New Uses for Old Things: Thoughts in Support of Mixing Antiques in Modern Interiors

My latest article for Worthwhile Magazine™ shares my personal thoughts in support of mixing antiques in modern interiors. My article is republished below or you can also read it online at Worthwhile Magazine™:

“This is an opinion piece, and a manifesto of sorts, born out of my personal thoughts working in the appraisal field about the widespread confusion and discomfort about how to mix antiques and art in contemporary homes. 

For many years now, there has been an underlying pressure in mainstream culture that all furnishings in your home have to match cohesively, be from one distinct stylistic era, and also ideally be brand new, which has helped contribute to the commercial success of large furniture chains.  These stores offer new mass-produced inventory that satisfies these cultural expectations and also removes the perceived risk of having bad taste by making all the design decisions ahead of time for the customers.  Looking at it from a historical perspective, many notable 20th century modernists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Charles Sheeler frequently mixed multiple design eras in interiors, so the expectation that everything must match is a much more recent development.

Skewering unique or atypical interior design choices has become a couch pastime in the nation (and yes, I’ve enjoyed my fair share of those television shows too, so I write this well aware of my hypocrisy!)  Considering the phenomenon over time though from the perspective of my professional role as an appraiser, I think these trends of popularizing design judgment as a form of entertainment have contributed to making many feel uncomfortable expressing their individual originality and stylistic preferences in their own interiors. 

Due to these conditioned fears of ridicule for “getting it wrong,” many people now feel more comfortable buying all of the items pictured on a catalog page of one of the popular mass-produced chain furniture stores, because they have the safety of knowing it was an already “approved” group of furnishings so they can’t make a mistake if they replicate the catalog page within their homes.  Many stores even offer coordinating mass-produced printed canvases to hang on the wall above the furniture instead of original one-of-a-kind artwork. 

This has been a real loss for our collective creativity and has robbed many of the opportunity to build a deep and intimate relationship with their home environments by selecting pieces that speak to them personally, regardless of whether they have been culturally approved as matching or being “in good taste.”  From my professional perspective as an art and antique appraiser, I can also see how this societal practice has contributed to the softening of the art and antique market, particularly in the category of antique furniture. 

I’ve had many conversations through the years with individuals who’ve inherited beautiful antique furniture from a family member.  In talking with them, I can tell how much they are drawn to it, both for the powerful memories and the solidity of the natural wood materials (which, by the way, don’t give off toxic chemicals like many new mass-produced furniture items and don’t consume precious resources from our already-beleaguered environment), but inevitably there is a point where I hear “but they don’t match my furnishings.”  In those instances, I try to brainstorm together and envision new ways the pieces can be integrated into the individual’s interior in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to them and also suits their practical daily life. 

Interior decorator Samara Goodman of Samara Interiors says, “A person’s home should weave a visual narrative about who they are and what they love. This is best executed when decor has been curated over time, or appears as such. At Samara Interiors, our specialty is expertly blending new items with existing ones to create an elegantly curated yet fresh and updated look. Some of our favorite client treasures to work with are antiques, cherished collections, travel souvenirs, family heirlooms, and sentimental items. In one design project, we skillfully incorporated the antique curio cabinet, vintage zither, heirloom rocking chair, and watercolor painting collection with contemporary new furnishings and custom accessories to create a welcoming and cohesive living room."

Earlier this year in the magazine, we were fortunate to publish an article by furniture restorer and blogger Karla Holley of City Limit Style that detailed how she had incorporated family heirlooms in her own home, and I am so grateful for her perspective as she generously shared real-life examples with Worthwhile Magazine™ readers.  Due to confidentiality restrictions for my professional work as an appraiser, I will not be sharing real examples in this article but rather exploring different commonly encountered antique furniture forms below and offering suggestions about ways they can be repurposed in contemporary interiors.

I’m not aiming to sway anyone to betray their inherent taste, but rather trying to encourage people to increase their own trust in it.

 Some people just don’t like antiques, and that is fine.  I’m not aiming to sway anyone to betray their inherent taste, but rather trying to encourage people to increase their own trust in it.  My goal in writing this is to help people who’ve inherited something they love but don’t know how to use it or worry they can’t keep it because it doesn’t “match” their home.  I want them to feel like they have an increased range of options to consider that allow them to use and enjoy treasured antiques in their homes.

