Round Top Antiques Fair – How to Navigate It

If you’re unfamiliar, Round Top, Texas is a little town between Austin and Houston. It has a population of 90 people, that is, until the Round Top Antiques Fair that happens twice a year. It’s a span of 22 miles from vendors all over the country that source antiques from all over the world. As a native Texan, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of this, especially since it’s only an hour and a half from my house. Here are my top tips for navigating the Round Top Antiques Fair and how to score the best pieces.

1. Plan In Advance
   • Andrew and I are very much last-minute planners, but I wish we would have planned more in advance for the Round Top Antiques Fair. The B&Bs in Round Top book up extremely quickly after they announce the fair dates (months in advance). As a result, we ended up staying in Brenham, which is only 20 minutes away, and were only able to book one night. Also be sure to secure restaurant reservations ASAP.
2. Go During the Week if You Can
   • We went on a Thursday-Friday and it wasn’t overly crowded. We were able to get restaurant reservations and the traffic didn’t get bad until Friday afternoon. If you’re going during the weekend, just be patient with traffic and others.
3. Have a Car
   • If you’re flying in from another state it’s important to have a car. The show spans a total of 22 miles and you’re going to need a car to drive between venues. It’s also nice to rest your feet, charge your phone, soak up some AC between spots, or even have a car picnic.
4. The Food/Bathroom Situation
   • Which brings me to my next point: food. I truly thought we would be hard-pressed to find food or a bathroom anywhere. Fortunately, that’s not the case. There are food trucks at almost every venue, plenty of pop-up bars with alcohol flowing, and bathrooms at each spot. The nicer indoor venues have real bathrooms, while the outdoor spots have porta potties. There aren’t a ton of restaurants and they fill up reservations quickly during the antiques fair.
5. Restaurants
   1. Thankfully we were able to hit up some of the Round Top must-eat spots. Here are my recommendations:
      • Lulus: for a nice night out
      • The Garden Co. – Feed & Firewater: perfect for a patio lunch – try the sangria and thank me later!
      • Round Top Coffee Shop: perfect for a little mid-day pick-me-up or breakfast in the morning. They have an assortment of pastries and breakfast tacos.
6. Bring Cash and Negotiate
   • Most importantly, a lot of vendors only accept cash or will give you a better deal if you pay with cash. Vendors expect you to negotiate! We especially negotiated on big pieces.
7. Have an Idea of What You’re Looking For and An Estimated Price
   • I knew that I wanted some small Turkish rugs, and had found some on Etsy for about $100-$350. I wasn’t willing to spend more than that. When I walked into rug tents I would immediately ask for a price on 3×5 rugs. For example, some vendors had them priced at $1,000 and some had them priced at $100. I obviously went with the better deal.
8. Don’t Neglect the Sketchier Tents
   • A fancy barn venue = higher rent = higher prices. An outside tent = lower rent = lower prices. Business 101. But really, you might have to spend some time sifting through to find what you’re looking for, but most of my finds were in the less glamorous venues. And I got hell-of-a-deals!
9. The Main Venues in Round Top
   • The Compound: a little pricier – perfect for bigger furniture pieces. Check out Eneby Home for dreamy pieces. Nomad Loom had reasonable rugs as well.
   • Blue Hills: the only one I didn’t really get to. It seemed hard navigate as the tents were pretty closed off.
   • Excess Field – I and II: where I found my desk and Tibetan pots. There are soooo many good vendors here.
   • Northgate and Surrounding White Tents: where I found all of my shelf-fillers and Lobi stool.
   • Paul Michael Company: pricy but worth a look for large unique pieces and art.
   • Marburger and Big Red Barn: weren’t open when we went
10. Things I Wish I Would Have Brought
    • Sunscreen, a hat (the sunburn was real), and more cash (a lot of vendors don’t accept cards). Pro tip: also bring a tape measure and have measurements of the spaces you need pieces for.

We were able to score a Lobi stool, a Hungarian butcher table to be used as my desk, a Tibetan pot, recycled glass beads, paper mache bowls, antique wood jugs, a Turkish rug, and a clay pot. Not bad for our first trip which lasted less than 48 hours.