Deadline time again so I have been out and about hunting and gathering.  An interview at Mission Road Antique Mall allowed for me to breeze through and see what’s new.  A welcome surprise, Steve Rogers has taken a bigger space for Prize closer to the front of the mall and filled it with his trademark treasures.

Yep, one of a pair.

The sun-bleached patina of this tortoise shell is particularly appealing.

In fact, the whole booth had a very pleasing neutral palette.  The obelisks caught my eye, but I did not have time to stop and investigate.

Do not, however, miss Steve’s old spot back in the corner as he still has many treats there.

This pair of lucite chairs are fab.  

My editor awaits.  Sometimes, if it’s late in the day, she’ll email sweetly, “Did I remember to send the deadline?”    A writer herself, I can’t get by with a grumble about my muse.  She did say today; she just didn’t say what time.

One of the great things about my Spaces gig, is that I get paid for something I was doing anyway.  Under “hobbies” I should be listing “Haunting antique shops and not buying anything.”  A really great spot for this is River Market Antique Mall.  These three floors of warehouse space in a neighborhood with legendary “alleged” mafia ties (now a super spot filled with lofts and restaurants) are chocked full of stuff.  Some great, some junky, always reasonable.  Like the four Heyward Wakefield chairs, above, for $375.

Really, really great, huh?

Adorable, no?

There is a lot of stuff to weed through and it’s best not to go in a hurry.

Like me.  This last trip I found a copy of Billy Baldwin Remembers for $12.  It almost takes the sting out of missing the planter.  Almost.

Many years ago, when I was a “young married,” I stumbled into Suzanne Cooper’s shop. I quietly looked around. She was pleasant and helpful and I ended up buying two French hand-colored engravings.

I’ve gone back and back and back. Suzanne’s eye is unfailing and she has a passion for English furniture. Brown wood as it is sometimes known.

The kind of education Suzanne has given me is invaluable. She’s pulled out drawers, showed me how to identify replaced pulls, explained and identified original finishes and why they matter.

She’s not allowed me to buy many more things than she has allowed me to buy because she didn’t think they were right for me.

And, she has learned a little bit more about the internet in order to read my blog, not because she understood it at first, but because she knew it was important to me. She even made me a “favorite.”

Suzanne received a new shipment last week and she is throwing her door open today.

The exchange rate is awful, shipping a fright and customs is an increasingly difficult endeavor.

Nearly every time I stop in to see Suzanne she tells me this could be the last year, the last shipment.

I hold my breath and cross my fingers that she, and my other favorites, will continue to love what they do just enough. I keep promising her that all that brown wood will be in vogue again soon, and while she is skeptical, the dealers in England told her the same thing on this last trip.

It’s an excellent time to buy as prices are so reasonable, here at least.

Stop in and see Suzanne and her wonderful things at 1715 W. 45th Street in the State Line Antique District.

Maybe you will get lucky and Suzanne will let you take something home. I had a good day. This pair of Chinoiserie mirrors are likely new inhabitants of the Dream House dining room. Sometimes it helps to keep your fingers crossed.

I’ve tried to steer away from posting entire layouts from current publications, but this particular spread in the June issue of House Beautiful could not be ignored. I don’t know why I’m drawn to spaces so much more neutral than my own. This room, and most of the apartment seem perfect to me. The balance of the color, the mix of styles, the confident hand all creating a lovely but not contrived home.

I had been in Pear Tree Interiors just the day before with a client. We were looking for tables and lamps, but I needed to say “hello” to this lovely George III mahogany piece.

I’d love to have a chest-on-chest in my oh-so-neglected bedroom and this one would be a top candidate if it were not for the aforementioned tuition and braces and sports fees.

On my way up the street (past George’s shop) to drop into Charlecote, I passed one of Mr. Blandings’s friends. “Can’t stop, on my way to see a chest-on-chest.” “What are you doing to your chest?” he replied, brow furrowed.

Charlecote is right on the corner of this charming block. The pieces are exquisite, but the prices are well outside my reach. I go in to visit with the owner and train my eye a bit, which he knows and doesn’t discourage. I was happy to hear that the near-pair of 18th century George I chests, above, had actually been placed. I hope they enjoy their new New York home; I will surely miss stopping in to see them.

Charlecote does have a couple of other fine examples to feed my fantasy. But I have to move on, there is one more that I remember from researching my last Spaces article.

The only French piece of the crew, the chest-on-chest, below, is at Webster House.

Webster House is in the Crossroads district and is housed in a restored school house. It contains a charming restaurant as well, so it’s great fun to shop and eat. There are several rooms of antiques and decorative gifts, and this stately chest stands serenely in the corner. Also mahogany and George III, she was a lovely way to wrap up the outing.

If you are not “in town” there are a handful of great pieces on 1st dibs. The 18th century mahogany piece above is from England. I think the reflecting flame veneers are particularly appealing. The honey color allows a piece of this size and heft to not appear so heavy.

Oh, my. 18th century. English. Japanned. A piece like this could send a girl out the door and on a plane. If you hear Mrs. Blandings is on her way to L.A. to solve some bedroom problems by upgrading her chest, you’ll understand.