50 best places to buy antique and vintage bargains

HIGH STREET FAVOURITES

Based in Swindon, the John Lewis home outlet was established largely to solve the problem of how to sell on un-used customer returns generated through its online sales. The shop offers an ever-changing assortment of mostly imperfect furniture and large electrical appliances, at reduced prices. 01793 512454; johnlewis.com

The winter sale for this British high street favourite is in full swing, having started at the strike of 12.01am on Christmas day. The store also has 47 outlets across the UK with up to 50 per cent off standard retail prices year round. A full range of goods including seasonal shops, clothes and home ware are available. And, if there isn’t an outlet near you, the bargains can also be found online at outlet.marksandspencer.com. 0845 301 0874

Many Furniture Village stores also host an FV outlet section which houses a selection of beds, upholstery and furniture with prices down to 30 per cent off the original. The company is also slashing prices by up to half in its winter sale including discounts on brands such as Sleepeezee and Vi-Spring. 0800 7833 833; furniturevillage.co.uk

If you’re looking for a sartorial sofa, Sofa Workshop clearance outlet in Battersea, London strips prices down by 70 per cent with a weekly updated list on its website telling you what bargains are available. Discount stock changes all the time with ex-display and prototypes coming in regularly. 020 7924 1150; sofaworkshop.com

Clearance sections in Feather & Black's Hammersmith, Chichester, Watford, Shrewsbury, Newcastle and Chingford showrooms offer hefty 75 per cent discounts off samples, returned and end of line stock. If it's more recent stock you’re after, the winter sale will see some lines reduced by up to 50 per cent. 01243 380600; featherandblack.com

50 per cent off furniture and 30 per cent off lighting in Habitat's winter sale mean that you can snap up some bargains by one of our favourite stores. Unfortunately, due to company cuts, the Wythenshawe outlet has been closed down so the place to look is online. habitat.co.uk

With word of mouth winning the company two thirds of its customer base, Darlings of Chelsea has a reputation for quality. Luckily, this quality can be bought discounted in its Fulham showroom as well as in the ‘Sofa Sale’ section online. The January sale is on now. 020 7371 5745; darlingsofchelsea.co.uk

Furniture specialist Wesley Barrell is offering up to 25 per cent off its in-house fabric collection for the winter sale as well as plenty of discounts on furniture across the stocklist. Year-round discounts can be snapped up at its clearance showrooms around the country, including Bristol, Guildford, Harrogate, London and Witney. 01993 893100

With five stores hosting ex-display and returned goods areas, Dwell offers ludicrous amounts of cut-price contemporary design furniture. 0845 675 9090; dwell.co.uk

Ex-display, returns and seconds are all shipped off to the Ercol showroom in Risborough where they’re sold, often with more than 50 per cent off. If Buckinghamshire isn’t your stamping ground, the furniture design company has started an eBay shop and you can also view the full list of factory shop products on its website. 01844 271800; ercol.com/efolist; stores.ebay.co.uk/Ercol-Factory-Outlet

Stocking the complete works for your living room, the three Multiyork outlet showrooms in Reading, Suffolk and Leeds are the best places to track down a bargain. All products are made in Britain and, with a 15 year guarantee, they’re built for the long haul. The winter sale has discounts of up to 50 per cent and runs until the end of February. 0800 040 7171; multiyork.co.uk

The home of Toast in Llandeilo is also the home of the company's factory shop, pictured above, which offers seasonally rotated sale stock, both clothes and pieces for your home, with up to 70 per cent off. 0844 557 0460; toast.co.uk

Laura Ashley's permanent clearance outlet is based in Newtown, Powys but its 2012 winter sale is already proving popular. There’s 50 per cent off many home furnishing products and it runs until 27th January. 0871 983 5999; lauraashley.co.uk

Thanks to refurbishment plans, Heal’s has knocked up to 70 per cent off its furniture, soft furnishings and accessories including pieces from design brands Sanderson, Marimekko, Orla Kiely and Cole & Son. The sale is on in its six nationwide stores but you can also see the whole catalogue online. 08700 240 780; heals.co.uk

The clean lines and fresh looks of The White Company can be found at much lower prices in its outlet shops in Bicester, Gloucester and Portsmouth where slight seconds and discontinued lines are on sale. Up to 50 per cent has already been knocked off some home ware and 40 per cent off women and children’s clothes. The post-Christmas sales will be in a similar vein. 0844 736 4222; thewhitecompany.com

DESIGNER LOOKS

Thanks to 14 outlet stores across the UK, the much-loved cast iron designs from Le Creuset are made that little bit more affordable. Most of the stores, located at major factory outlet parks, have up to 60 per cent off retail prices. 0800 373792; lecreuset.co.uk

