antiques in da house!

Since I was a kid, I've been familiar with antique furniture and decor thanks to both my parents' interest in collecting it and my grandparents' and great grandparents' homes being filled with it. I knew what a Chippendale chair was before I learned what Chippendales dancers were, so when I heard of the latter I imagined scantily clad men dancing on these formal antique chairs. Even though the visual was very odd, my 9-year old mind didn't doubt the connection for a second.

My current apartment holds a pretty eclectic mix of furniture and decor styles - but I find myself loving antiques now more than ever. It hasn't always been crystal chandeliers and Staffordshire spaniels though; as a child I had quite a love-hate relationship with this old stuff all over our house. There was the solemn portrait of a George Washington-like man whose beady, following eyes kept me from cutting through the living room at night and I slept in a four-poster bed that had a beautiful canopy but also seemed to have its original 19th century mattress. And much to my annoyance (but I totally get it now), I also learned an early respect for furniture: no feet on the sofa, no leaning back in your chair, no drink glasses without a coaster and absolutely no doing homework on the table without something under it! But of course there was the fun part of antiques too: treasure hunting at the Rose Bowl Flea Market during family vacations to California and needing very little imagination to pretend I lived in the same eras as Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha and Molly. Those were the days, weren't they?

Being a sentimental person by nature, I tend to treasure old things - those passed down through the family and those found at antique fairs and flea markets that have had another life or a special purpose that doesn't make sense anymore. So, I got especially happy when I saw a tour of interior designer Hollie Wood's Charleston, South Carolina home in an Apartment Therapy post. One of the most unique tours I've ever seen, her house is filled to the brim with an incredibly diverse collection of antiques. While this tour may not be a style for most, it's still pretty fascinating to see - you can tell she has a real passion. The interview is fantastic and considering the fact that her dream source includes "Texas flea markets," I was so hyped up that I've already called my mom to tell her I'm making a special trip home in October for my favorite kind of shopping.

 Enjoy the tour, and if you want to check out Hollie's interview and more photos, look here ...

What part of Hollie's home caught your eye the most?

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