Spring cleaning is a wonderful exercise.
Especially this year, after the winter we’ve had, throwing open the windows and welcoming a fresh breeze into rooms that have been sealed up since November offers an opportunity for a very different type of escape.
This form of exercise can also get you thinking about what you’d like to do to refresh and update your home, to lighten and brighten those winter-weary rooms.
Rarely has home design offered so many options. Home decor, especially in this part of the world, for so long offered a pretty narrow range of choices.
With the exception of the mid-century Moderns in Fairfield and New Canaan, the prevailing home style, New England traditional Colonial, dictated the style of our interiors.
Recently that trend has shifted dramatically.
Today everything goes. Traditional home decor has been infused with touches of modernism, and contemporary homes can complement the antique houses that dot towns in Fairfield County.
Our area offers a wealth of resources to find that furniture piece, rug or artwork that will add to the character of your home and offer a new spring perspective.
In The New York Times recently, an article highlighted what they call the “American Rustic” look. Nowhere offers a better opportunity to see great examples of this look, often at bargain prices, than The Elephant’s Trunk Country Flea Market in New Milford, which opens for another season on Sunday, April 3.
A great Sunday excursion, Elephant Trunk has dealers offering a wide variety of treasures. In operation since the 1970s, here you will find antiques, vintage pieces, collectibles and more. Early birds who arrive at 5:45 a.m. pay $20 to get the first look at the day's offerings. If you plan on “sleeping in,” admission is $2 beginning at 7 a.m. The tents fold at 2 p.m.
For the adventurous, Braswell Galleries of Norwalk has auctions. If you prefer shopping with price tags attached, they have showrooms in Greenwich and Manhattan as well as their Norwalk location.
Furnishings of all periods and styles, from across the United States and around the world, are a stone's throw off Interstate 95 in Stamford. The harbor area south of the train station is home to The Connecticut Antiques Center, Harbor View Center for Antiques, The Antique and Artisan Center and more. Dubbed the "Antiques Capital of the USA," these warehouse spaces house countless dealer galleries. A favorite resource for interior designers, these centers are also, happily, open to the public.
Stamford’s United Housewrecking has moved well beyond their roots as a place for fixtures saved from the wrecking ball. While still featuring architectural salvage, today they also have furniture for the home and patio and garden furniture and statuary, both old and new.
New Canaan’s downtown shopping scene has become a destination for home decor. A perfect example of the eclectic style that’s popular now, shops here feature a wide variety of periods and styles, in a traditional setting.
A day can take you from the traditional at , or to the 20th century sensibility of . The Summer House, Boxwood Interiors, Pimlico and design solutions, among others, feature unique pieces, fabrics and rugs, and professional design assistance.
And of course, Silk Purse and , New Canaan traditions themselves, have an excellent collection of one-of-a-kind consignment pieces.
