In the small unincorporated community of Saltair, wedged between Ladysmith and the Gulf Islands ferry corridor on Vancouver Island, Antique Addict has built its reputation one restored tabletop at a time. The shop sits at 11190 North Watts Road, marked by a bright green storefront sign that regulars use as their landmark when giving directions to first time visitors. Owners Paul and Cathy run the operation together, and their hands on approach extends well beyond the sales floor: every piece of antique and vintage wood furniture that comes through the door is repaired, cleaned, and polished in house before it is offered for sale, rather than being resold as is. That commitment to restoration is central to the shop’s identity and sets it apart from resale outlets that simply flip furniture without touching up joints, veneer, or finish.
Beyond furniture, the inventory spans curated collectables, vintage metal advertising signs, cut crystal pieces, and handcrafted items sourced from local Vancouver Island artisans, giving shoppers a mix of restored heirloom style furniture and smaller decorative finds in the same visit. The shop also stocks Kramer’s Best Antique Improver, a specialty wood care product that reflects the owners’ own restoration practice and lets customers maintain their purchases at home once they get them settled in. Antique Addict recently moved to its current Saltair address after operating from a previous location, and the team has used social media, particularly Instagram and Facebook under the handle antiqueaddict, to keep past customers updated on the move and to showcase new arrivals as they are finished and put out for sale.
The shop keeps a compact but consistent schedule, open Thursday through Sunday from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, which makes it an easy stop for residents of Ladysmith, Chemainus, and the surrounding Cowichan Valley planning a weekend antiquing trip, or for Gulf Islands ferry travelers passing through the area on their way to or from Vancouver Island. Because Saltair sits just minutes from downtown Ladysmith, a town already known regionally for its cluster of antique and vintage dealers, Antique Addict benefits from being an easy add on stop rather than a standalone destination, and the owners lean into that by keeping their inventory rotating so repeat visitors always find something new on the floor when they drop by.
What distinguishes Antique Addict most clearly from other secondhand furniture sellers in the area is the direct line between the workshop and the showroom: Paul and Cathy are not simply pricing donated furniture, they are actively restoring it themselves, which means buyers are getting pieces that have been assessed, repaired, and finished by the same people standing behind the counter. For anyone searching Vancouver Island for a solid wood dresser, table, or cabinet that has already been brought back to a usable, attractive condition rather than left rough around the edges, Antique Addict in Saltair is a small, owner operated shop built specifically around that in house restoration promise, open Thursday through Sunday just outside Ladysmith on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, offering restored antique furniture and locally made finds you will not find already fixed up anywhere else nearby.
