Collectors
ANNIE BRAHLER
A thing is just a collection of molecules, says Annie Brahler. It’s meant to be used, not locked away in a china cabinet. “Americans save things for another time that never comes,” says Brahler, who was born to Dutch parents and grew up in other states before moving here. “People matter, and experiences matter, and I want people to enjoy their lives.” For Brahler, that meant that, on the morning we spoke, she drank her orange juice from a shapely vintage glass. She’s especially proud of the vintage barware in the bar of her Webster Groves cottage-style home. There’s a window there with shelves in it, allowing the light to filter through the glasses. She has highball glasses, martini glasses, coupés (for Champagne, instead of flutes), and the star of the show: Culver glass. Some gilded pieces always stay in the bar, but other things she’ll rotate with the changing of the seasons (pink and lavender in the spring, pale blue in the summer, deep emerald when the cold winds blow). “It’s like functional sculpture,” she says, “It’s not a plastic bottle or one of those horrible [insulated] things. It gives me a little lift and extends into my whole day.”
Jennifer Silverberg
APRIL JENSEN
April Jensen’s first dog was a poodle. So was her second. She has several now. Years ago, she began receiving poodle statuettes as gifts from friends and family who’d spied them at secondhand shops. So she displayed these gifts around the house. Guests noticed and brought her more, such that now she has scores of them in a variety of materials—concrete, wood, porcelain, ceramic. But it was Jensen herself who found some of them, particularly during weekend trips out of town. Visitors to her 155-year-old home in Glendale don’t notice the poodles right away, she says: “It’s not weird.” What are more prominent, she says, are all the concert posters on the walls. (She and her husband met at Lollapalooza in the early 1990s.) But recently, she took stock—and a bit of her own advice. “We always tell clients that a collection looks better in volume,” says Jensen, “so I decided to walk my talk and put them all on two bookcases right outside my bedroom—and that’s when I realized how many I had.” Final tally: 75. She continues: “I feel like when you gather them together, it tells a bigger story.”
Jennifer Silverberg
DAVID KENT RICHARDSON
The quality that’s common to all the painted portraits hanging throughout David Kent Richardson’s house, he says, is an interesting face—which, in many cases, is not a pretty one. “I don’t like people with sticks up their asses,” he jokes. “I like somebody that shows some personality.” He has been collecting these works for a quarter-century. He finds them everywhere: estate sales, antique shows, antique shops, antique malls. Private collectors call him because they know he likes them, especially those by St. Louis artists: Belle Cramer, Joan Rosen, Edward Boccia. Richardson collects portraits of both men and women but keeps them in separate rooms. “I don’t want them to procreate,” he says. Certain portraits you may’ve seen before: He used some to decorate the interior of the now-defunct Bar les Frères in Clayton, a gig that Richardson calls “a dream come true.” But at his home, he has weeded out the less compelling works over the years so that now, each survivor contains a mystery that makes you stare. “You want to know who that person was,” he says. “What kind of life did they have? Where did they go? Were they rich or poor? Were they in love? What was their life like?”
Jennifer Silverberg
JACKIE LEISLER
Jackie Leisler is no minimalist. She likens her Central West End house, which was built in 1901, to a “cabinet of curiosities.” She has vintage wax seals from France and England. Seashell boxes. Bird eggs. And she’s especially fond of her 30 pieces of coral, which she has gathered over the past decade and a half. Corals are dispersed throughout the home: on shelves, behind glass, atop a radiator. She has red and purple pieces; she hopes to find a blue one. She won’t
buy coral online and doesn’t want anything that was recently harvested, but if it’s an old piece, she’ll snatch it up, because she likes to surround herself with natural objects. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint, when you’re designing a home,” she says. “I tell people to slow down and find pieces you connect with.” Her landlocked Midwestern home is not a beach house, but according to Leisler, guests walk into her parlor, see the cabinet with the coral, and love it. “People come in and say, ‘Oh my God, I want a cabinet of coral!’”
Old Things Styled New
Buying furniture to use in a manner other than its intended purpose is an exercise in domestic creativity, one that we should all feel free to explore. To give you a head start, we interviewed area shop owners to see how they repurpose vintage for the home.
