Five best retro-modern furniture shops

Room of Woods

Husband-and-wife team Yeecheng and Cheeseong started this by-appointment shop after spending months looking for furniture for their apartment and not finding anything they liked. Their armchairs ($680-$1,280), sofas, tables and sideboards are handcrafted with the sober design sensibility of the ’50s. Most of them can be customised, from the dimensions down to the upholstery and type of wood used. Their current collection comprises new furniture inspired by Danish design classics, reproduced in Thailand. From time to time they also acquire real vintage pieces. #07-27 Midview City, 18 Sin Ming Ln (6666 6666, www.roomofwoods.com). MRT: Eunos. By appointment only.

Moroso

Moroso has been around in Italy since the 1950s and enjoys a reputation for being a launchpad for the design world’s biggest names. If you don’t mind coughing up thousands of dollars for a designer label – think Patricia Urquiola, Ron Arad and Alfredo Häberli – this 1,600 sq ft shop on Purvis Street is paradise. You can feast your eyes on items that are both retro and futuristic, like Urquiola’s sofas, which look like they belong to the set of The Jetsons. Expect more conversation-starters in the third quarter, when their shipment from this year’s Milan Furniture Fair comes in. 5 Purvis St (6338 7189, www.moroso.it). MRT: City Hall. Mon-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 11am-3pm.

Atomi

For vintage-style furniture by way of Japan, Atomi is the exclusive distributor for Maruni, a Japanese company with a long history of making classic Western-style furniture. Since 2008, Maruni has been reissuing key pieces from its archives while updating the material and upholstery. The result: clean lines, sexy curves and bright colours. On display now is the 2012 collection that was presented at the Milan Furniture Fair, featuring updated beech armchairs ($1,800) and beech armchair sofas ($4,800) from their 1960s Mediterranean and Versailles collections. #04-27/29 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Rd (6887 4138, atomi-jp.com). MRT: Orchard. Daily 11am-8pm.

Second Charm

Open since 2002, this store specialises in retro-style furniture like sideboards ($650-$800), writing desks ($650-$1,500), armchairs ($450) and sideboards ($650-$1,800). Every item on their website is photographed in a room setting and lovingly explained by owner Sharifah Maznad Syed Omar. ‘You can furnish your home with our retro collection,’ she says, noting that there is a disenchantment with mass-produced furniture in Singapore, with her customers asking for items that remind them of their childhood in the 1960s. #04-157 Mapletree Industrial Bldg, 19 Kallang Ave (6294 2919, www.secondcharm.net). MRT: Kallang. Tue-Sat 11am-6pm.

P5

If you're looking for high-end designer homeware from Japan, Italy, Germany and elsewhere in Europe, this is your port of call. While the store doesn't focus on retro-modern furniture alone, the style is well represented, with brands like Barcelona Design, Glas Italia and Porro. 5 Purvis St (6337 0050). MRT: City Hall. Mon-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 11am-5pm.