» Adkins Architectural Antiques

Adkins is a home restorer's dream. This beautiful old house south of downtown contains enough special touches to deck out almost any house in the latest old-timey fashion. Though not cheap, the wares of this delightful stop don't seem overpriced, given the old-world cachet they could lend to your domicile. Troll here for finds for indoors and out, as well as the interior and exterior of your home.

Outside, you'll find wrought iron outdoor furniture, weather vanes, fancy metal mailboxes, fountains, gargoyles, many different kinds of doors, large metal wine racks, even a "fine old surrey," but without a fringe on top. Inside the house, there is a wealth of charming items: old doorknobs, plates, plumbing and interior fixtures of all kinds. If you've got an especially arcane need, be sure to comb through the "hardware dungeon," with clunky old things of all descriptions.

Adkins also specializes in the old, the small and the just plain quirky: For an unusual gift consider a serving tin bearing the image of Betty Boop dressed up like a Mexican senorita. Really.