Go Antiquing Like a Pro With These Designer Tips

Max Humphrey, designer and author of the new book Lodge: An Indoorsy Tour of America's National Parks, fills his projects with a fun mix of modern furnishings, Americana-inspired geometric wallcoverings (shop his designs with Chasing Paper) and fabrics (check out his new fabric collection of with Pindler!), and plenty of chippy, colorful vintage finds. For that last personality-bringing layer, Max never passes up an opportunity to visit an antiques shop or flea market, always keeping his eye out for everything from bold, patterned quilts and Hudson Bay blankets to campy tramp art frames and coolers. “The fun thing about vintage shopping is the trip itself, not just the stuff,” says Max. “The more you strike up a conversation with a seller or dealer, the more insider info you can get on what you're buying. Getting to know the people and hearing their story is the point of it for me.”

Max recently spent the day shopping at Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage in Arcadia, Oregon. Keep reading to see what antique finds he brought home and how he plans to use his treasures in upcoming projects.

1. Horseshoe Foot Rest with Needlepoint Horse Pillow ($285)
   “I like collecting things with animal imagery—if there is something with a bird or a horse on it, it's coming home!,” says Max. “This has all the things I look for when I'm vintage shopping. It's a footstool so it's a cool thing to throw in front of a chair to bring in a pop of color—and a little conversation starter.”
2. Star Holophone Light Fixture ($295)
   “I'm a sucker for anything decorative with stars on it! This vintage pendant light is a double-whammy because it has star cutouts in the fixture and the shade is star-shaped. I'd use this in a powder room hanging over a vanity instead of sconces.”
3. Assorted Brass Escutcheons, Cabinet Latches, and Eagle Lamp Finial ($6-$40 each)
   “I started grabbing a bunch of these small brass objects and thought it would be cool to mount them on a black piece of fabric in an arrangement like a shadow box.”
4. Historic Portland Corbel ($45)
   “Chippy paint is always good! I would use a pair of these corbels to dress up and add a little decoration to a flat fireplace mantel. They could so used as brackets for a shelf in a kitchen or hallway.”
   
   

   Designer Max Humphrey
5. Victorian “Queen Anne’’ Style Window Sash ($350)
   “This window has a really interesting sophisticated palette. You could just simply hang it on the wall as art. It would also look good hung (from the ceiling with chain) in front of an existing window to get pretty light coming through—even in a garden house.”
6. Wood Acorn Corner Finials ($10 each)
   “These pieces of salvage are the perfect arsenic green color and it's cool that there was a pair in slightly different stages of chippiness. I’d buy a plaid wood dowel from the hardware store and dress them up with these as curtain rod finials.”
   
7. Address Plaque With Reflective Glass Beads ($95)
   “I’m always looking for things like this to fill out a gallery wall. It's small and graphic and very clearly handmade. I love the commitment of the person who made it to hand-carve those numbers and to think to add the reflective glass beads to dress it up.”
8. Dominoes ($.50 each)
   “Whenever I’m vintage shopping I always look for instant collection of small things, like these dominoes, or marbles or matchbooks, to fill a bowl or put in a container on a shelf to add a decorative element.”
9. Victorian American Encaustic Floral Tiles ($30 each)
   “I liked these tiles because they are a really sophisticated color of pink. They would make an interesting decorative detail on a tabletop or you could always use one as a paperweight or coaster.”
10. Victorian Walnut Picture Frame ($95)
    “Most of the time when I’m buying a piece of vintage art, it's for the frame.”
    
11. Green Glass Furniture Knobs ($20 each)
    “Changing the knobs is an easy swap out to fix up a vintage chest of drawers.”
12. Late 19th-century “Union Leader” Tobacco Tin ($50)
    “I must be going through an orange phase! I also really like the font. I’d use it in the bathroom for decorative storage for things like Q-tips, cotton balls, etc. It's much more fun than your typical bathroom storage box!”
    
    
    Lodge: An Indoorsy Tour of America’s National Parks

    

    Lodge: An Indoorsy Tour of America’s National Parks

    $37 at Amazon
    
    
    Modern Americana by Max Humphrey

    

    Modern Americana by Max Humphrey

    Now 45% Off

    $17 at Amazon
    
    

Jennifer Kopf

Jennifer Kopf is the Executive Editor of Country Living. She also covers antiques and collecting.