoring pieces he locates in Europe and has shipped back to his shop, turning them into glowing works of art that radiate warmth and quality (can you tell I’m a fan of MCM Danish furniture?).
As others have mentioned, make sure you tour the warehouse in the back, where many of the pieces that haven’t been restored or polished up for the showroom are stored. We spotted a very large teak bar (high sideboard) that seemed like it might be perfect for our front hallway and expressed interest. It needed a lot of TLC, mostly cleaning and removal of a liquid stain running down one of the doors. It definitely had potential, but we weren’t totally convinced since this was the first stop on our list, and we wondered if Chris could really bring it back to life. He offered to start on it the following Monday and said that by Thursday, he’d have photos to show us. He did not ask for a deposit and said he wanted us to see how it turned out before making any commitment. We told him we still wanted to visit a few more shops, and would let him know by the end of the day. While we found a few pieces in other shops that may also have worked, the teak bar at Antiques & Modern was really unique. We wanted to see what Chris could do with the it, so we called him back and told him this was the piece we were most interested in.
Later that following week, Chris sent us some photos of the teak bar and we were amazed at the transformation. What had once been a dingy brown vintage piece was now gleaming with that beautiful orange-​brown teak color that more closely matched the rest of our Danish Modern furniture. There was no sign of the liquid stain across the front. We agreed to see it in person, which we did, and ended up purchasing the bar. Chris delivered and set it up himself with an assistant and it looks fantastic in our hallway entry.
We’ve been shopping for and acquiring Danish Modern teak furniture over the past several years. From our experience, Chris has the most extensive collection of high quality pieces, and his prices are reasonable given the huge interest now in this period furniture. He’s very knowledgeable and friendly, and will work with you to locate the vintage furniture you’ve been searching for.

Chris is helpful and willing to find a piece that will work for your tast and price. This store has some of the best quality mid century modern furniture anywhere in the Bay. Even if it’s out of your reach, visit to get a sense of what’s beautiful and in trend. Helpful staff and cool layout — make sure you get to peek in the back warehouse!

The moment we saw a round extension table that seated 8, I knew it had to come home with us.
Chris was SO NICE and great to work with. We ended meeting in the middle and got a great deal on the table and chairs. And, he personally delivered it on a Friday night and moved our old table out to our garage for us. Now THAT, my friends, is customer service.
I simply can’t say enough nice things about this store. If I had endless funds, I would have brought home a bunch more. And, if you’re looking for something specific that they don’t have — just let Chris know and he’ll keep his eyes open for it.

This place has beautiful stuff. I’m not big on art, but midcentury modern Danish furniture makes me feel the way people describe their reaction to art. I love it. Looking at it makes me feel happy.
What’s even better is that this is the first MCM furniture store I’ve been to where the owner is nice, not a snob and didn’t ignore me as soon as it was clear I couldn’t afford anything (right now!)
I walked by this place and did a double take. When I walked in and asked a million questions and told the guy I was getting an MCM daybed reupholstered (elsewhere) and couldn’t find fabric I could afford, he was nice enough to show me the stuff he used and make suggestions. Since I made it very clear I am poor and currently unemployed, I don’t think he was expecting to sell me anything. How great is that?
But wait, there’s more! The same week I found a nice MCM style chair on the street and came here asking questions on how to refinish it myself. Not only did the guy (turns out to be the owner) listen to me go on and on, he offered to help me with the chair!
if I ever win the lottery, or just get a job where I can afford to buy stuff, this is where I will be buying all my furniture.
Great stuff, great owner. Why go to a snobby store with rude people when you can come here and get great stuff from super nice people?

This place was quite expensive, but had some interesting stuff.

This place has some great pieces but the service is HORRIBLE!!!
Way too much attitude and not enough help.
Stuff is way over priced!
We walked out of there feeling like our money just wasn’t good enough for these guys.
Here’s the long and complicated story.
My partner and I were the only customer in the showroom on a rainy weekend and the owner and three other staff/​friends were just sitting around on the couches chatting about who knows what. When we walked in we felt like we were rudely interrupting a gathering.
It would have been nice to hear «Welcome to our shop, if there’s anything we can help you with or if you have any questions, just let us know.»
But no, that wasn’t the case.
It was like pulling teeth to get information out of Chris Howard (the owner) about some of the furniture. We were looking specifically for a mid century chair and told them what we were looking for, even showed them pictures, and the owner’s friend was like «I have a friend with that exact chair»…and we were ecstatic, because we’d been searching for this specific antique chair to complete a set of chairs that was inherited from passed away family members for almost two years. (I told them the entire back story too)
We told them it didn’t matter what they wanted for it, money was no option, because we just wanted the chair. They didn’t seem too eager to help connect us with the guy they knew with the chair, which is understandable because that wasn’t going to immediately lead to business for them, but how short sighted is that?!
I was picking up on his lack of interest so I confirmed that if he helped us get the chair, which we couldn’t buy from him since he didn’t have it to sell anyways, we would bring them our upholstery business once we got all the chairs, because we needed to have them refinished. That, and if someone goes out of their way and is really helpful, the next time you need to purchase something, there’s a good chance you’re going to go back to the person who was helpful and knowledgable because you inherently want to return the favor.
The owner was like «whatever» as if my several hundred dollars worth of refinishing work wasn’t worth the time. WHY DO YOU OFFER SERVICES THAT YOU DON’T HAVE AN INTEREST IN SELLING!!!
He was a total queen (and I’m gay I can say that) with a snobby attitude. The more we asked about some of the larger pieces (that were way overpriced) the less interested he was in helping us… and it was like crickets in there.
He ended up telling us to email him in a week and he’d let us know what the status of the chair is. We emailed him a week later and he said he was still working on it, but didn’t have much to say. We followed up a few days later and he just never responded.

