Using bold, yet simple, colors for your decor, like this deep blue of this dining room, allows antiques to stand out.
Internationally renowned interior designer T. Keller Donovan has met this challenge for numerous clients in his 35-year-long career and on February 29 will be addressing this topic as guest lecturer at the 38th Annual Hunt Valley Antiques Show, a charity event that benefits Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland. Here, we get a sneak preview of the tips he’ll touch-on at the show.
Some are for keeps
T. Keller Donovan’s self-described style is “traditional with a twist.” That’s exactly the beauty of using antiques in modern decor: they have the ability to bring a sense of tradition to an otherwise contemporary room.
For Donovan-who spends his time between a New York apartment and a house in West Palm Beach, Florida-both of his residences are “always evolving,” and therefore, so are his antiques. “I’ve had many antiques in my life,” he says. “They come and they go. Sometimes they end up living with clients because I love antiques and I want to use them.” But, as much as your home and your taste may evolve over time, it’s important to establish some items as true keepsakes.
Surrounding antiques with white space not only gives them breathing room, but allows the antigue to be a focal point.
Every inch counts
The biggest mistake people make when trying to include antiques in their decor is one of scale, says Donovan. “People don’t usually go big enough. They’re worried about size,” he explains. “That’s what a good designer can bring to their clients: being able to work with scale and knowing what’s the right size.” Typically, says Donovan, the bigger the piece, the more powerful its effect.
For Donovan’s Palm Beach home, for instance, he purchased antique prints of coral and seaweed, which were perfect for his home’s beachy theme. But, at only 8 by 10 inches, these coastal finds did not quite offer the impact he was after. His solution? “I took them to be blown up to 24 by 36 inches, and now they’re in my living room. One doesn’t have to stay in the box when it comes to antiques,” he says.
Never fear color
Just as size helps to dramatize items in a room, so do bold color choices. Color, explains Donovan, is a great way to help unify antiques with the other objects in a room. “I use a very tight color palette,” Donovan says. “I think it makes the antiques stand out. Antiques are not usually blue, for instance, so they would stand out in a room that’s all blue and white.” Using a minimal, yet strong, color palette keeps antiques from fading into the background, while simultaneously helping them to exist harmoniously with the more contemporary elements of a room.
Pairs pack a punch
Knowing how to blend the old with the new is important, says Donovan, especially for younger generations who will begin to appreciate and invest in antiques once they see they can be incorporated into a modern lifestyle.
Donovan encourages his clients not to break up antiques that come in pairs, like these blue and white antique Sheridan armchairs.
Donovan has worked with many clients who have inherited just one chair or one console of a pair-if at all possible, try to make sure this doesn’t happen. Breaking a set puts the inheritor at a disadvantage, both from a designer’s and a collector’s standpoint. “You’re losing the value in the fact that they were a pair,” says Donovan. “You’re losing the ‘punch’ you get from a pair, too.”
Give them room to breathe
While two may be better than one when it comes to original pairs, don’t always think in multiples. It’s best to choose just a few favorite pieces and make them the focal points. “Not every single piece can be a standout,” warns Donovan.
“Less is more,” continues Donovan. “We’ve heard that before, but I think you should mix your antiques with a lot of fabric and a lot of white space to let them breathe.” So often, Donovan finds himself advising his clients to give their furnishings some “wiggle” room. “Sometimes clients will push a sofa flush against a wall, but the furniture needs to breathe. I tell them to pull it away a bit from the wall.”
Go with your gut
Even though getting the advice of a pro is smart, at the end of the day, it’s your antique. It’s your home. Just as fashion designers tell brides-to-be, “when you try on the wedding gown, you just know,” the same is true of interior designers and their clients: when you have the piece, you just know. “I have a friend who travels around and she’s always measuring antiques to see if they’re the ‘right’ size, yet she never buys a thing,” says Donovan. “But when you come across that piece, and you just know it, you do: you just know.”
Annliese Scott is Editorial Assistant for ChesapeakeHome.
For more information on the 38th Annual Hunt Valley Antiques Show, go to fcsmd.org/events/huntvalleyantiques.htm. To purchase advance lecture tickets, call 410-366-1980, ext. 245. Tickets are $50 in advance/$60 at the door. To contact T. Keller Donovan, e-mail him at tkellerdonovan@aol.com.
