Old vs. Authentic? Why Choose!

Rose Gilbert
Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

Q: We have bought a (much-too-big) house, yes, a Tudor-style "MacMansion."

Now we have to furnish it, and my wife and I are arguing about how. I say we buy new furniture that just looks old. She wants the real old thing. My way is fast and sure. Her way will take a lifetime. What's your vote?

A: My vote is split right down the middle. You are both right.
Updated: Mon Nov 03, 2014

Q: We have bought a (much-too-big) house, yes, a Tudor-style "MacMansion."

Now we have to furnish it, and my wife and I are arguing about how. I say we buy new furniture that just looks old. She wants the real old thing. My way is fast and sure. Her way will take a lifetime. What's your vote?

A: My vote is split right down the middle. You are both right.

Your wife is an artist who wants to make a career of creating a one-off, carefully chosen, just-right natural habitat — the kind of home environment that oozes individuality. Such homes are distinctive and memorable, so carefully assembled, piece-by-thoughtful-piece, that they inevitably mirror the personalities who dwell within.

You, on the other hand, are no doubt a business executive who believes that time is money, a chair is a place to sit, and there should be furniture in the dining room already so the family can come over for Christmas dinner.

The good news: You can have it both ways.

We recently covered the gargantuan furniture market in High Point, North Carolina — or part of it, at least — there are l80 buildings and more than 11.5 million square feet of show space. The twice-yearly market attracts some 57,000 people from around the world, who come to see and shop for the furniture you'll find in your local stores come next spring.

What will you see? A wealth of traditional designs. Or, I should say, furniture styles derived from time-tested traditional ideas ... and given an interesting twist by contemporary designers.

That twist is what adds life, freshness, even a sense of fun to what may look like centuries-old designs. Take for example the collection introduced by English designer William Yeoward for furniture manufacturer Jonathan Charles.

Long celebrated for his handmade adaptations of historic English crystal, William is now merrily translating his fave furnishings from his own homes — and the homes he's visited — into quality-made reproductions. Always with a twist, of course. William is as celebrated for his dry English wit as for his design talents.

In the current collection, for example, he pays homage to the Year of the Ram — "The ram represents spirited creativity and passion ... my approach to design," William explains. So a ram's head shows up in several charming places, as the drawer pull on a table, for example.

The designer added other witty little surprises to his translations, such as a stack of carved "books" holding up a tabletop ... polka-dotted upholstery on the back and sides of a chair ... a secret drawer in a serving table.

The point is, you the Expediter can find new "old" period designs that fit the spirit of your Tudor-esque house as well as they fit today's lifestyle. Think of lush traditional fabrics made with new technologies so they shrug off spills and stains. Think of washed finishes that already look ages-old, cast concrete garden benches that look like diamond-tufted pearlized poufs (by "Divine Design's" Candice Olson), and of new, built-in conveniences, such as ottomans that pop open to reveal a twin bed (the Monterey sleeper ottoman at from Norwalk Furniture.)

While you're shopping for the new-old — hardly the same old same old — your wife the Careful Collector can still spend many weekends scoping out antiques as she gathers her vintage trophies one by one.

This very blend of Now and Then is exactly what makes today's "traditional" American home as personal as it is un-traditional, and highly livable.

Furnishing designs mined from the past for present-day living imbue a sitting room with timeless charms. Photo: Courtesy Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.CREATORS.com.