This is a great place if you’re on the hunt for mid-​century furniture. Don’t let the small showroom fool you, there’s a whole other dimension to Antiques & Modern in the back. The sales person will take you through the front room, out the back door and down a path leading to the backyard, which depending on the weather, may or may not be strewn with pieces of furniture on display. Once through the backyard, you will be taken into a warehouse stacked full of furniture that’s in various states of repair. Some pieces are in great shape, others are in need of TLC. The owner, Chris refinishes and refurbishes everything and will quote you a price that includes the refinishing work if you’re not a DIY type of person. If you’re on a mission for a particular piece, they will point you in the right direction to several options in the mountain of furniture in the warehouse.
For months I had been looking for a credenza to use as a TV stand and was particular about dimensions. It seemed as though I was visiting Antiques & Modern at least four times a month and Chris was always quick to email me when he received a new shipment or came across a credenza. He and his staff are personable, helpful and easy to talk to about all things mid-​century.
I didn’t end up buying my credenza from Chris, but will continue to casually shop at Antiques & Modern — the unexpected oasis of mid-​century furniture in South Berkeley.

This store has a pretty amazing selection of beautiful things. The staff are super friendly and genuine too. I just bought a teak credenza that is unbelievably beautiful at a rock-​bottom price. Chris delivered the piece with a friend in-​person to make sure that it fit through my tiny front door and lobby. So glad I found this place and will keep returning again and again.

Antiques & Modern is small, but packed full of mid century furniture, some cool light fixtures and even a few pieces of art. In addition to the store, follow the gravel path to the warehouse out back to see more furniture that can be fixed up and customized with your fabric choices, etc. Cash or check only.
I’d initially found A&M through something they listed on CL, then Toni M. recommended them too, so I headed over the first weekend I could. Chris had just the narrow expandable vintage dining room table I was looking for. In the shop he had paired it with a great set of chairs in a vintage fabric (unfortunately not my color scheme). He was knowledgeable, low pressure, went out of his way to email me pics and was responsive to my emails to him. A real pleasure to work with. It’s really him that gives the store that final 5^th star.
He’s now on the lookout for a set of chairs that will complement the two I already have to use as end chairs.

The day before we left for Europe Chris picked up our dining room table and 4 chairs to refinish them while we were gone. He and his helper returned them yesterday evening. The table looks fantastic. All the signs of abuse of the past 24 years are gone. It looks even better than it did when we bought it because he filled the dent it had when I bought it. He recommended we leave it open w/​the leaf extended so the leaf can age to the same color as the table. We’ll do that when we leave on vacation, as the table is too big to leave open all the time. I think the next time we go away we’ll have him refinish the table in the other dining room, which is even older and shows similar marks and rings.

The staff here is amazing. I just got a desk, which I adore. I had some horrible experiences buying furniture elsewhere in the past and had LOTS of questions. Chris handled all of them with more than heroic patience and showed, in the process, not just the immense knowledge he has about furniture design and history but true passion and integrity in his products and business. He wants customers to be delighted with their purchase and the experience of purchasing it. They have the best mid-​century furniture selection I’ve seen in the East Bay. It’s a great store with, great people working there.
Definitely, check it out the next time you are looking for furniture, whether you think are interested in mid-​century or not. You might just stumble in and find something you love, like we did, twice! Both times in the barn in the back, so definitely walk through the front store, through the yard to another the second building.
I can’t recommend them highly enough.

My husband and I bought our first home in July, 2010. Upon move in, we decided the space needed a very different look. Thus, all new furniture.
While shopping around, we stumbled into Antiques and Modern with no clue how trendy and at times overpriced mid century furniture has become. Chris was immediately welcoming, a good listener and reasonably priced. He is also a perfectionist when it comes to refinishing.
Since our first visit to his shop, we have searched the shops and online sites of countless mid century dealers only to discover that our first encounter with shopping for this period was and is without question the best. We have purchased almost every piece from Chris and each time is even more enjoyable than the last.

Great selection of fine original and refinished modern goodness. Chris and his sales staff are helpful, not pushy and eager to accommodate. We purchased two fantastic credenza’s at a great price. Refinished and delivered for under $ 1000! We even had a cupcake to seal the deal.