Treasure hunting: for unique pots, benches, or trellises, try a garden art specialist - Garden - garden ornaments - Brief Article

Sunset, July, 2002 by Kathleen N. Brenzel, James Boone

"The garden is the bonus room 3 of this century. Furnish it with things you love," advises Gail Chapman, who sells garden antiques and accessories from a south Seattle showroom.

Believing that plants and art go hand in hand to make a garden, Chapman is one of a growing number of Western entrepreneurs who are opening shops or warehouses to sell one-of-a-kind garden ornaments. Diane Egizii is another. Because gardens increasingly are places to dine, play, entertain, or just hang out, says this Phoenix garden decorator, they're being furnished and embellished as thoughtfully as indoor rooms. "You should be as comfortable outdoors as indoors," she adds.

For a gardener, browsing through the four stores listed here--a sampling of the many now opening throughout the West--may be the ultimate treasure hunt. Who knows what fun things you'll discover along the way

SEATTLE

A Garden of Distinction

A head-spinning array of enticing items fills this 10,000-square-foot showroom. Glazed Asian pots huddle next to provencal bistro tables and antique French swings. Decorative ironwork from Tunisia and other countries hangs on a wall. Most of the items are displayed in vignettes designed to inspire.

"I search for and sell the things I love," says owner Gail Chapman, who regularly makes buying trips to France and Southeast Asia. "People come here looking for one-of-a-kind pieces."

WHAT'S HOT: Trellises, anything in iron, and shapely containers of all kinds. 10--5 Mon--Sat. 5819 Sixth Ave. S (one building south of the Seattle Design Center); (206) 763-0517 or www.agardenofdistinction.com.

SAN JOSE

Artefact Design & Salvage

"I could never find the kind of garden art I liked, so I decided to start collecting," says owner David Allen, a high-tech drop-out from Silicon Valley, whose interest in architecture and garden ornaments blossomed into a business.

About two years ago, Allen opened his retail outlet in a 1920s corrugated steel warehouse. To keep it filled, he scours this country and Europe for old, handcrafted pieces he calls "lost arts"--items of Victorian terra-cotta, carved stone, wood, and pressed metal. There are stone benches, wrought-iron fences and gates, wall fountains, pots, pillars, and antique baskets.

"It's fun to discover great stuff in unexpected places," he adds, recalling the time he clung to scaffolding outside the 20th floor of a Manhattan high-rise slated for demolition just to check out decorative terra-cotta. Many of his offerings are pricey, but he sells inexpensive pieces too, like the oil jar, grape urn, and English terra-cotta pot pictured (inset on page 76).

WHAT'S HOT: Turkish village oil jar, birdbaths, urns, and cast-iron benches with crusty finishes.

11-5 Wed-Sat, 12-5 Sun. 245 McEvoy St. (on the east end of Antique Row between W San Carlos St. and Park Ave.); (408) 279-8766

PHOENIX

On the Veranda

Old meets new in this store tucked away at the rear of a shopping center. (Look for the green awning over the door.)

Owners Sharron Saffert and Diane Egizii describe their offerings as "eclectic," with garden ornaments and furnishings from France, England, and the East Coast rubbing shoulders with rock planters from Texas ("great for displaying desert plants") and ivy topiaries from California. Watch for decorating ideas among the patio tables displayed as though they've been set for parties. WHAT'S HOT: Items in Old World, farmhouse, and shabby chic styles. "We're feathering our nests again," says Egizii, "with things like vintage porch swings, charming gates that open into secret gardens, and arbors for roses. Things that embrace us and recall sweet memories of grandma's garden."

9--4 Tue--Sat. 4748 E. Indian School Rd.; (602) 955-8690.

DENVER

Paris Blue

"I keep my enthusiasm up by constantly looking for unique things," says Jim Huddle, who opened Paris Blue last December after quitting a hectic career in the cable news industry to sell antiques and garden art. "Customers like discovering something different every time they come in, and I love surprising them." Behind his store's brick facade, he displays everything from wrought-iron bistro tables and wall-mounted plant hangers to pots and urns.

WHAT'S HOT: Fountains of all kinds, including ones of glass, stone, ceramic, bronze, aged concrete, Italian porcelain, and stone look-alikes of resin.

10--5:30 Mon--Sat, 11--4 Sun. 350 Kalamath St.; (720) 932-6200.

Shopping tips

* Ask yourself how best to show off the item you want to buy. Will it look good against an evergreen hedge? In the center of a patio or garden pool? Against a colored stucco wall?

* Think outside the box, says Allen. You can hang a chandelier over an outdoor dining table, fill a French washtub with flowers, or set three oil jars on their sides and plumb them to drip water into a pool.

* Before you buy, measure the space where you want to put garden art or furnishings, advises Huddle. Keep in mind the overall scale of the garden you're creating.

* Make your garden about you and what you like. Personalize it. "Mix up your favorite looks," suggests Egizii.