The Portmeirion Group is home to great British china brands Royal Worcester, Spode and Pimpernel as well as the original Portmeirion pottery. Its collaboration with designer Sophie Conran has been a bestseller. Snap up pieces at one of its 10 factory shops where discounted seconds can be up to 70 per cent off. 01782 744721; portmeirion.co.uk

SCP’s two London shops decked out with stylish modern furniture might be too far for some but thankfully there's also an extensive clearance section online. The winter sale runs until 3rd February and will see discounts of 60 per cent on discontinued lines and ex-display items, up to 20 per cent off new furniture and upholstery, and 10 per cent off all lighting and rugs. 020 7739 1869; scp.co.uk/clearance

Home of all things printed and floral, Cath Kidston’s original factory shop was so popular that two more have opened in the past two years. You can find them and their 25 per cent discounts at Gunwharf Quays, Bicester Village and St Neots near Cambridge. They’re particularly good if you're on the hunt for an elusive original print. It’s also worth knowing that students get 10 per cent off online. 08450 262 440; cathkidston.co.uk

Makers of the famous Wimbledon Tennis Championship towels, Christy, has a range of towels, bed linen, mattress protectors and robes not just in dark green and purple. Outlet stores are dotted all round the UK and the January sale is offering 50 per cent off. 0161 367 5800; christy-towels.com

Ideal for tracking down the elusive plate to complete a dinner set, Denby’s 29 outlet centres sell seconds and returns at up to 50 per cent off the original price. If you can make the trip to the home of Denby in Derbyshire, seconds straight from the factory are knocked down to 75 per cent off and there’s a visitor centre and café to boot. Other outlet centres can be found in Gloucester, Manchester, Portsmouth, York and Bridgend. 01773 740899; denby.co.uk

Slightly blemished seconds can be found at discount prices of up to 35 per cent off on the Burleigh website. If you want to see designs in the flesh, the factory shop near Stoke-on-Trent is well worth a visit. Despite refurbishment over the next few years, it still keeps its cosy feel with a coal fire and plentiful free tea and coffee to fuel bargain browsing. 01782 525510; burleigh.co.uk

Such has been the popularity of Emma Bridgewater’s pottery in the last few years that there was a huge red countdown on her website to the January sale. There are plenty of bargains and seconds to be had. Equally the factory shop in Stoke-on-Trent, complete with café, tours of the factory and a garden set to open in May 2013, stocks seconds and discontinued lines all year round. 01782 201328; emmabridgewater.co.uk

The sale preview is already in full swing but there are set to be further discounts on lots more stock in Designers Guild London emporiums. The January sale which is already online and starts in stores from 6th January, will cut prices by up to half. 020 7893 7400; designersguild.com

CARPETS AND SOFT FURNISHINGS

When your floor is in need of a face-lift, Axminster’s factory outlets in Buckfast and in the company's hometown in Devon are a good place to start. It constantly updates its line of seconds from its factory and Curragh Carpets, a subsidiary in Northern Ireland. There are traditional plain carpets, underlays, sheepskins and fittings all at low prices. Plus, there’s a free local measuring service. You can also search for your perfect discount carpet before heading down to the stores through a search function on the website. Axminster 01297 630 613/ Buckfast 01364 643 325; axminsterfactoryoutlet.co.uk

Brintons’ sale store in Kidderminster stocks designer carpet names as well as their own brand at hugely reduced prices. Next door to the showroom is a warehouse chock full of end of rolls, seconds, over weaves and discontinued stock. There’s a January sale to come and up to 60 percent off their clearance stock. 01562 743 354; carpetfactoryoutletskidderminster.com

Recommended by Homes & Antiques contributor Ellie Tennant, The Curtain Factory Outlet sells all textures, colours and kinds of fabrics for upholstery and curtain-making. It also stocks all the necessary hardware, from tiebacks to curtain poles, at gaspingly low prices. Designer fabrics go for as little as £6.99 per metre plus VAT and a curtain-making and fitting service is also available. 020 8492 0093; curtainfactoryoutlet.co.uk

As you might expect from the printers of designs for well-known fabric producers such as Sanderson, Harlequin and Morris & Co, the Standfast Factory Outlet is a visual treat. As light on the pocket as £1 per metre for designer fabrics, it’s worth checking the stock before heading to the high street. Often there'll be a print you have already seen at a much lower price. 01524 840500; standfast-barracks.com

ONLINE SHOPPING

Alison Cork, presenter of a number of lifestyle TV shows including Home in the Country, started a website in 2005 full of guides, inspiration and cheap, cheap furnishings. Soon to be called Alison at Home, if you sign up to her emails you will get pre-warning of stunning 90 per cent off flash sales. 020 7087 2900; homesandbargains.co.uk

