Our misadventures at Round Top. Part 1: Favorite shopping spots and food stops.

What do you get when you cross a needle point mannequin, a giant concrete squirrel, and a beautiful antique French Étagère? Well, you get the coolest shopping trip this side of the Atlantic.  Antiques week or “Round Top” is a GINORMOUS , antique, craft, furniture, jewelry, everything market that takes place at a midpoint between Houston and Austin twice a year. Here in West Texas they simply call it “Round Top” (which let me add is deceiving). That leads you to believe that it is just one neat and tidy shopping venue. Nope. It’s 8 plus towns, almost 90 shows, and literally thousands of dealers and vendors from all over the world. AND it lasts almost 3 weeks, not one. Now, The Original Round Top Antiques Fair was held approximately 50 years ago in the actual town of Round Top with its famous population of “90”. But that was then and oh how it’s grown.

There is no way one person can possibly cover everything that is at Antiques week if they tried. I was shopping for a few specific clients so I tried to stay on track of where I needed to shop. But because of the enormousness of it all, it’s easy to get side tracked. So I will cover just a few of our favorite spots from each of my four days on the trip… and a few tidbits Blaire gleaned after I had to depart. I will also cover our fav food spots and nicest restrooms (because well they are really important when you are guzzling water out there).
 Be on the look out for Part 2 where I will share our top 10 tips and tricks for making your trip awesome plus I will share a personal story about  my colossal box truck debacle that took place the last day.  Oy Vey. And just for fun, Part 3, The oddities of Round Top- a picture story. Basically the Ripley's Believe It or Not of Antiques Week. 

Day  1, Thursday-

Before we even headed to our rental house, Blaire (who owns Roost and Co., a boutique rental company out of Corpus Christi Texas) and I headed right into Warrenton to start shopping. It was not crowded at all and super easy to navigate.

        Recycling The Past on the outskirts of Warrenton-  You will know it by the plane parked next to the entrance. (They also have a tent at EX-CESS another show further into town) It is architectural salvage on steroids. Doors, windows, and everything in between is either in the 12,000 sqft. building or around it. It’s like a museum. But better. Cuz you can touch EVERYTHING!!!  And bonus the guys there were so dang helpful. Dave, Terry and Nigel gave us a guided tour with fun facts, then gave me a great price on a salvaged window, loaded it for us, let us park one of the vehicles on their property for the day, AND THEN Dave drove into town so we could follow him to their recommended favorites. ** BTW. This same company sells to Rejuvenation and Restoration Hardware by the truck load, so they gots the goods.

This is the WWII Plane at the entrance. They let
you climb inside!

This mirror was made from
metal that was salvaged
from old skyscraper windows.

Salvaged windows.

Salvaged concrete corbels.

   Sleepy Hollow Antiques  at Northgate Field in Warrenton- At the front of Northgate Field lay this little gem. So many beautiful things. It is carefully chosen imports from 5 countries. They have doors, tables, pedestals and other home goods at whole sale pricing. Terry was awesome sauce. He and his wife grew this business from their early days of dumpster diving. And Bruce will kindly help you load it all up! Bonus, if they like ya they offer you a beer. J I prefer wine but it’s the thought that counts. 

So many beautiful doors

      

Natural wall art

Corbels on corbels on corbels

 Day 2, Friday-

                So we tried a different approach today and decided to start in Round Top and work our way back towards Warrenton. Traffic was definitely picking up. And the lack of restrooms was becoming evident.

         Paul Michael Company at Market Hill in Round Top- Oh my sweet heaven. If I could just move in, I would. I'm not sure there was one thing there I did not love. It is the sweetest collection of furniture and home décor I have seen in a long while. Its cottage, transitional, modern farmhouse, industrial, and a bit contemporary all rolled into one. AND I LOVE IT!!!!!! Lucia was beyond amazing and their prices were exceptional. It’s a must see and I am a forever client. Can’t wait to see them in Canton!

It would take days to caption everything I love. But those reclaimed furniture legs
turned into candlesticks are pretty fabulous.

The vignettes at Paul Michael offer lots of design inspo.

This table though....

