I love this venetian mirror. At this time last week, he actually had two of them. But not an exact pair. You never know what you will find. But it's always full.
So one of the very first things I noticed about Brant is what good taste he has. Let me rephrase that. What exquisite taste he has. My first clue was when I asked to use the restroom at the shop. Inside I saw his personal signed print by Max Papart, the french modernist printmaker whom I also love. And on the way out I spied another beauty on the wall: It looked like an original drawing of a young man, done in the early 1930's and it looked Russian or French to me. But it was atypical of the kind of art I usually saw in Dallas. These pieces were refined: the drawing was stylized and very classical and Papart is an artist who I consider to be somewhat "under the radar."So when I first got to know Brant, it wasn't until much later that I found out that he actually had a long and successful career as a jeweler, and that is truly his background. Because he dealt a lot in estate jewelry too, you can see how the antiques aspect came into play. He has had his antique business for over 10 years, with the Consignment side offering high-end antiques too.
This is one of many curio cases that hold lots of small treasures.
I had my eye on these Japanese candlestick holders from the 1930's. On the back of the tags, you'll notice the date. After 45 days the price drops 25% and after 90 days it drops 50%. I put in my calendar the days to go back if I am really wanting that markdown. Sometimes it'll still be there, but most of the time it won't. Things move fast here and their inventory changes weekly.
I thought this Staffordshire porcelain lamp would be great looking with a traditional harp and a new custom linen-shade.
This small table made with clam shells I thought looked really cool.
What I like best about Consignment Heaven is that they have it ALL. Big to Small. Although I have purchased furniture, rugs, lighting, etc. from there, my favorite place to start EVERY time is the curio cabinets which hold all the little goodies. In the cabinet that I always go to first, look what was hiding on the bottom....
This was my last purchase, and Brant says this is most likely a Grand Tour Souvenir from Italy, from the early 1900's. She has a little piece of her foot gone, a few toes to be exact, so it is not in pristine condition. But to me it doesn't have to be perfect for me to like it. You can get great deals if you're willing to live with a few imperfections.
I also picked up this black Jasperware vase, marked Wedgwood on the bottom for under $30. Flowers in any shade of pink look striking against the black and white. Some people have the connotation that Jasperware, especially Wedgwood is kind of equivalent to granny stuff. I wholeheartedly disagree. Yes, if you have a Wedgwood vase stuffed full with dusty faux-carnations and in the same room as furniture that has plastic covers on the seats and a framed poster of Lawrence Welk over the mantel with candles lit in homage to him, yes, then I'll agree with you. Otherwise, I think it is precisely due to this reputation that haunts Jasperware that I want to use it. I love to show how things that may seem "old & fuddy-duddy" CAN look fresh and young, when mixed in with other things that are current and contemporary.
This picture above is from a client's living room, and it shows the lighting fixture that came with the house. There's nothing really wrong with it, I like the shape, but I KNEW we could find something "special", to replace what the builder picked out. So of course, I searched and searched but also kept my weekly visit's to Consignment Heaven. Which is where I saw THIS: (insert angels singing "Hallelujah" chorus)....
This beauty was hanging at the shop, and since it had been there for over 2 months, it had already been reduced by 50%. The chandelier didn't look all that great too. Half the bulbs were burned out, some arms were wonky and crooked, and the crystals were under layers of dirt and grime.... but I could tell that this was a diamond in the rough. I don't even think I called the homeowners. I think I just bought it on the spot and said something like "you've got to trust me. I just found you the steal of the century and you are going to LOVE it..." I'm sure I was basically hyperventilating with excitement. I guess I should get out more.
We got it home, where I hired a specialist whose only job is to hang and clean chandeliers. I really recommend doing that if you invested some money or even if the piece is just big and cumbersome. There are special ways of transporting chandeliers to encourage minimal damage, and these installers usually travel with extra canopies, sleeves and electrical components as well. He cleaned it (which made a difference you could NOT believe) and hung it at it's proper height (if you have 8 ft. ceilings, hang it about 30-34 inches above the dining table - that means there is about 30" of space from your table top to the bottom of the chandelier. If your ceilings are higher than 8 ft, add an additional 3 inches for each foot of ceiling).
And here it is in the homeowner's dining room. This lighting fixture is also worth about 4 times what we paid for it! Never dismiss an object in a store/estate sale if all it needs is some TLC. I think that is why this was passed over for so many months.
In that same room sits a pair of Antique polychrome candlesticks that had already been converted to lamps, which of course I also found - on a separate trip- at Consignment Heaven. These lamps are tall - but they are exquisite. I can't remember how long they had been at the shop, if they had received a mark-down yet. I think they had been marked down 25% which means they were there for 30 days at least. I can tell you why. The shades that were on these beauties were HID-EEE-OUS. Well, maybe not in the late 1970's. And the funny thing is, that they were obviously super expensive. They had these custom large drum shades done in a Fortuny silk and on each one there was this baby pink and baby blue trim with tassels.... I don't think a lot of people could see past that. It was hard if I do say so myself. But these candlesticks were OLD and already converted over to electric. And Brant said that the were originally done by a very famous and prominent decorator, which explains the Fortuny fabric used as a lamp shade.
So I snatched these up too (with the same kind of phone call later "trust me, you'll love them... if I don't take them home first" kind of thing) and then I had these linen "shield" shades made for them. I knew these would be against a wall near the entrance to the room and a shield shade does just what it sounds like: it shields some of the light away, as these do. Whenever you are consignment shopping, you usually have to strip an object with your eyes... take off all the trimmings and paint and fabric that the previous homeowner put on it, and imagine it with your own makeover.
On another visit there, I found this vintage lucite candleholder for around $20. It was dirty and looked like nothing special. But you have to picture some items out of it's surroundings, all cleaned up and in your own space.
This is a picture of a modern Chinoiserie (which is actually a French term meaning "Chinese-esque") display cabinet taken at Brant's last year. I had this in mind for a client (and dear friend) in Frisco, TX. She has a really large wall in her formal living room, and we hadn't purchased anything yet for that room, except a piano and oriental rug. I saw this and fell in love with it. Not all special pieces have to be antiques. Far from it. There are many manufacturers today that make extremely well-crafted furniture pieces. This was one of those pieces.
So, we bought this as the starting point for the room. It is perfect for this space. It is tall, "heavy looking" to balance out the piano on the opposite side, yet it is narrow and has lots of display options with the glass doors. Also at Consignment Heaven at the same time was this marble pedestal and the Spanish carved statue shown to the left of the cabinet. Of course they were priced at consignment prices and so we took all three pieces home - for less than what that one pedestal would cost. I think having these three pieces in the same room really gives it that continental look that the homeowner is striving for. We plan on putting lots of porcelain on top of the cabinet and possibly inside it as well, and lining art work on either side for more drama.
And this was a very inexpensive bedroom chest that I found there, and it had brass fittings on it. Blech. I found these rock-crystal pulls at Anthropologie and put them on myself and now it looks custom! You really have to think about what you can do to pieces to make them look better than the way they look in the store, and it usually doesn't cost a lot of money. Hardware, paint, and a little fabric (I keep toying with the idea of putting some behind the wire mesh in the doors above) works wonders!
And little treasures are my favourite. These two sterling silver baby brushes were $21 for the pair. They just needed a shine and a home! You don't have to buy the big things, it's fun to bring home a little goodie for yourself, especially when you can find such yummy goodies for under $25.
SO, has your mind changed a little bit regarding Consignment for the Home? If you want to start with the best, and you live local, drive over to Henderson Avenue tomorrow and check out Consignment Heaven.
(ALL IMAGES BY CASHON & CO)
