Shopping Worth Avenue in Palm Beach During High Design Season: First Stop Mary Mahoney!!

Palm Beach was thankfully THE place to be over President's Weekend with the Palm Beach Jewelry Art and Antique Show coinciding with a huge Kofski's estate sale, not to mention the Lilly Pulitzer Estate Sale Preview. It was a shopping stormageddon with blue skies and perfect temperatures while every other state was paralyzed by snow and ice. The Dixie Highway was mightily stocked for the upcoming West Palm Beach Antiques Festival, so it was nice to get a leap on the inventory.  If there is a more beautiful shopping street in the world than Worth Avenue please let me know, but I won't believe you. Addison Mizner's old world patina is groomed to perfection with bromeliads and orchids dangling from the trees. It takes my breath away.

I love to wander the labyrinth of Vias off of the main "drag" to discover more unique and curated boutiques in the inner courtyards.  Lunching at Renato's off the Via Mizner is always a highlight for both the food and the people watching.

This is how men shop with their wives in Palm Beach. They read the paper in splendor while their family works their way around the perimeter.  Clearly the orange shorts memo has spread. So lets begin with my hands down favorite store...

Mary Mahoney

I had to devote this entire post to Mary Mahoney as each setting is a different inspiration artfully composed mixing infinite combinations of china patterns, glassware, exotic linens and flatware. Table top doesn't get any better than this. Take it from me, I still have my 1961 FAO Schwartz tea set and have been arranging tables ever since.

Can anybody name my favorite doll of all time? She really is due for a come back!

Design Note: The one jolt of yellow in the beehive honey pot stops the eye and allows you to see all the patterns within the blue and white spectrum. Place your fingers over it and look at the table again--it makes it!

Tommy Mitchell's magnificent tole flowers are liberally scattered throughout the store. I should have been buying 2 a year for the last decade, what was I thinking? Shopping remorse is always a problem. 

My complete addiction to ceramic fruits and vegetables, especially miniatures, is a standing joke in certain circles. Thank you Eva Gordon!! Where have you been all my life?

I would be very well behaved indeed with this limited edition size (100) Herend Fireworks Dragon guarding the wine bottle!!  Sadly, for $3,850.00 I don't think it will come any cheaper, as it looks to be sold out on the Herend website. Maybe I could talk the neighborhood into buying shares in it.....

Might I add...that people who will not walk into high end stores because they are too expensive are MISSING THE BOAT! Sorry for the typographical shouting, but I have never seen such stunning table tops and will return to these images often for inspiration for my own soirees. Well, we haven't made much progress down Worth Avenue, but I could not leave a single vignette out.

More Later!! 

Don't forget to visit our online store 

with over 1,440 selections of 

furniture, lighting and accessories

High Point Market is coming April 5th-10th if you would 

like to schedule a day or afternoon of shopping!

liz@dovecotedecor.com

336-705-1316

Modern History: Antiques, Reproductions, Fine Art

High Point Market starts early this year (April 5-10) and it is time to start researching and planning your trip. A great way to incrementally jumpstart this process is to use High Point Market's: My Planning Tool.  Modern History is a favorite destination for our coterie, and our proximity to High Point makes it a year round reconnoiter. It should be a day 1 stop on your tour. We love to snoop through the warehouse before market to see the treasure that flows from the containers and to cherry pick Modern History's extensive line of fine art by registered artists, not to mention their Paris Flea Market finds!

Antique architectural columns are great solutions for empty corners and this chic Parisian light fixture will enlarge the vocabulary of your possessions and articulate the continuity and style we want our homes to portray. 

As the founder and CEO of Modern History, Michael Beaver translates these finds into meticulous reproductions. Veranda Magazine highlighted Modern History as one of the 12 most venerable furniture design companies and we completely agree as we return to the showroom off-season to learn what he has gleaned from his latest travels.

Growing up in a furniture manufacturing family, Michael has quality, proportion and infallible taste embedded within his DNA.  He is a generous and thoughtful man to interview with an encyclopedic knowledge of art, antiques, vintage....you name it. The best designers have traveled, sifted and constantly explore the world of decorative arts honing their skills. The marriage made in heaven is that Michael Beaver knows how to execute his vision with uncompromising accuracy.

I cannot say how much I enjoy the breadth of this line as we wend our way from the showroom to the antique space where the foundations are revealed.

Before

And.....After

This fine hand painted Italian chest gets its make-over in Vietnam, which is where many of the high-end case goods vendors turn for fine painting, finishing, hand carving, gilding and construction. Traditional lost wax techniques are employed to recreate the authentic hardware completing a piece that shines with integrity. There are subtle nuances to finish and Michael's experience helps him strike just the right chord. Additionally, I find the prices at Modern History to be excellent and even surprising. This is a great resource to share with your design loving friends before market, so give them a tweet....a Like...a pin... to spread the word.  Modern History is located on 430 N. Wrenn Street in High Point and for your day one destination it is good to combine this stop with some of the other vendors  in that neighborhood who have one of a kind items for cash and carry like Halo styles.

If you would like to buy beautiful Modern History Pieces
or arrange a tour of their showroom during market

contact us at Dovecote Decor

336-705-1316