\ Antiques And Collectibles Spill Onto Porches, Gardens LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) Antiques and collectibles are spilling onto porches, yards, and gardens. Forget expanses of well manicured yards and pristine bare porches. Today’s look is almost reminiscent of Appala chian “hillbilly” property, with sections of rusty iron fences and broken-down rockers in terspersed among tangles of A few years ago, no one wanted these metal chairs with matching gliders, but today people pay top dollar. In barns and sheds, some people may be rtunate enough to salvage such finds as a hand seeder similar to that held by Julie Good. In the background are several col lectibles and a planting shelf that her husband made by combining odds and ends of old pieces. wildflowers and natural looking grasses. The comfortable look makes one want to “sit down and stay awhile.” But don’t be fooled. That casual look doesn’t happen nat urally. It requires quite a bit of shop ping to find old implements, rusty iron fences, and painted garden tools to recreate the ap pearance of a natural setting. It takes a practiced eye to know where to place a broken-down piece of machinery so that it is eye-appealing rather than an ey esore. Turn-of-the-century porch swings, gliders, and iron chairs with chipped paint are in demand. A few years ago, you couldn’t give away those clanging metal gliders. But today, people long for days past when they rocked on Grandma’s porch to the creaking comfort of the old metal gliders. Now those gliders are in demand, with prices start ing about $B5. “It’s rare to find iron gliders and chairs in original colors. Most often layer upon layer of different colors reveal the popu lar colors of past decades,” said Julie Krizan. Krizan sells porch and garden furniture, vintage wicker, and a variety of artifacts guaranteed Julie Krizan of Grandma’s Attic Antiques fills porches with turn-of-the-century porch swings, gliders, vintage wicker, and a variety of collectibles to recreate the “look” of bygone days. to create the “look” that baby boomers want to duplicate. Although many of yesterday’s furnishings are being repro duced, today’s versions are not as sturdy, less'unique, and often contain plastic parts. “Porch swings from the tum of-the-century are more decora tive and appealing than today’s clunky swings made of pressure treated lumber,” Krizan said with upturned nose. “We don’t sell any of those made after the 19605. Those are horrible.” Krizan’s snobbery is typical of today’s collector of the porch crazed era. They want old, origi nal, and unique well, sometimes they compromise. According to Julie Good, who with her husband Don, operates Good’s Collectables, Ephrata, the rusted wrought iron orna mentals so in demand and so ex pensive are available from China at a fraction of the cost. “This is the first year we bought new pieces. And all I can say is, “it sells. It boils down to what you can find and what you can afford,” Julie said of cus tomer’s purchases. The new pieces are still iron, they appear old, and are the look that people want. The im ported pieces are not as heavy as the old wrought iron typical of this area. Old garden tools in “great colors” are back in style, not for use, but to lay around to add to the “atmosphere.” Water gardening is the craze. And those old metal water * * to add “atmosphere” to porches and gardens. pumps that needed to be primed by hand to get any water are now the perfect accompaniment with water gardens. Look for old banisters and iron flower pots to place on porch steps, on the wall, and in the garden. Wooden picket fences con tinue in popularity but the rusty metal ones seem to be a bit more in demand. The old hand seeder used in years gone by is now a conversa tion piece when placed on a porch. Good’s husband often com bines a variety of old pieces to make such items as a garden shelf or potting shed to set on a porch. Items don’t need to be valu- -u. f « n A ... , // ‘ f > 1 - ' ,rv able. Even dilapidated cometary baskets keep showing up in un expected places. Filled with vines and flowers, they can be moved randomly to any spot that needs a bit of color. Park benches with backs that flip so that one can change the direction they are facing are often implemented outdoors. Wooden boxes with lids make great storage places to hide the new garden tools that are actu ally used in the flower bed. Sprinkling cans the smaller sizes are most popular and those with unusual shapes or homemade primitive ones sport ing weathered paint are in demand. Egg baskets continue to offer the perfect container for (Turn to Page 826) S*' ./-I * -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers