Even a newly planted garden looks more rooted and timeless with a nicely aged antique or two.

By Dennis Rodkin. Photograph by Kim Cornelison.

Antique Decorating

(Originally Published: May/June 2004)

Creating outdoor rooms, the hot lifestyle trend, means you'll likely want to fill them with furniture and decorations.

There are distinct advantages to buying older items. For the same price as good-quality new outdoor furniture you can find something stronger and with more character. For example, Belgian cafe chairs or romantic half-moon iron benches from French gardens often come with wider, sturdier feet than their modern cousins. Half the fun is seeking them out at local antiques stores and flea markets.

Beau Kimball, who deals in architectural antiques and ornaments at Kimball & Bean in Woodstock, Illinois, says more people are choosing antiques for their garden rooms. Beau's buyers start by purchasing furniture, usually a table and chairs. After that, he says, they add urns, decorative iron, architectural salvage and other pieces. The shop at 3606 South Country Club Road in Wood-stock (about 55 miles northwest of Chicago) is open Wednesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays noon-5 p.m. (815/444-9000; www.kimballandbean.com).

Here's what antiques dealers tell us are the most sought-after pieces for outdoor rooms:

OLD GARDEN FURNITURE wears layers of peeling paint like a passport from the past. The patina of age-rust spots, a noticeably missing section, even fading paint-provides texture and contrast to a garden. Would you ruin the value if you were to clean off rust or strip off old paint? Beau Kimball says no: "You should have it the way you want it."

REPURPOSED ITEMS put the fun into func-tional. For instance, garden gloves and a pair of pruners become artful when poking out the top of an old sap bucket. Or add cut flowers for a romantic look.

ORNAMENTAL IRON such as salvaged iron gates, window frames, balustrades and other scraps bring a genteel attitude to your garden. The more ornate, the better! Train vines to wrap their tendrils around the iron.

THE REALLY BIG SHOW for antiques and garden lovers in the Midwest is held every April at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The Antiques & Garden Fair attracts more than 100 exhibitors (847/835-5440; www.chicago-botanic.org.)

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