The following are some of the forms I typically encounter in my work that I think hold great potential to be incorporated creatively in contemporary interiors:

Secretary Desk

Secretary desks fell out of favor when computers were introduced because a large desktop computer couldn’t fit inside them, but now that laptops are widely used this is no longer an issue.  I’ve worked quite comfortably at a laptop on secretary desks, and when I am done the laptop can slide right inside for storage.  My favorite element of secretary desks is how they close and conceal all the necessary detritus of life that can clutter open surfaces.  They are a great place to store bills (most have little interior cubbies that are the perfect size), business papers or other important documents in the lower drawers, or frequently accessed office supplies.  As soon as you close the lid back up, all you can see is a beautiful wood surface with no clutter.  They take up quite a small footprint relative for the storage capacity they provide, and I’ve long thought they are a great option for apartments or other small spaces.

China Cabinet

I often hear china cabinets referred to negatively now, and it is true they tend not to sell well due to our culture’s abandonment of formal china, but the design features of china cabinets that did such a great job protecting prized china allow them to be very useful protecting other categories of valuables that have greater importance now in modern day life.  The glass-front panels to the cabinet doors help shield delicate electronic equipment like cameras from dust.  For households worried about childproofing, china cabinets are a great way to house easily broken or potentially dangerous items in secure storage that still allows them to be seen and enjoyed.  Most china cabinets have a lower section of drawers and an upper section of glass-front panels enclosing storage shelves that begin at about the height of an adult’s waist, so the raised elevation provides added safety for (and from) small children.  These design features also protect items in households with rambunctious pets rather than children.  Most china cabinets also can be locked for additional security. 

Tea Trolley

Tea trolleys make fabulous bar carts (check out how Karla transformed her grandfather’s toolbox into a bar cart here).  They also are well-suited for portable storage, such as a rolling center for craft or art supplies in a studio, a flexible prep space in a kitchen, or an entertainment center holding a television.  Tea trolleys can also be an as-needed portable sideboard for people who only entertain occasionally.

Sideboard

Sideboards are stationary and generally larger in size than a tea trolley.  While they are extremely useful for their original intended use in the dining room, they are also handy to have in an entry area to store gloves, umbrellas, and the myriad things that are often discarded and dropped at the front door.  A bowl or tray resting on top can house your keys.  Due to their capacious storage, sideboards can also function well as a dresser in a bedroom.

Armoire

Armoires are the epitome of enclosed storage.  Traditionally used to store clothing in homes lacking built-in closets, they were popular in the era of huge and bulky television sets to be repurposed as entertainment centers (often with a hole drilled in the back for electric cords).  Now that technology has become more streamlined, I often see them disregarded and sometimes derided, but they remain exceptionally useful objects.  Do you have kid toys strewn all over your house?  Corral them in an armoire (the toys, not the kids…)  Does your crafting hobby routinely cover the dining room table?  Use the storage inside the armoire to hold all your supplies and simply open up the doors to access them when you are working.  Is your walk-in closet overflowing?  If you aren’t ready to streamline your wardrobe, you can use the armoire as auxiliary clothes storage, which ironically is back to its earlier intention.  An added plus to many antique armoires is they completely disassemble into a group of component parts, making it possible to fit them through small doorways, up a tight flight of stairs, or move them easily cross-country and just reassemble at your next destination. 

Blanket Chest

I find blanket chests to be an incredibly versatile form.  Placed at the foot of the bed they serve as a bench for putting on shoes as well as closed storage.  They also make great coffee tables around a seating area or a side table.  If you plan on putting lamps and other small items on top of them, a blanket chest can be perfect for storing the sorts of important documents you need to keep but don’t want to look at, like taxes and other documents too recent to shred.  In a kid’s room, a blanket chest makes a natural toy chest.  Blanket chests are of course also great for storing their namesake blankets.  Examples made of cedar provide some natural protection from insect damage as well. 

Drop-Leaf Table 

My drop-leaf table has lived multiple lives in our journey together.  In one life, it was a console with its leaves folded down, placed flush against the wall in a small space.  In another it stood partly open, with just one leaf up to serve as a desk working surface.  Right now, it is enjoying a life as my dining room table, with both leaves up and fully extended.  The adaptable nature of the form allows it to be incredibly versatile in a wide variety of different spaces and lifestyles.

Dining Table

Prices for dining tables have gone down in recent years, in part because the schedule of many families sadly no longer permits them to eat together.  Dining tables are well-suited for many purposes beyond simply dining.  They are often long and rectangular in form, which makes a practical working surface for a desk, leaving room for both a computer and papers.  If children are being homeschooled or learning online, a dining table can be the home schoolroom.  Artists and crafters have room to spread out while working on a dining table’s expansive surface.  As working and schooling from home becomes more common due to the pandemic, having a sturdy, roomy working surface at a comfortable height is a valuable feature of many dining tables.”