Antiques give décor a fresh new feel
No matter what kind of house she’s decorating, Jane Osborne likes to mix in some antiques.
The Houston designer, who has a background as an antiques dealer, is a firm believer that an antique console table or an old clock can enhance anyone’s décor. Whether a room is traditional or contemporary, she said, “I really try, in all of those, to mix in some antiques.”
Osborne will be part of the Designers Walk, a new addition to the Theta Charity Antiques Show, which opens Friday. Six Houston-area interior designers will take small groups through the annual show’s vast marketplace, pointing out the pieces they love and discussing how to decorate with antique furniture and accessories.
“We just want to make it a fun time and give a little bit of education along the way,” said Osborne, who will lead a tour Saturday morning. If space is still available, Designer Walk tickets are $25 for a small group session with Osborne, Lindsey Herod, Ben Johnston, Robert N. Wakefield, Courtnay Tartt Elias or Bill Stubbs.
“I contemplate how I can contrast the pieces with more modern ones to breathe new life into the old and new.”
Ben Johnston, interior designer
In the meantime, we asked a few of these designers to tell us why — and how — to decorate with antiques.
A single antique can warm up a room. Even if your style is modern or contemporary, adding something old will probably enrich it. Antiques can give a space “more character and life,” says designer Ben Johnston of Avondale Design Studio, who likes to mix antiques into any space he decorates.
Just adding a small piece can make a big difference, said Courtney Tartt Elias of Creative Tonic Design. “Even something as simple as an old textile will add a whole layer to your house.” If you find a beautiful vintage shawl in Venice, bring it home and drape it over your furniture. It’ll add texture, color and a bit of your personality.
The best rooms are a mix of old and new. It might seem easier to just buy new furniture, and that’s what plenty of Osborne’s clients want to do. Young clients, especially, “go through the Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware stage,” she said, fashioning rooms in which everything coordinates and everything is new. But then their tastes evolve, and they want something more personal. That’s when Osborne tries to
bring in antiques, longlasting investment pieces that introduce a sense of history and timelessness. “What I hope to do is say, ‘OK, let’s find things that will be long-term, that you’ll want to keep.’ ”
When he shops for antiques for clients, Johnston said, “I contemplate how I can contrast the pieces with more modern ones to breathe new life into the old and new.”
For instance, he’ll find an old Queen Anne chair, reupholster the seat with a fresh, bold fabric and then pair it with a sleek midcentury dining table. “The result is timeless design that will never go out of style,” he said.
Make old pieces look new. Maybe you’ve furnished your whole house with antiques (and near-antiques) passed down from your parents or grandparents. Your space doesn’t have to look musty and old. “I say, keep the old things,” Elias said. “Let’s paint them, let’s change them up a bit. You can take something old and paint it to look new.”
And if the rest of your
house is contemporary, you can make an antique fit your style. Just update it with paint, lacquer or new hardware. For one client’s bedroom, Johnston found an old Witco cabinet from the 1960s. He made the piece look fresh by having the body ebonized and the doors gold-leafed. He accessorized with a mix of old (World War II-era prints) and new (a contemporary vase and lamp). “Looking at the space now, it feels fresh and contemporary, but it’s largely made up of antiques,” Johnston said.
Collect something. Displaying a collection of antiques “can really make your house have just a little more interest to it,” Osborne said.
It doesn’t matter what you like — a certain type of porcelain, maybe, or old tea caddies, match strikers, or alabaster boxes. Having a collection gives you something to look for when you shop and travel, Elias said: “It’s fun to have your eye on something.” Collecting something over the years, she said, “brings things into your home that help tell your story.”
When in doubt, look for art. “Art is always so important” in any room, Osborne said, but you don’t have to limit yourself to old paintings. Maybe you want to cover a wall with antique barometers, she said. That’s fine. “I just have fun with it.”
Old prints are an excellent — and usually affordable — way to add art, Elias said. She recently bought a collection of 19thcentury drawings from a metal fabricator outside London for her own home — sepia-toned images of old gates and fireplace grates. “We framed them in real contemporary frames, a lot of them,” she said. “They look so good together.”
Trust your own taste. You don’t have to follow the rules. Want to mix pieces from several time periods? Hang a bunch of old clocks on the wall? Go for it, designers say. But use pieces you genuinely like, not just the ones you think you should appreciate.
When you’re shopping a flea market, a resale shop or an antiques show, “go through with an open mind and see what catches your eye,” Osborne said. If you like something, you can make it work in your home, and it’ll give your space a bit of personality.