Decorating with antiques and collectibles

MOSES LAKE — Decorator Bruce Bailey said he advises his clients who are collectors, or who have antiques, to show them off.

“You kind of give them pride of place,” he said. “That’s what I do with some of mine.”

He cited a client with a collection of unique glass, who has it out and about. And it’s on display as much for the owner as for any visitor.

“She puts them out where she can see them. …You want those prize possessions to be out where you see them every day. You don’t want them to be in a corner where you don’t see them,” Bailey said.

Bailey is the owner of Roost Vintage at 118 East Third Ave. in Moses Lake. Antique dealer Marion Lester has some of her merchandise for sale there and had some advice for people wondering what to do with their collections.

“You want to look at them,” Lester said. “You want them on display so you can enjoy them.”

Loretta Hepburn, co-owner of Bargain Vintage Finds at 3835 E. Broadway Ave. in Moses Lake, said blending antiques, collections and vintage pieces bring warmth to a space.

“It brings a room together,” Hepburn said.

Like Bailey, she said the point is to get that collection out in the open.

“If you have them in a box, what is their purpose?” she said. “There is no meaning if they’re in a box. If you have a set of china, get it out and use it.”

Hepburn said antiques and collectibles can teach lessons about how life used to be.

“(Collectibles and antiques) can be a connection to the past, and most importantly, to family,” Hepturn said.

Lester cited the popularity of rotary dial phones as an example. They were ubiquitous - every house had one or more than one - and utilitarian, certainly not a collectible. But now they’re a curiosity for young people.

“You tell a young kid that was your phone, and they’d ask, ‘What?’ Compared to what phones are now,” Lester said. “The kids don’t know what that is.”

Some of those collections are fragile, of course, but there are ways to display that collection of depression-era glass without putting it at risk. One of Bailey’s clients hangs her collections of plates on the wall, which helps protect them from damage while giving everyone a chance to see them.

“Some people, if they’re collectors, will buy old cupboards to display things in,” Lester said.

But Bailey said one collection can lead to others. A collector is attracted to Mid-Century Modern furniture, and then that furniture needs some Mid-Century Modern artwork to go with it. Then a collector needs some vases and decorative items to match. And then maybe some glassware.

“That collection starts another collection,” Bailey said. “It’s like a snowball rolling downhill.”

He cited Christmas decorations as an example. It might start with a set of bubble lights, similar to those on the family Christmas tree back in the day.

“I know people who have Christmas rooms,” he said.

One of the dealers who sells at Roost Vintage found a closet filled with vintage Christmas decorations and brought some of what he found into Roost.

“People loved it,” Lester said. “Because it reminded them of their childhood, or growing up.”

Attraction is in the eye of the beholder, of course - not everybody wants a collection of reel-to-reel tape recorders. But while not everybody wants a 1960s radio or a 1920s gas pump, some people do. Bailey said he has friends with substantial collections of memorabilia from popular movies and television shows, all in their original packages.

Lester said books are popular for decorating.

“The old schoolbooks are really popular. They just have such cute pictures and everything, don’t they,” she said.

No matter the era, kitchen implements are popular.

“Anything old kitchen is always collectible,” Lester said. “Cookware, pans, enamelware.”

Vintage vases, especially with a 1950s or 1960s vibe, are popular, she said. Customers buy vintage suitcases and plastic radios from the 1960s and 1970s. Bailey said glass and pottery are always popular, although, Lester said, specific types of glass go in and out of popularity.

“Old jars are always popular,” Lester said. “Old canning jars are always useful.”

Figurines, dishes, small stuff, are always popular, she said. So is wood furniture - she’s had her dining room set for 30 years.

“It’s oak, and it just has character,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at sschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.