Shopping For Antiques Without The Moth Balls...

Published on Tuesday 3rd July 2007

My home needs a makeover and I freely admit that my skills as an interior designer are pretty non- existent. Some people just have that knack of choosing a few coordinating items and hey presto, the room is transformed.

But where I’m concerned, it involves months of traipsing around with fabric swatches in my handbag whilst scouring magazines and stylish spaces for inspiration. My house you see was built over one hundred years ago and I’m fundamentally a modern girl. Trying to combine traditional with modern has left me in limbo.

I face a constant battle as I endeavour to maintain that Victorian ambiance whilst finding space to hide a million toys. As a mother it’s clear to me now why Victorians had just a hoop and a skipping rope to play with!

A friend offered to lend a helping hand however and suggested we take a country drive one Friday and visit some quaint little antique shops where I might find some suitable furniture. I particularly wanted a French style chair for my bathroom where my guests can lay their clothes whilst bathing.

What an experience our little jaunt turned out to be.

After driving to what can only be described as the middle of nowhere, the first establishment we visited was like an Aladdin’s cave of house clearances. There was barely enough space to squeeze through the vast assortment of old furniture, the kind of china that even my Granny would have cast aside days and books that would impress a library. And what was that smell? A hundred years of moth balls I suspect.

Dozens of chairs were piled up but I just couldn’t see what I was after. The slightly eccentric owners were pouring over what seemed to be a mounted stags head (really not my thing) and barely threw me a glance when I enquired about my ‘distressed, white, bathroom chair.’ On to the next shop which turned it out was only open between 10am and 2pm on Saturdays!

Time for tea and cake. Whilst sipping my Earl Grey and inhaling my carrot cake my friend suggested I might have more luck at the website Victoria Jill that had lots of French inspired vintage furniture. Why hadn’t she mentioned it sooner?! Shopping sans moth balls is definitely more my style!

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