Ruff & Ready Furnishings

A combination of free-​for-​all, clusterf*ck, and Ariel’s secret treasure trove. I have spent whole afternoons here and considered it time well spent.
You won’t get much by the way of customer service… you have to do the digging through crates of old glasses frames and silverware yourself. But that’s half the fun!
Prices are average, I’d say; but there are frequent sales.

Ruff and Ready is a great place to find interesting pieces, be they furniture, decorations, etc! I have found many items, some of them ruff and some of them ready ! Several years ago I bought a round lamp table for $ 30 that was in need of some TLC. I took it across the street to Georgetown Refinishing, when it was still there, and they cleaned up the table. Lo and behold it was inlaid mahogany with brass details and worth about $ 800!
And now they are up 14^th St, NW at 4722 14^th St across from the bus garage. It’s smaller than the old shop and not quite as packed with things but there is still a great selection of items to look at and buy. And they are now open on Thursdays and Fridays as well as the weekend. Go up and check them out!

I really like this place, but as others have written you often have (had?) to dig and get dirty and be patient in the cramped environs (they are moving to a new location). I’ve made several visits and walked away thinking, «why did I bother?» But then I’ll have some great discoveries like the beautiful iron floor standing candlesticks I got for $ 25. The kind you could use to kill and intruder… hypothetically. You do have to look at it as an adventure and be prepared to not find anything. Stuff comes and goes regularly, so it makes for a nice weekend morning stop before or after breakfast. Perhaps the new space will be bigger, but I got used to squeezing by everyone and that added to the charm. Don’t be afraid to haggle with Bill the owner, who is quite nice.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place! Over the years, I have acquired many unusual, one of a kind pieces. Yeah, its cramped and crowded, but the «thrill of the hunt» makes it all worthwhile!!! He has a going out of business sale, I hope he re-​locates so the «hunt» can continue, if you haven’t gone yet… RUN don’t walk… I’ll really miss them…

My favorite way to spend a DC Saturday is throwing on dingy, old jeans and diving head-​first into the cluster**** that is Ruff and Ready.
I turn up my sooty nose at the more polished, more pricey 14^th/​U corridor furniture stores — because I work in non-​profit fundraising, and I need to take a little adventure with my furniture purchases.
I’ve visited R&R twice now, and each time, I’ve walked out with an exciting, well-​priced decorative good. I love sifting my way through this store and uncovering trash or treasure. I feel like I’m starring in my own Discovery Channel special each time.
As an added bonus, the owners seem to be equally excited when you find something to purchase, as if they have no idea what they stock and you just made their day by finding a long-​lost memento.

Have you ever seen the show «Hoarders»? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a place where a hoarder has gone wild? Well, if so — head on over to Ruff and Ready Furnishings where you will never watch the show «Hoarders» again without saying «oh pshaw… they call THAT a hoarder? Ha, they should head over to Ruff and Ready!»
Every single aisle is piled and crammed full of stuff — without (it seems) any rhyme or reason. At one point we spied a lamp that looked interesting, however we couldn’t get close enough to be sure, because to go down that aisle, we would have had to move 3 chairs, a small table, 30+ books, 2 paintings, 7 more lamps, and an entire pink and gold china set. Sounds bizarre? Well, yes. But like watching «Hoarders», you just can’t look away. The insane piles of… STUFF, all mishmash and piled on top of each other has an almost hypnotic, mesmerizing effect.
Eventually, we were able to make our way to the outside back patio/yard…for some odd reason, expecting it to be more organized. Nope, instead, there were umpteen number of fireplace sets, an old school desk, various porcelain vases and figurines, and a huge collection of old bottles — and this was within the first 2 feet!
At this point, our fascination with this place has become almost macabre. We couldn’t leave. We couldn’t walk away. It was almost as if… well, like a Stephen King novel, we were compelled to see more. To uncover more bizarre collections of items, and stare at the horror in awe. And so…
…we went downstairs.
Have you ever watched «The Descent»? It’s a movie about a bunch of extremely good looking people that go into an inaccessible cave, only to discover a bunch of gollums from Lord of the Rings. If you have seen this movie, you will have bizarre flashbacks as you go into the basement of Ruff and Ready. What looks to be a large old furnace fills one end of the room. The rest of the room is moist and jammed pack with more random knickknacks and furniture, covered with a horrific smattering of mold.
I know, I’m not painting a lovely picture of this place, but believe me, you really need to visit this place. Bring with you: spelunking equipment, a roll of paper towels, and a vat of Purell. And be prepared to be horrifically spellbound.

