Antlers, tortoise shells, and badminton rackets adorn the walls of Lauren Berry’s University City apartment. Neutral colors, rich wood finishes, and natural elements fill the space. “I want my house to feel like someone stepped into a hunting club,” she says.
It’s an unusual aesthetic for a 25-year-old, but even more surprising is the fact that Berry has sourced nearly every item from an estate sale, antique shop, or family member’s basement. “I love clean, traditional lines,” says Berry, a designer at Wolff Interiors, “and [this style] is so easy to find—that’s the amazing thing. You can go to any estate sale and find cool furniture that has this look.”
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Berry was just a teen when she started going to estate sales. By 17, her finds were spilling over into her parents’ garage. When she moved into this apartment three years ago with her fiancé Daniel Petersen, those treasures gave her a head start as she started decorating her home. Among her favorite items: a pair of aged brass reading lamps that she found for $75 and a Thebes stool that she bought for $40, both at estate sales.
“As a teenager, I was just buying things that I was drawn to. I didn’t have any idea in mind of what my apartment or house was going to look like,” she says. But as she got settled, she recalls, it was clear how everything fit together. “I learned a lot about myself. No. 1 is that I don’t like color,” she says, laughing.
Though many of her peers eschew family heirlooms, Berry snaps them up. She collects silver bowls and platters—some polished, some with a patina—and pieces rescued from family and friends. An oil painting depicting a river scene, now in her living room, was headed to the trash until Berry rescued it from her aunt’s home.
“If I were to condense this room into one item, it would be that painting,” she says. “It has the muted colors and soft natural textures but also the lacquer, the shiny black.”
Berry isn’t afraid to give her finds a little TLC. She has well-developed sewing skills after years of helping in mother Nicky Berry’s workroom, Berry Studio, where local designers have custom pillows, cushions, and window treatments made for their clients. The young designer creates her own pillows and slipcovers, although she says her mother helped with the slipcovers for the upholstered chairs in the living room. She also refinishes wood furniture—a skill she learned from her father, architect Paul Berry.
One of her biggest projects so far is her headboard, which she and Petersen built and upholstered. She’s also tried making plaster furniture. A plaster pedestal table displays a silver trophy bowl she recently purchased at an estate sale in Clayton. Berry’s advice to friends who are new to estate sales is to never pass up a chance to peek into a basement or a garage or even, if permitted, cabinets and closets. She’s thrilled when friends show her their newly acquired treasures.
“I think people think of antiques as looking like Grandma’s house,” says Berry, “but it doesn’t have to feel worn out or drab. You can do current colors and mix in contemporary pieces. A mix is key to making a place look lived in and cozy.”
