Looking to reclaim a unique, architectural piece for a retail design project? Something unusual, vintage, custom, one-of-a-kind? Plan to stay the weekend after IRDC and pay a visit to Big Daddy’s Antiques in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood.

Recommended to us by Gensler’s Michael Bodziner, who calls the visual merchandising “top notch,” Big Daddy’s counts retail designers from Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss, J. Crew and many others among its clients.

Store director Michael Zimmerman says a large portion of Big Daddy’s business is custom work, creating tables, cabinets, lighting and other items from salvaged and repurposed materials. “We were green before it was cool,” he said.

Merchandise at Big Daddy’s runs the gamut from architectural pieces, case goods and seating to garden décor, mirrors and objects of every sort. “We’ve sold items as odd as a 3-foot-long crocodile skull, a limestone fireplace surround from a chateau in France, a framed American flag that must have been at least 10 feet long, and copies of Belgium monkey cages we recreate as 6-foot-tall birdcages,” Zimmerman said.

Big Daddy’s is one of the largest antiques dealers in the Bay Area, so allow ample time to explore. In the meantime, pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a virtual walk through the store. Start here, choose a category and click an image to start your tour.

BIG DADDY’S ANTIQUES
1550 17th Street
415.621.6800
DAILY, 9 – 5