Kevin A. Roberts
TRUNK AS COFFEE TABLE
“Steamer trunks like this one from the 1890s were built for durability and practicality,” says Rick Ege, owner of R. Ege Antiques. Built from wood, canvas, and leather, they were designed for storage and travel on a steamship. “This one is unique because of the brass details and the family name that is hand painted on it,” says Ege. The small size makes it ideal to use as a coffee table in a den or bedroom surrounded by seating. Antique steamer trunk / $145, R. Ege Antiques, 1304 Sidney Street
FOLDING SCREEN AS HEADBOARD
Made of carved camphor wood with brass hinges, this English screen from the 1800s features a scene of carved flora and fauna on one side and ornate chinoiserie on the back. “Any screen can be easily mounted and affixed to the wall, which allows it to be viewed as a headboard,” says Shawn Lipe, owner of The Refind Room Annex. “They’re a great way to add a large visual spread to a room, especially in spaces with taller ceilings.” $1,599 / The Refind Room Annex / 5739 W. Park
Kevin A. Roberts
LADDER AS BLANKET RACK
“Often these ladders were handmade and used in farmhouses or barns to get to the second level,” says Angie Mathey, owner of the White Rabbit. This piece, made of pine in the 1940s, is from upstate Indiana. Mathey recommends using the piece to hang blankets or quilts, because it’s a little shorter and narrower. $48 / The White Rabbit / 9030 Manchester
DECORATIVE COLUMNS AS TABLE BASE
A pair of Corinthian columns, made of ornate carved concrete with reeded side panels from the 1970s, were designed to hold plants or urns, but their smooth tops make them the perfect table base. “They’re beautiful and sturdy, with really detailed foliate highlights,” says Sally Scott, manager of Emporium St. Louis, in Rock Hill. “It would be very easy to get a piece of glass to fit your dining room and turn these two into a table.” Corinthian columns / $595 apiece / Emporium St. Louis / 9410 Manchester
CABINET AS BATHROOM VANITY
An early-20th-century cabinet features handpainted butterflies and flowers. A wax stamp inside bears a Chinese seal. With the addition of a basin, this piece could easily serve as a bathroom vanity, says Brian Hoffmann of The Brass Alligator: “Its diminutive size—15 inches deep and 33 inches high—lends itself to a small space or a powder room. It’s hollow underneath, allowing easy access for plumbing, but also has enough space to store all of the necessary things one would want in a powder room.” Lacquer cabinet / $495 / The Brass Alligator / 6403 Clayton
SECRETARY AS DRY BAR
This circa-1920s blind-door secretary, flanked by deep carvings, is from England. Built as a desk, it has ample storage and hinged doors that would also allow it to function as a dry bar. Says Ronnie Vinton, owner of Cool Stuff: “It has plenty of storage and compartments to keep a bar organized. And best of all, when not in use, you can close it up and have a beautiful piece of furniture to display.” Continental design cabinet / $725 / Cool Stuff Period / 5707 Manchester
A PUNCH BOWL AS FLOWER VASE
“There are so many vessels around your home that could double as a vase for displaying flowers,” says Michael Wyrock, co-owner of Nistenhaus Design. This plated silver punch bowl from the Missouri Athletic Club circa 1970 lends itself to just that. “Because of its size—its 16-inch diameter—it would be amazing filled with large bouquets of hydrangea or dried foliage,” he says. Punch bowl / $695 (comes with a set of matching glasses) / Nistenhaus Design / 2118 Cherokee St.
Jennifer Silverberg
Talking Shop
Four St. Louisans who work with antiques and vintage items dish on the business, what to look for while shopping, and what they covet.
THE EXPERTS
Douglas Cullers co-owner of Big Bend Antique Gallery, @Big_bend_antiques
Carol B. Fyhrie general manager at Warson Woods Gallery, @warson_woods_gallery
Helen Hantak a dealer at Treasure Aisles who specializes in painted furnishings, @helenhantak
Daniel Hobbs co-owner of Fox and Hound Antiques, @foxandhoundstcharles
How did you get into this business?
HANTAK: I was a hairdresser for 35 years, and I was dabbling with painting furniture. I started going to thrift shops, estate sales, and garage sales looking for vintage and antique pieces. The first one I did is the cutest little black chest, and I still can’t part with it. I got so many compliments and people asking if I would sell it that I decided to jump into the antique mall scene.
FYHRIE: I grew up with parents who were antique dealers, so it’s always been a big part of my life. They were mainly into furniture but also [dealt in] artifacts—interesting small items, as we call them.