Not for the faint hearted, online store shop.com provides a handy price comparison service between thousands of well-known brand products to make sure you get the best price. There's also buying advice and customer feedback so your cheap choice can also be an informed one. 0845 257 8041; uk.shop.com

Each product on mylivingspace.co.uk is individually chosen for its design (names include Joseph Joseph, Thomas Kent clocks and Raymond Blanc) and pretty much everything is sold at a reduced price. Even better, the winter sale has products for as little as £1.99. 0121 622 1772; mylivingspace.co.uk

Founded by one of the masterminds behind lastminute.com, mydeco.com claims to sell a whopping three million furniture products alone. Boutique European design from wallpaper to bespoke chests of drawers are brought together along with a blog of interior design tips. You can filter by size, colour and price to get a piece that fits both your room and your budget. 0203 384 1307; mydeco.com

Houseology - formally Occa Home - does the high-end stuff. Think Calvin Klein and Vivienne Westwood – but for interior design afficionados, it’s an online shoping dream. There's an up to half price sale on now. 0844 879 4258; houseology.com

OUT OF TOWN

Outlet shopping centres are ideal places to head for a one-stop, and much cheaper, shop. Cheshire Oaks is the biggest in the UK with 145 stores but here are some others we rate as well. Sharpen your elbows ready for the January sales; already reduced prices are set to get as low as 70 per cent off.

0151 348 5600; cheshireoaksdesigneroutlet.com

01869 323200; bicestervillage.com

01904 682700; yorkdesigneroutlet.com

01458 840064; clarksvillage.co.uk

01707 256860; thegalleria.co.uk

BIGGER PROJECTS

The Stoke-on-Trent based Johnson’s factory outlet stocks very slight seconds, discontinued lines and returns at low prices. Helpfully there's also all the necessary accessories and fixings. All the stock is for sale online. 01782 524040; cheaptiles.co.uk

Chesneys is the place to start when you’re looking to put in a fireplace. Not only does the company have an antique archive but in its showroom on Holloway Road, London you'll find seconds, unwanted commissions and ex-photoshoot fireplaces. Also available are baskets and firedogs. 020 7561 8280; chesneys.co.uk

For a house re-vamp, the Fired Earth factory outlet near Banbury is well worth a trip. Discontinued paints and tiles are sold alongside second and ex-display kitchen and bathroom set pieces at knockdown prices. Some come up to 70 per cent off. 01295 812088; firedearth.com

Statement wallpaper is very of the moment and for the best deals head to the Graham & Brown factory store in Padiham, Lancashire. It offers discount prices on most of the range as well as discontinued lines. 01282 680442; grahambrown.com

Selling designer wallpaper and fire surrounds at low prices is Discount Decor's raison d’etre. The Blaydon store has 10,000 sq ft worth of stock – claiming the largest collection of wallpaper and fireplaces for sale in Britain. 01429 869980; discountdecor.co.uk

UNDER ONE ROOF

As the name suggests, news of this outlet warehouse has built up via word of mouth and recommendation. For 10 years, the company has been stocking a 26,000 sq ft store with full ranges of furniture from the surplus of major British brands such as M&S and Laura Ashley – all of it is current and all of it comes with up to 60 per cent off the original price tag. 01295 810110; trade-secret.co.uk

There are 24 stores nationwide selling high street home products with 60 per cent off the normal retail price. 01923 473561; homesense.com

Most people associate this discount retail giant with fashion but in its 240 stores across the country it also offers 60 per cent off home furnishings. Clearance stock is even better: a huge 80 per cent is taken off the normal retail price. 01923 473561; tkmaxx.com

This enormous Northampton warehouse sells items mostly sold off from property developers as the name suggests. There's also full furniture suites and end-of-line pieces at up to half the retail price. Even if you're looking for the most random item, it’s likely that this haven will have it. 01933 411695; showhomewarehouse.co.uk

Lombok began selling furniture inspired by the East but has expanded into all sorts of ranges. Its Fulham warehouse sells collections off at a snip of the original price (discounts can be up to 70 per cent) and the winter sale is taking 60 per cent off brand new pieces. 020 7751 8550; lombok.co.uk

A working farm in Cheshire is not where you’d expect to pick up a homeware bargain but Top Secret Furniture has two huge warehouses there full of furniture. Prices are usually about half the RRP. Particularly good for oak furniture. 01606 351777; topsecretfurniture.co.uk

The stalwart of cheap and cheerful home design has taken 50 per cent off what are already low prices in its winter clearance that lasts until 13th January. Although what’s on offer varies by store, there is a flabbergasting array of discounted goods to choose from. Becoming a member of the IKEA family will get you a further 10 per cent off. 08453 583 363; ikea.com