If you want to shop at an antiques mall, don’t come here.
If you like an adventure, own an old pair of jeans, and are ready to brave the elements to have a good time and potentially find an awesome piece, this is for you.
The «aisles» are very narrow, so you have to pass people one at a time, and there are piles of furniture and knick knacks of every stripe jumbled together. Yes, the owner is odd, the store keeps short hours, and if you go in January (as I did) wear a heavy coat.
This is an experience more than it is a «store», but you may get to buy something too!

Rough and Ready accidentally made me an epidemiologist. As soon as I entered the mold cave of a basement, I felt an upper respiratory infection take hold. I’m still coughing a week after my visit. No need to track down contaminated water pumps for me!
Maybe you could find a great armoire or vase here. I don’t know. It’s so tightly packed together that I couldn’t see a damn thing. The Victorian boudoir desk of your dreams is probably crammed between two dining tables and under a 1970s sofa.
As my shopping companion said, «the owner found a way to monetize his ocd».
OCD or hoarding, you decide!

After accidentally leaving my cell phone in BusBoys and Poets and having to pick it up in the morning, my mother and I just so happened to pass by Ruff & Ready. Let me just say that I almost peed my pants when I walked in there. It is amazing! I know everyone has compared it to a «grandmother’s attic,» but that is a totally accurate description. My grandmother’s house looks exactly like this! EXACTLY! My mother and I found some really great authentic asian vases and saki glasses for under $ 20. Everyone was really friendly and mindful of the narrow paths amongst all the junk.
My favorite section of the store was the courtyard in the back of the store where there was even more trinkets and furniture!
I highly recommend this store to creatives and thrift store enthusiasts. There were many old and dated pieces in the store that could easily be renewed with a fun and bright shade of paint. Great DIY projects.
Ruff & Ready is definitely a place I will be frequenting in the summertime when I’m in the mood for great furniture hunting!

Great bargain hunting, vintage furniture, lamps, paintings, glasses, vases… anything you can think of. Things are piled high, covered in dust, and there is some junk, but there are some good finds if you visit regularly and hunt. Items in the basement are 75% off.
They deliver for a $ 25 flat fee (any number of items).
Best finds:
— Matching maple dresser and chest ($ 350 for the pair)
— Cedar bureau ($ 190)
— 2 wooden french end tables ($ 67 and $ 50)
Be sure to give purchased items a good cleaning before bringing them into your home.
Bottom line: good bargain vintage furniture, cheaper than Miss Pixies, need time to hunt, expect some dirt and grit.

This place defines junk shop in a whole new way — it’s crowded and filthy, moldy and dank, piled ceiling-​high with nick-​knacks and relics, and still, it’s an adventure worth my time because of the purely bizarre things that can be found.
Today, we stumbled upon a bottle of almost-​empty baby oil atop a shelf of for-​sale items, a monkey-​faced Buddha statue sitting proudly near the cash register, someone’s former pet bird stuffed and perched inside a cage, a raccoon pelt hanging from the legs of a chair turned upside down and a bucket in the middle of the walkway half-​full of murky water dripping from the rotting ceiling.
If ever the health or fire inspectors show up at Ruff and Ready, it will be rough and they will not be ready for the quantity of citations they will have to issue and the urgency with which they will have to close this place.
I give it five stars for the experience and one star for its performance as a functioning antique store. A rating system doesn’t serve a store like Ruff and Ready very well; while undoubtedly heinous, it’s lovably so.

