Back Row Home: At the Head of the Class

Name:                          Back Row Home        

Assorted new & antique creamware with vintage pitchers

Owner:                         Tracey Shingledecker

                                    Kelly O’Donnell

                                    Leighton Hale

Neighborhood:               The Villages

Address:                        8570 Katy Freeway #111

                                   Houston TX, 77024

Hours:                           Mon-Fri 10-5

                                    Sat 10-4

Website:                       backrowhome.com

Price Range:                   $$$

Four Piece French Screen,  Linen Upholstered Daybed,  Mutton Leg Dining Chairs, Pottery Lamps, & Petite Cabinets

What You’ll Find:

One half of the building holds an assortment of antique and vintage pieces where Mid Century Modern sofas coexist with Art Deco lounge chairs and antique bistro chairs. Gustavian commodes are topped by elegant gold-framed mirrors that reflect industrial bookshelves laden with new cream-ware and antique porcelain, and industrial lighting mingles with crystal chandeliers. The other half of the shop holds an assortment of Pinecone Hill bedding and Dash & Albert rugs (so you can binge on Annie Selke). Caspari paper goods and casual tableware are tucked into a corner behind the bedding, along with gifts running the gamut from “Weekend Waterford” – aka Styrofoam embossed with colorful bon mots – to design books.

Assorted Antique Hotel Silver

Why You Should Go:

The owners go on buying trips to Europe, then bring the wonders of France, Spain, and Germany back for our enjoyment, all upholstered in natural linen. The best part? You could put anything in this shop into almost any room or house, and it would be beautiful. Just something to keep in mind while you attend their next book signing event.

Pinecone Hill Bedding, Dash & Albert Rugs, Painted Gustavian Dressers

Butterfly Specimens in Linen-Lined Shadowboxes

Antique Doors, Shutters, & Carvings

Kirby Antiques: Extravagant Eclecticism

Name:                           Kirby Antiques

Antique Venetian Octagonal Mirror and Detail

Owner:                          Blake Karambis

Neighborhood:               Upper Kirby / River Oaks

Address:                        2927 Ferndale

                                    Houston, TX 77098

Website:                       http://www.kirbyantiques.com/

                                   https://www.1stdibs.com/dealers/kirby-antiques/

Price Range:                   $$$-$$$$

What You’ll Find:     

Beidermeier commodes, a forest of Murano glass table lamps, Neo-Classical garden urns, and more Venetian mirrors than you can shake a stick at. Seating options range from an orange mid-century settee to 19^th C. Gustavian Bergeres, and back to modern wingbacks that scream Gio Ponti. A graceful Art Deco Macassar desk holds its own against an 18^th C. Spanish dining table, with gilt tole palm tree sculpture à la Maison Jansen in the corner. Regardless of its provenance, everything at Kirby Antiques is a treat for the eye.

                 

Mid-Century Blue Murano Lamp flanked by Acrylic Lamps,
Glass Art Deco Box & Painting above
 French Brass & Glass Console c. 1960

Pair of Venetian Neo-Classical Painted Pedestals c. 1900-1920
 Italian Lava Glazed Pottery Lamps
French Louis XV-XVI Style Painted Dining Chairs
French Art Deco Stone Jardinières

Why You Should Go:

It’s a treasure-trove of disparate styles that come together harmoniously. Kirby Antiques is very much a result of Blake Karambis’s design philosophy: If you love it, then it will work. Once you step inside Kirby Antiques, you’ll truly understand what he means, as Mid-Century Modern coexists happily alongside 18^th C. Venetian and Neo-Classical.

Tall Cobalt Murano Glass Lamps, Barovier MCM Murano Glass Lamp (center),
Pair of Golden Murano Glass Lamps, 18th C. Ebonized Louis XVI Commode
MCM Gilt Iron Sunburst Mirror

Murano Glass Mirror c. 1940

Memorial Antiques & Interiors' 10 Year Anniversary!

Did you know it’s been 10 years since Memorial Antiques & Interiors first opened their doors? And they get better every year! Join them at their popular annual Holiday Market this Thursday and on Friday for a fun vintage fashion show. MAI will celebrate their anniversary with gift ideas, snacks to nibble on, and discounts on items priced $100 or more, just in time to get your Holiday Shopping off the To-Do List! See more after the jump!

DesignHouse - More Than You Can Imagine!

Acrylic Klismos Chair 

Name:                     Design House

Owner:                    Connie LeFevre

Neighborhood:          Houston Design Center

Address:                   7026 Old Katy Road

                              Suite 155

                              Houston, TX 77024

                                   

Website:                 DesignHouseTX.com

Price Range:             $$-$$$$

What You’ll Find:     

A dazzling array of products for every room of your home, including outdoor rooms. DesignHouse is both a showroom and a design firm, so they can help you design your home and source the pieces you need to bring your design scheme to life. The showroom offers multiple price points, and carries everything from Sherill furniture – with one of each chair type so you can test how they “sit”! – to mineral specimens. Along with a wide array of performance fabrics (i.e. Perennials & Sunbrella), DesignHouse offers NanoTex textile coatings to make that stunning chenille kid-proof. DesignHouse offers custom bedding, multiple custom carpet manufacturers and an array of art, both decorative and collector-quality.

DesignHouse has existed as a design firm for over 35 years, with a showroom since 2002. The staff can act as extension of your professional design team and offers special consideration for design professionals.

 

Vignette of blue & white pottery and settee upholstered in blue striped ivory linen

Why You Should Go:

Niermann Weeks chandeliers glisten overhead, along with one-of-a-kind fixtures, like 19^th C. Spanish lanterns, retrofitted for your foyer. For high-rise dwellers, DesignHouse offers realistic faux boxwood hedges and other plants, so you don’t have to water them or worry about wind damage. You can buy weather resistant lamps and paintings for your outdoor living room, and the weatherproof furniture they rest on.

There’s a Hall of Mirrors (okay, it’s a Conference Room of Mirrors) to give you an idea of the styles available for order. And to top it all off, owner Connie makes occasional buying trips to Europe to stock up on the antiques scattered around the showroom. (Don’t forget to go upstairs!) Plan to have a long time to browse: we had to make four rounds through the showroom before we really saw everything.

Plan to take your time as you explore DesignHouse, or spread the visits out over a couple of days, because a trip to Design House is an overwhelmingly beautiful experience.

Collection of early 20th C. hat forms

Rattan & linen upholstered chair

Janet Wiebe Antiques

Andruze Pot

Shop:                 Janet Wiebe Antiques
Owner:              Janet Wiebe

Address:            1001 West 34th Street, Suit C            

                        Houston, TX 77018

Website:            www.janetwiebeantiques.com

Price Range:       $$-$$$$

Gustavian Blue Settee

What You'll Find:  

An industrial space packed with French Provincial and Gustavian furniture: painted commodes with marble tops, canapés, chairs, and mirrors in multiple styles, from simple gilt frames to gorgeously painted trumeaux. Faux bois garden furniture sits ready to adorn a patio or serve as a center table.

Antique Swedish Canapé

Why You Should Go: 

Everywhere you look there’s something beautiful: crystal chandeliers hang from the ceilings; mirrors and religious artefacts adorn the walls and the marble tops of commodes; bergeres and canapés invite you to sit down. Janet Wiebe Antiques is a wonderland of French design.

A Selection of Stunning Chandeliers

Altar