1. Educate yourself by reading books or log on to the Internet.  "'I've got two books at my shop that cost $1,000, and now you can punch on to the Internet to get the same information for nothing," says Tipton.

2. Decide what you like and the look you want and then make yourself a wish list.  If you are confused about mixing different periods and cultures, Tipton suggests mixing things of a certain quality.  "For instance you can't put a plastic flamingo in the same room as a carrera marble statue.  You can have things from different cultures and different time periods as long as they're comparable in quality."  It is also important to keep comfort in mind when making your wish list.  "I think you really need to temper antiques with comfort.  I've been in houses before where they're sort of hit the shaker theme so heavily you had to sit on a board-like sofa.  I can't imagine anyone wanting to stay more than 10 or 15 minutes," says Tipton.

3. Deal with someone you're comfortable with and ask a lot of questions.  "If they tell you 'this was made in 1720,' ask them to put that on the invoice and if they won't do that, don't buy it."  Fortunately Tipton says most dealers are honest.