Shop ’til you drop.

When I travel, the first thing I do in a new town is check out the local flea market. Nowhere am I better able to get a sense of a place’s culture than by hobnobbing with locals while perusing dusty antiques, trying on secondhand clothing, or sampling bizarre street foods.

The world’s most famous markets are a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, and smells. These 40 photos provide a taste, just enough to jog that wanderlust.

(above) Bazar Mora, Valparaiso, Chile

Camden Passage Market, London, England

Feria de San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Izmailovsky Flea Market, Moscow, Russia

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Chengalpattu Market, Chennai, India

Monastiraki, Athens, Greece

Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Buleshwar, Mumbai, India

Place du Jeu de Balle, Brussels, Belgium

Boxhagener Platz, Berlin, Germany

Anjuna Market, Goa, India

Jaffa Flea Market, Tel Aviv, Israel

Le Marché aux Puces, Paris, France

Food Market, Mopti, Mali

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan

Alemany Flea Market, San Francisco, California

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Night Market, Luang Prabang, Laos

Central Market Hall, Budapest, Hungary

Flea Market, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Flea Market, Nairobi, Kenya

Kolaportið, Reykjavik, Iceland

Khan-El-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt

Montmartre Street Fair, Paris, France

Ubud Market, Bali, Indonesia

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Christmas Markets, Barcelona, Spain

Food Market, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Panjiayuan Market, Beijing, China

Porta Portese, Rome, Italy

Chinchero Sunday Market, Urubamba, Peru

Portobello Market, London, England

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Floating Market, Ratchaburi, Thailand

Flea Market, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Flohmarkt, Calw, Germany

Setagaya Flea Market, Tokyo, Japan

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Grand Bazaar, Tehran, Iran

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Africa

25 Photos of Islands Threatened by Climate Change

25 Images of Female Adrenaline Seekers

The post 40 Photos From Flea Markets Around the World appeared first on EcoSalon.

These Tunisia-inspired birdcages from Roost are an investment to save for – but a flea market find is something to sing about. 

Someday…

I would love to have this Tunisian-inspired birdcage lamp by Roost, available for purchase at Velocity.

The birdcage lamp, pictured here, is woven from buri–the center stalk of a palm frond–and features a light diffuser with a bird stenciled on it. They come is three shapes, but hark, they are an investment at $275 a pendant.

Today…

I can wire a found birdcage with a bulb to create a whimsical, hanging light fixture. Vintage birdcages can be found at flea markets and garage sales. If you don’t feel handy with electrical wires, just add candles to set the mood. This birdcage lamp was found on the Fabulous World of Design blog.

Someday/Today is a weekly column that inspires you to dream big for your home, and scale it to your lifestyle, always keeping sustainability of the planet – and your wallet – in mind.

The post Someday/Today: Lighting Inspired by Birdcages appeared first on EcoSalon.

Someday, a beautiful chair from Bokja. Today, vintage fabrics strewn across a flea market chair.

Beirut designers Beroudi and Hibiri of Bokja take salvaged chairs and give them a new life with bright textiles and vintage tapestries. Generally, we buy couches and chairs in neutrals and dress them up with pillows. But this chair makes a statement with its unabashedly bohemian feel.

Someday…

Today, I will take my flea market chair and drape some vintage fabrics unceremoniously across it,  à la designer Ellen O’Neill. To adhere the fabric to the chair, she uses tacks. How very DIY; I love it.

Someday/Today is a new Shelter column that inspires you to dream big for your home, and scale it to your lifestyle, always keeping sustainability of the planet – and your wallet – in mind.

The post Someday/Today: New Vintage Meets Old appeared first on EcoSalon.

Stylist Pippa Holt has a gorgeous mansion flat in central London full of delicious dichotomies. Influences from her Australian roots sit next to evidence of her current London life. Intricate black and white wallpaper exists just one wall over from generous, simple graphic rugs.

Flea market and low budget (Ikea!) pieces sing harmoniously next to high end original designs from the likes of Charles Eames (and handfuls of other recognizable names). Two dimensional prints hang on the wall above heaping stacks of three dimensional glossy muses.

Crisp white walls and floors provide the canvas for vivid splashes of bright colors and sumptuous textures. The entire composition of Ms. Holt’s flat leaves a delicious taste in my mouth.

This feast of loveliness was discovered on one of my favorite blogs, Automatism (as you already know – if you read this).

Read more about Ms. Holt’s exquisite home in this article from Living Etc.

Photographs by Lisa Cohen (via Living Inside).

The post Delicious Dichotomies appeared first on EcoSalon.