I have been going to Ruff and Ready periodically since I was a toddler, but this is the first time I’ve been there as a full fledged adult homeowner. I do not remember it being quite this nuts in the past. The place is more insanely crowded than ever before (with stuff, not people), including a lot of that should probably go straight in the trash. I started to get the sense that perhaps the owner is a hoarder, like clinically speaking. Things are not priced like he really wants to move them, and certainly don’t reflect the critical overstock he apparently has.
And I am not a very cautious person, but I as I walked through the basement and the back buidling, I kept having visions of news coverage of a building collapsing on hapless customers. I figured it was a post-​blizzard flat roof issue, but according to a review I see hear from this past summer, it’s been this way at least that long. I think this might be my last visit for a while, the possible bargains (which I didn’t see much of, btw) are currently not work the risk to life and limb.

One of my hobbies is searching for unique pieces of furniture. One of my personal goals is to minimize my consumption of new manufactured goods. That makes R&R absolutely ideal for me… and maybe for you if you have similar interests. Avoid the urge to IKEA-​ize your place and head over to 14^th street some upcoming Saturday or Sunday (the only two days Ruff and Ready is open).
Janeen D’s review is a good one and characterizes the place accurately. One thing I don’t see on Unilocal about R&R is the opportunity it gives you to haggle (!). In an amazon/​target dominated market place of fixed prices and promo codes, haggling is something I wish was more common. It allows you to feel like a winner (and sometimes a loser) on every purchase. R&R’s proprietors, Bill and Michael, seem to like it too so don’t take the price tags at face value. You can get some serious discounts on the right pieces.
I’ve been shopping at Ruff & Ready for about 6 years now, and it is responsible for about ¹⁄₃ of the furnishings in my apartment. I’ve got some great, original artwork, a few dressers, an antique mirror, and a bunch of other odds and ends. They have just about everything to get an apartment up and running.
For me, R&R is the keystone for used furniture shopping in DC. If you can’t handle the chaos here, check out Miss Pixies and Hunted House.
Your «junk» is my treasure!

My bf and I go to Ruff & Ready as often as we can, and have scored some killer finds. (Like a beautiful mahogany coffee table with scroll work on the legs and a leather-​covering on the top-​$ 70 in the basement. Or some crystal champagne flutes for cheap.)
We have also gotten mysterious bug bites, and maybe someone (me) almost had a hell-​of-​a-​hangover-​induced panic attack after being in there too long. It’s NOT for the faint of heart, but a must-​see if you’re any kind of vintage/​bargain/​antique/​kitsch shopper.
NOTE: If you are shopping for a distinct piece, do some research. I think that Old Man Ruff & Ready has a hard time letting go of some of his items and jacks up the price so he can keep them. We were shopping for old iron sewing machine bases to serve as legs for a dining room table… saw them online for $ 50, and he tried to sell us his for $ 70. You can keep them, sir.

This place is like the Capital Hill Books of junk shops. Both stores make you feel like at any moment you can be buried under a pile never to be found again. They don’t call it treasure hunting for nothing.

I have to say, this was an adventure. Open on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6pm, you have come in your gritties. Closed toed shoes and a pony tail are the only way for a girl to tackle this. The first two reviews are best! It’s an antique store meets junk shop meets salvage yard. You will have to dig. The space is tight and extremely crowded and the store is more than a bit musty. If you have allergies, take a mask. If you’re claustrophobic, stay away. Great things can be found if you take the time.

when you are in the mood for poking around a musty old store looking for cool unique pieces for your house, check out ruff and ready! just as ruff as the outside looks, on weekends when they are open, the furniture outside just beckons you to enter and search around.
the things outside are probably pieces that didn’t fit anywhere else. yes, this store is one of the most crowded stores you have probably ever been to. if another customer is trying to move by you, find a small walkway to smoosh yourself into. there is a main floor, back outside area, back room, and a basement.
the basement has sale items and depending on what you may be looking for, there are plenty of great deals to be found if you take the time to look. the back room off the main room and back outside area is a bit spooky if you go in by yourself. the radio was on when i ventured in, and the ceiling is falling down in many places.
the whole store smells a bit stale and moldy, but the humongous frame i purchased for ten dollars did not hold onto the smell at all! great deals to be had and friendly staff!

