My home would not be complete without antiques. There is a warmth, a distant calling, a familiarity that does not come with most new furniture. The old adage, "One mans junk is another mans treasure" has never been so true!
To find my treasures I have my favorite haunts that I visit regularly, like Quintessential Antiques or South County Antique Mall, but I also love to visit the out of the way, off the beaten path shops.
Yard Sales, Estate Sales and Craig's List are other great sources for the 'fine and unusual', after you sort through the 'crap'. There is so much 'crap' out there, but then I guess we get back to the old adage. Right? "There is no accounting for taste...", my mom used to say. I'm guessing what she really meant is lack of...
Over the years, I have taken some very odd things and worked them into the decor of my home. Like the branding irons that sit on the hearth, the Magic Lanterns that line the mantel, the hand-turned walnut bread bowl that holds the vintage Bocce Balls under my glass and iron coffee table or the hundred plus year old portrait of a young black boy with blue eyes that has hung in my home for over thirty years. These are some of the treasures that make up my home. Most of those 'things' have such a tight hold on me I'm having trouble parting with them. Some of them I've had for forty plus years. They are part of the family. My family. I've hunted, scrounged, had rebuilt and refinished in order to save 'a life' of treasures past or give a home to a child from decades ago. It's a calling, I guess. One that I keep answering.
I hope you enjoy your hunt!
