SHOP FROM YOUR SOFA
Usually, Rosanna Morris shows us the very best fairs and auctions to go out and explore every issue but, as we are all staying in at the moment, she’s bringing all the fun into your living room with the best ways to get your antiques x at home...
10 useful tips for buying antiques from home while we are all staying in more
With antiques fairs and markets cancelled or postponed, shops closed and no auction salesrooms to visit in person, you might wonder how we can still buy antiques and support the industry. Happily, we can – from the comfort of our homes. Indeed, while many of us are lying low we are starting to slow down, re- evaluate, support small businesses, get creative and ponder our impact on this world.
Here are some of our ideas to help you carry on antiquing from home. If you do go for it, what you buy will be extra special. Shipping disruptions may delay delivery, but when your purchase does eventually arrive or you are finally allowed to collect it, no doubt it will have been entirely worth the wait…
1. Bid online
If you’re in need of your regular auction fix, do not fear. While you may not be able to enjoy the exciting atmosphere of the real salesroom at the moment, the modern digital world we inhabit means it’s easier than ever to bid online. More and more auctions are likely to be conducted on digital platforms during this period, so check in on your favourite auction houses to see if they are holding any online sales. Catalogues can be emailed to
you or downloaded as PDFs, so you can browse and then bid. For advice on how to bid from anywhere in the world, visit the Christie’s website, where you’ll find a guide to bidding online or by telephone. Last year, over half of all bids placed were online, and for live auctions, over 40 per cent of winning bids were made over the phone, against 18 per cent within the salesroom. christies.com
2. Visit a shop virtually
OK, so we can’t visit a shop IRL (in real life), but that doesn’t mean we can’t visit it virtually. Super savvy antiques dealers make their virtual offerings as pleasing on the eye as their real- life shops, so they’re a pleasure to visit, even online. Some go further and include beautiful imagery of their showrooms, so you’ll feel as if you’re wandering through a styled space full of antiques to covet, even while browsing on a screen. Martyn Fowler is one such dealer, so pop over to his online store – it’s quite a treat.
puckhaberdecorativeantiques.com 3. Visit an online antiques market IACF, which runs some of the UK’s largest antiques fairs, including
Newark and Ardingly, also has the website loveantiques.com and is directing dealers here during this unusual time. There are so many dealers and pieces listed, it comes a close second to rifling through the many weird and wonderful objects to be found at a large fair, where anything and everything turns up. Metamorphic bookcase, anyone?
4. Shop the look
Here at Homes & Antiques, there is nothing we love better than seeing antiques combined beautifully in a room setting to inspire you. It’s our raison d’être after all. So we hold Lorfords, which brings together 50 dealers, who arrange their antiques in room sets in its showrooms in Gloucestershire, in high regard. Its online offering is equally exhilarating and inspiring. The website has clever lookbooks, stunning shots of styled antiques with the option to ‘Shop the Look’ in a couple of clicks. From dining ideas to ways to style up your outdoor space, you’ll find plenty to thrill you. lorfordsantiques.com
5. Make a moodboard
Decorative Collective and sister site The Hoarde, online marketplaces bringing together numerous dealers, have transformed the way you can shop for antiques and vintage pieces on the world wide web. If you sign