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Annie Laurie is the proprietor of
Annie Laurie's Antique Mall
and Overnight Cottage in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
SLR: Thank for joining us today. I know you've been really busy and
one of the things that has kept you so busy is something I wanted to
talk to you about today. This idea that we can blend antiques in
with our modern furniture or newly built homes without it looking,
well, strange. Can you elaborate on this idea.
ALA:
Yes, well, a
growing number of people are coming into my store and asking me how
they can express their love for antiques in their modern home with
their modern furniture. I encourage my customers to focus on their own
personality. To create a style that reflects who they are. You can
do this without making your house look pulled apart, or a hodgepodge
of things, but considering colors and forms to create continuity.
SLR: You just moved from a large Victorian home to a newly built
home on the lake, correct?
ALA: Yes, I just moved out of a six-thousand square foot
Victorian home built in the mid-1800's into a newly constructed
two thousand square-foot home. I found that by keeping the
walls a light color with no pattern, my antique frames, and richly
colored artwork jumped out. My dining room is a combination of
arts & craft style and Victorian which of course look nothing alike,
but by paying attention to the forms, the wood, the coloring, things
like that, it's my favorite room in the house. which is a good thing
since so much entertaining goes on in there.
SLR: You mentioned that more customers are taking an interest in
mixing the old with the new, who are these people.
ALA: Everyone
from a sweet, six year old girl shopping with her mom, to Sheryl Crow,
who is from the area and comes back often.
SLR: Sounds like a wide
range!
ALA: The little six
year old shopper and
her mom were browsing through the shop and the girl exclaimed "look mom this store has those bowls just like the Pottery
Barn". I realize that some antique collectors would have cringed in
indignation, but I liked seeing a six year old interested in the color
and shape of the Bauer Pottery line.
I pulled a reference book
on depression era pottery and explained to her that the original
brightly colored bowls were made during the great depression, which her
great grandparents lived through. The little girl’s eyes grew wide with
genuine interest. Her mom said she loved bright colors and
anything that had to do with her great-grandparents. The mother
said it was nice to know that something so beautiful could also build a bridge with the past.
She bought her little girl the small bright blue bowl for her room.
SLR: And Sheryl Crow. I
guess you mean the singer. She's from the Missouri bootheel isn't she?
ALA: She is. Sheryl
Crow stopped by to do a little shopping with us. She bought a lot of
things to put in her home in Los Angeles. She knew what she liked
and she was confident in her ability to combine old with new. I imagine,
like her personality, her home is warm and gracious and most likely overflows
with layers of accessories that represent past eras.
Oh, another good example is
this young married couple who came into my store the other day shopping
for a night stand that would go with his great-grandmother's oak bedroom
set. They found a darling little walnut tea table to fit
perfectly in the corner by their bed. The couple was more
concerned with finding the right height for their coffee cups in the
morning than whether the walnut wood would match the oak. I
reminded them that in
order for antiques to last they must have a purpose in our lives. The
darling, walnut tea table was intended for an elaborate silver tea
service in a Victorian parlor, but chances are it was never
really used, Now it serves a real purpose in a young couple's home.
This is the way it should be, and it makes me happy to see young people
purchasing older gems like that.
SLR: Any recommendations?
ALA: A fine Irish Beelek China
breakfast set in the Neptune pattern with a blue and white English
Staffordshire bowl for fruit at the same table may not seem right to
some, but I think it's exquisite and so you have to ask yourself, is it
pleasing to my eye? If it is, then do it. By trusting your taste and
being true to your personality, you will see a consistency in your
decorating.
SLR: The front room of your
store is my favorite. I'm assuming you do the decorating.
ALA: Yes, I do that room and
a couple
of others. We have a lot of antique vendors who decorate their own
booths here. Since I do decorating consultations, I like to
display my work so people know just what I mean by blending the old with
the new.
SLR: From what I've seen
you do a beautiful job. Thank you so much for talking with us.
We've linkedyour website in case anyone would like to take a look at
some of your merchandise. And I'd like to encourage our readers
too take a look. It's a fabulous place!
ALA: My pleasure.
www.annielauries.com
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