HOBBS: I didn’t grow up with it, but in the 2000s I worked at the Mother-in-Law House [restaurant] on Main Street in St. Charles. The owner, Donna Hafer, and I kind of adopted each other. She got my wife and I into antiques. I took to it and started out small, doing different galleries, and then I grew it to a brick-and-mortar. Our four-story building on Main Street is a 1838 Federal-style home. The main floor is our shop, and then there are two levels that are our home. The building used to be a museum for Hamelin Limoges, which is fine china from France, so we have a pretty large collection of that.
CULLERS: We’ve been here for 18 years, and before that, I did interior design. That kind of snowballed into this.
What will shoppers find at your store?
HOBBS: One of the things that we are into right now are Victorian mourning pieces—jewelry made with hair from loved ones who have passed. We knew a woman whose father was a mortician. He had acquired a bunch of different pieces like that, and we got those in on consignment. That kickstarted our fascination with those items. I have a lot of clients from the Central West End who come in looking for bigger pieces of furniture, oil paintings, or religious books. We’re known for having Bibles that date to the 1600s and 1700s, and those are popular right now. We don’t do many collectibles or tchotchkes. We’re more about things that were made for a specific purpose.
FYHRIE: We have a lot of diversity in our store. We have about 125 dealers. The younger shoppers that we have grew up with traditional furniture from their parents, and they want real wood furniture—not processed wood or plastic—and we have that. There’s another group of younger shoppers that likes vintage clothing. Another dealer has a whole collection of vintage albums—that tends to draw the younger crowd, too. Our older customers look for more traditional things. They’re not on the hunt for the more eclectic type of objects or furniture.
HANTAK: I do a lot of buffets, dressers, and chests of drawers. I decide what to do to a piece depending on its lines. If it’s sleek and clean, I try to keep it looking that way. In terms of paint colors, I use a lot of navy, black, and gray. I’m a fanatic about trying to keep the tops refinished; I don’t really care to always paint them. That’s because the tops take the abuse of dropping a key or a handbag—they get nicked. If the wood is beautiful, I’ll refinish the tops and then paint the rest.
CULLERS: We have just a little bit of everything, from simple couple-of-dollar items to furniture that costs several hundred to a thousand dollars. One person might come in wanting French Provincial, the next person might want Asian, and the next person might want modern—and we have all of that here.
What antiques should newcomers seek out?
FYHRIE: For anyone coming to our store, I’d first have a conversation with them about their style. What kind of look do they want? Traditional? More modern? What colors? And then you go in that direction. But I think you have to start with what style they’re working toward. What do they want to achieve?
CULLERS: A bergère or a fauteuil [chair] is nice, depending on what fabric is on it. You can never go wrong with them, because there’s always room for a couple of those in rooms. A good Persian carpet or kilim is always great on the floor. Layer those up and make it look nice.
Jennifer Silverberg
Any other advice for those just start-ing out?
CULLERS: I think it’s always good to have an edited eye so your home doesn’t end up looking crazy. Proportion and scale are key as well. If you don’t have room for something, don’t buy it. Also, remember that not everything can be gilded and flashy; otherwise, it starts to look like Liberace threw up.
FYHRIE: If you’re coming into an antiques store, you can’t expect items to be in perfect condition. Bottom line: It’s used, and that’s not bad. Even pieces in museums have flaws. And if you love something, you better buy it. If you just can’t get your eye off of it or you can’t quit thinking about it, then you better buy it. When you come back to buy it tomorrow, it more than likely will not be here. That happens all the time.
Which kinds of items catch your eye?
FYHRIE: I’m focused on my own interests when I buy items. I’m obsessed with lamps of all periods, be it Art Deco or more modern or classic English or French. There’s a Murano glass that I like to buy in brilliant colors like lime green and turquoise. I look for anything with a creative design on it, like a toile pattern on the metal. I also buy seashells and sea fans, and many of those are old antiques, because you can’t just go out and forage for those anymore. I buy a lot of textiles—tapestries, rugs, and antique fabric pieces. Today a dealer came in with a charming footstool that’s in a beautiful blue–and–off-white fabric. My eye went right to it. I don’t need another footstool, and this one is newer, but the fabric is so beautiful and high-quality…
HOBBS: My wife’s a pharmacist, so we really like apothecary items from the 1700s and 1800s. We have a lot of medicine bottles and surgical instruments from the Civil War. We also love oil paintings of birds and florals and portraits.
CULLERS: After working with these items every day, I became a minimalist. It has to be really, really good for me to keep it. I like graphic artwork with lots of bright colors and more contemporary things, as opposed to the older antiques. That’s what makes my cut, but I’ve been known to keep a handful of great chairs as well.