Ok, I’m all for bargain hunting. The crowded stores full of a fun mix of junk, antiques, and someone else’s treasures. The thrill of the hunt. The characters you meet. I’ve had my fair share of adventures in crumbling old thrift and vintage and junk stores. So please, know that I am not trying to be a jerk with the review I’m about to give.
But seriously, people — this place should be condemned. On my last visit, we entered the front of the store. Ok, not awful — super crowded with furniture, to the point where I could barely see what was for sale. Not a big deal. Scanned the piles carefully, just in case something was hidden and I wanted it. Headed towards the back of the store, entered the «courtyard.» Furniture, junk and trash were piled and hung in heaps. Old buckets and containers housed scummy, still water that looked like it had sat there for months. Hardly anything looked like it was in condition to be sold, even as a fixer-​upper piece.
I figured maybe it was a fluke. We entered the back warehouse-​y building. Water leaked from the ceiling in multiple places, collecting in overflowing tubs, dripping onto furniture. More furniture piled up, but at least I could see what was what. Sort of. Very dusty. We wound through the maze, turning around only when we discovered the floorboards bending under our feet, holes in some of them, patches in other places. My boyfriend, not usually phased by the oddest of experiences, wanted to leave before the ceiling gave way.
I insisted we had to check the basement for bargains before leaving. We returned to the main building, ventured downstairs. The smell of gasoline was overwhelming. Old fans whirred loudly, perhaps in an attempt to clear the air. An ancient furnace clacked away, and my bf exited the basement, declaring that it was definitely not safe to breathe the air. I persisted, checking the very back of the basement. The floor boards were missing in places and the floor turned to dirt beneath my feet. The smell of gasoline became so overwhelming that I felt ill, and tried to exit in a hurry.
As I came to the top of the basement stairs, I overheard someone comment to the owner that he’d really cleaned up the store, especially the basement. (Cleaned up? That was the improved version?) The owner replied «What do you mean? It’s always been clean and organized.» I kid you not. He sounded crazy.
I’m going back once again, if the building doesn’t get condemned or collapse before then, just to give it one more chance. I’m trying to understand why no one seems to be as bothered as I was — maybe I had a fluke visit.
Oh, and when we were there, other people shopping mentioned their concerns about the building too. So I know it’s not just me…

Walking through Ruff and Ready was like spending an afternoon in my grandmother’s attic. The basement sale section is full of old dolls, furniture and musty smells of lost items. The isles are extremely narrow (like, I almost fell inside a wardrobe and nearly knocked over a vase, narrow). But that’s half the fun of it, right? Half the fun of a place like this is trying on random hats and being afraid you’ll be attacked by a bat flying out of a random corner, right?
Right, that’s what this place is like.

I bought a bird’s eye maple chest of drawers and a mahogany buffet table at Ruff & Ready. They are imperfect — slightly worn, a bad spot or two, but they’re quality furniture pieces. Folks, furniture ain’t made like it used to be!
This store is PERFECT for the Johnny-​come-​lately who’s an old soul, who wants some quality vintage furniture. A thrifty person who has champagne tastes and a beer budget, willing to overlook a few «flaws» and see others as character.
Ruff & Ready is a jumble of moth-​ball smell, bad stuff, with treasures mixed in. It’s totally worth rummaging through if you’re the kind of person described above. May the Force be with you!