Everybody's Saying Antiques Are Green!

Tonight was the debut of the HGTV Green Home - a home built on green priniciples, up to the Gold Standard of the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in the Energy and Efficient Design for Homes Program (LEED for Homes). For more information about the HGTV Green Home and their building standards, go to www.hgtv.com.

But construction was only one element of the home. The furnishings are really striking - particularly because so many of them are either vintage or recycled.

Again and again the project coordinators and designers stressed the importance of using vintage furnishings as part of "living green" - giving old pieces new life and repurposing them for new uses. An old bakery counter becomes the dining room sideboard. An old wine tasting table is cut down for a coffee table. If you look closely at the mirrors in the master bath you will see they bear a striking similarity to the machine mold and recycled paper mirrors we have at Antiques on Cannon.

Throughout the home are wonderful vintage pieces - from bamboo and wicker shelves repainted and used from the living room to the bath, to chairs and lamps from the Hollywood "Glam" Regency period of the 1940s. All intermingled with contemporary green furniture. Recycling is one of the principles of green design.

We encourage you to find your inner decorator and go green with fabulous vintage furnishings. Fun outdoor furniture and accessories are arriving every week - think Spring and think green!

marilyn

Spring has arrived!

Ok, maybe we're a little bit over eager but. . .Dare we say it? Spring has arrived - at least here at 306 Cannon Street in sunny Chestertown!

It blew in this morning in the form of a rattan patio group - couch, chairs, side tables, coffee table - and it promises more to come. . .birdbaths, benches, concrete swans - oh the joy of it!

We love the colors, the brightness, the exuberance of things blooming - it inspires us to usher in the new and reflect all that brightness inside as well. Turquoise, chartreuse, yellow, orange - these are the colors that embody the mood of spring accessorizing!

And we like to think that fashion took its cue from our signature zebra stripe but maybe it's just that great minds grasp the same trends - look for black and white to be HOT, HOT, HOT! We'll be bringing that in soon enough - or come see us at the Kent County Chamber of Commerce Home & Garden Show on Saturday, April 19 - for more information go to www.kentchamber.org!

It's Spring! It's Spring!
marilyn