HANTAK: Anything that’s wood and has some charm to it. It sounds odd, but it’s like the pieces of furniture speak to you. You know instantly when you see it what you want to do with it and exactly what it would look like. If I get that sense, I pick it up. If I don’t get that feeling, I walk past it. I’m not a fan of chairs, because they’re honestly too much work.
Jennifer Silverberg
What are you on the hunt for?
CULLERS: I would love an Atmos clock—it has a wonderful movement. Jaeger-LeCoultre has been making them for a long time, but we’ve only had a couple in here, and they slipped through my hands. One day, one will be mine.
HOBBS: I really like canes and walking sticks known as gadget canes. We have one right now where you open up a handle and a footlong flask comes out. There are ones with little guns and swords in them.
Why do you think people are interested in antiques?
HANTAK: I think the price, for sure. I get a lot of knocks from the other vendors that I price things too cheap, but I want someone to be able to afford to have something nice. We also have a lot of millennial hipstery-aged people who shop here, and they don’t want something that everybody else has.
HOBBS: Many of the things we have are one-of-a-kind pieces. You won’t see them in Restoration Hardware or West Elm. They’re going to be things that someone actually handcrafted.
CULLERS: I think it’s because the quality is much higher than [that of] most newer furniture. You don’t have to have patience, waiting two years for your sofa to show up because of supply chain issues—you can find it quickly, and you don’t have to put it together yourself when it arrives. It’s so much more interesting. There’s more character. Still, people get anxious. They say, Well, it’s got a scratch on it. I’ll say, Well, you know, at 100 years old, you’d have a scratch, too.
6 Tips from Local Experts
If scoring one-of-a-kind items is your aim, it pays to pack patience, knowledge, and a good gut instinct before heading out to shop. Local experts share their advice for finding furniture and objects you’ll love
Brat_Pikachu / iStock / Getty Images Plus
IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT
Unlike big-box retailers, vintage shops don't come with a stockroom full of inventory. “You’re looking at a one-of-a-kind item. If you like it, I recommend that you buy it,” says David Richardson, owner of David Kent Richardson Interior Design. Suzanne Woodard of The Refind Room agrees. She’s seen all too many customers return to the store only to discover that a special piece they had an eye on has sold. “You don’t have the luxury of thinking about the purchase,” she says. “If you love it and are 95 percent sure something will work in your home, then you should buy it right then and there. There’s no way to predict if it will still be there when you come back in one hour or one week.”
DON’T LET AGE FOOL YOU
Just because something is old doesn’t mean its quality is inferior. In fact, the opposite is likely true. “Older items are made with better quality materials and craftsmanship, evidenced by the fact that they’re still gorgeous 60, 70, 80 years later,” says Kim Tanner, owner of Strangelovely, in Godfrey. These old furniture manufacturers are in a league of their own, adds Jon Hunt of Jon Paul Designs & Collectibles, in Richmond Heights. “The old makers—some of which aren’t even in business anymore—their quality was second to none. Their pieces are made out of solid wood, not the second-rate artificial material that you see in stores today.”
SEE THE POTENTIAL
Imperfections are part of the beauty of vintage, so it’s important to stay open to their potential. “It’s easy to refinish a piece or reupholster it while still keeping the original lines. You can justify spending the money to do so because the quality is superior,” says Tanner. Woodard says repairing minor imperfections or scratches in a finish is often easy. “A little Old English can make something look brand new and beautiful. And if you can’t get out every little scratch, that’s OK, too. These pieces have lived a life, and people need to embrace that.”
ENJOY THE HUNT
“Endurance and patience are essential qualities of the vintage enthusiast,” says Richardson. You might not get the immediate gratification that comes from shopping at traditional retail stores but, in the long run, it will be more rewarding. “Go in with the mindset that you aren’t going to find anything—it makes that score so much better. Even if you do leave a shop empty-handed, view the trip as a learning experience. You’re learning the value of things and are homing in on your own aesthetic,” says Anna Weiss, co-owner of MoModerne.
KNOW WHERE TO SHOP
Good vintage can be found at garage and estate sales, but traveling to those takes gas money and time, says Tanner. She suggests visiting vintage stores, especially if you’re just getting acquainted with vintage goods. “Stores are curated by professionals, items are vetted for quality, and the assortment has been edited. It’s still a hunt, but it’s a more efficient way to shop vintage.” If you do choose the estate sale route, Weiss suggests taking a look around to see the larger items and to get a feel for how someone lived and what they valued. “Did they put their money into furniture, clothing, jewelry, or décor? It makes it easier when browsing later,” she says.
