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