BUY WHAT YOU LOVE
“I tell people not to worry whether or not a piece will match with their décor. The through line is the person; their taste is the common denominator,” says Woodard. You need to approach vintage shopping as an exercise in collecting rather than in shopping, says Tanner. Look for pieces that resonate with you. “If you buy stuff you love,” says Richardson, “you will never be disappointed.”
Furniture for Sale, In Person or Online
It takes patience, clear photos, and sometimes the help of expert consignors.
Zozulya, Firina, Cizlawet / iStock / Getty Images Plus
IN PERSON
During the summer of 2021, in a lucrative seller’s market, Nathalie Reynolds was ready to move. She put her 5,200-square-foot West County home up for sale with plans to purchase a smaller second home in California and a condominium in St. Louis. Doing so meant downsizing. “I had a ton of stuff,” she recalls. “I couldn’t move any of it to California, because I had more traditional furniture, darker and heavier pieces. In California, the coastal décor theme is light and minimalistic.”
Reynolds had spent years assembling her collection of high-quality designer furnishings, and she knew that she could find new owners who would love them, too. She also knew that they had inherent value. Reynolds has sold some of her own items at Warson Woods Antique Gallery, but she wanted help selling the big-ticket items, like her baby grand piano, and ornamental pieces, such as porcelain figurines and chinoiserie. To get top dollar, she sought help consigning those items from Shawn Lipe and Suzanne Woodard, the husband-and-wife team behind The Refind Room. “Shawn came and personally packed up a lot of my stuff,” says Reynolds.
The benefits of consigning with such stores as The Refind Room, Encore Consignment Gallery, and The Green Goose Consignment Gallery is that they’ll do the hard work for sellers, marketing items online and in store and finding eyeballs for vintage and gently used designer furniture and décor. Because shops are eager to make money, too, sellers can trust that consigned items will be sold at prices that will net the biggest profit.
Before consulting a consignment shop, sellers should start the resale process by researching which of their items are most likely to be coveted by prospective buyers. Pinterest and eBay are good places to check prices on comparable items. An owner who has what feels like an item of value should ensure that the piece is clean and in good condition. Most consignment shops want sellers to email pictures of their items. Take photos from various angles so potential consignors can appreciate each item’s features. House calls are uncommon unless a seller has a room full of large high-end items they wish to sell.
Another reason to consign? “When box stores sell something, they put the same thing back on the shelf,” says Ronnie Vinton, owner of The Green Goose. “When merchandise sells in consignment stores, something completely different will fill the space. The environmentally conscious can feel good about shopping and consigning: reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle.”
ONLINE
One of the best places to offload furniture is hidden in plain sight. With an estimated 1 billion monthly users, Facebook Marketplace is an accessible selling platform that has reshaped the vintage market for buyers and sellers. But that ease of use comes with a cost. You need a little patience to find the right buyer on online services like Facebook and similar options such as Craigslist and Nextdoor.
“There are a lot of people who tell you that they’re going to pick something up and they never do,” says St. Louisan Lauren Wilkerson, an experienced seller on Facebook Marketplace. “I don’t know how many times I’ve had to message someone, ‘Are you still coming? Are you still coming?’ and they never answer. It’s not a get-rich-quick thing.”
Even so, Wilkerson sticks with the platform because it’s a free way to market to the masses. Wilkerson estimates that she’s sold approximately 500 items through Marketplace, dating to when she ran her own furniture business, Grey Days, in St. Charles 2015–2017. For a small business owner, Marketplace is a great (and cheap) way to advertise inventory. Although her store has since closed, Wilkerson continues to use the site to sell home furnishings, mainly furniture that her father refurbishes for fun. Wilkerson’s five-star seller score, given to her by her buyers, is the result of fair pricing, descriptive listings, and good, reliable communication.
“My best advice is to be honest,” Wilkerson says.
And take great photos. Because sites like Marketplace and Craigslist are oversaturated with sellers, attaching pictures that pop is the best way to stand out in the crowd. If possible, shoot your pieces in bright, well-lit areas of your home. For furniture, it’s also helpful to include photos where the drawers are open to show that they’re all functional. No matter what kind of item you’re trying to sell, be sure that the listing includes all relevant measurements. “Otherwise, you’ll waste so much time with all these people coming to your property to look at the piece, only to be, like, ‘Oh, I had no idea how big it is,’” says Wilkerson.