 

     German Favorite Antiques at EX-CESS II In Warrenton- Hello sweet Lothar Greiner! Totally our new BFF. He is located in the back of EX-CESS II. On top of tons of amazing vintage and antique pieces Lothar also has the BEST price on German Biergarten tables and folding chairs. And they are darling. And with Blaire being in the rental business they were a huge score for her. And he is very willing to negotiate. I left with one of my favorite pieces, which was a vintage white washed planter with gingerbread molding. LOVE!

**Sadly the pictures that I took here were deleted on my phone, but Lothar has an awesome collection of unique German furniture and accents. 

Day 3, Saturday-

                Where did all these people come from? So on Saturday I think we walked almost 20,000 steps according to Blaires Fitbit. My calves still burn.

 John McClellan- Auctioneer at Blue Hills Antique show In Round Top/ Carmine- So John and his lovely family hail from San Marcos Texas. They are set up towards the middle of Blue Hills filled with new furniture, vintage and antique furniture and some SUPER fun home accents. On top of their friendly personalities they also have the best pricing in their market. We walked away with some awesome steals on some transitional and farmhouse pieces. We will be repeat customers.

Pendant lighting

 

 

Adorable metal baskets

      

Wood trays at an amazing price

French Blue Antiques at Blue Hills-  Graceful and breathtaking is the best way to describe this beautiful collection. Atlanta Georgia is the permanent home for French Bleu but we count ourselves lucky to have them come to Texas. I have many clients who love old world and French antiques and the curators at French Bleu know their stuff. You would be missing out if you did not stop in. Follow them @frenchbleuantiques on instagram to see their wares.

I am still dreaming about the barley twist farm house table.

This wardrobe was possible my favorite piece
furniture the entire week.

    French Laundry Home at Blue Hills- Pillows, linens, and darling décor. All the way from High Point (my stomping ground) comes this darling shop. There is so much cottage cuteness I can’t stand it. And just try to leave with less than 10 pillows. The prices are ah-maz-ing. See for yourself:   www.frenchlaundryhome.com

All of the pillows here are beautiful, well made
and so affordable. 

Simply love them all.

           

Day 4, Sunday-

                Last day. So much more to see, so little time. So we were between both Round Top and Warrenton. The smaller towns like Burton and Carmine, alas we did not make it to. But next year for sure!

Maison Sud at Old Henry Farm Antique Show in Round Top-  They also have a space in EX-CESS II. This is a collection of new French inspired furniture with a few antiques mixed in. It is probably in my top 3 places to shop. First of all Sergio and his lovely bride Jennifer (hope I spelled it right) were the kindest people ever. BTW Jennifer also crafts beautiful jewelry. We just loved them. And there furniture and décor was exquisite and priced at whole sale. Blaire found some amazing things and I will be making a client list the next time I go. I Consider them friends and cannot wait to shop with them next spring.

       Leftovers at Market Hill in Roundtop- They also have a permanent location in Brenham, TX. Another absolute favorite of mine. They have a unique mix of antiques, bedding and home décor. I could purchase something for just about any of my clients from this little wonderland. It is truly just a happy place. 

Hello cuties!

Look at this huge gorgeous bench.

Manos De Sur at The Compound in Round Top- So this was not a client stop. Hehehe. It was a stop for me. The owner Alan has a heart to help others and I absolutely loved visiting with him. I ended up treating myself to a few beautiful pairs of buffalo horn earrings and a fedora from South America. He has beautiful Fair Trade products that help enrich the lives of others.   www.manosdesur.com

The Fair Trade buffalo horn earrings are breathtaking. They have
so much depth and they are super light weight.

Last but not least......

 Favorite food stops:

Because you have to eat, so eat good.... 

1. Royers Roundtop Café. 105 Main Street, Round Top, TX 78954. 

So we pretty much LOVED everything we ate there. The mashed potatoes could be in the top five best foods I have ever eaten. Blaire also raved about their shrimp and grits. And don’t miss the pie. They are famous for their pie,

2. Teagues Tavern. 105 North Live Oak Street, Round Top, Texas.                                                 Apparently this is a new restaurant so they are still working out the kinks. They were out of chicken, coleslaw, queso, and butter. And our waiter forgot our silverware and drinks. But they get included in this list because… BACON JAM!!! It is pretty life changing and I am not even a huge bacon eater.

3. United Methodist Men of La Grange BBQ at Blue Hills. These are just the friendliest people ever! They have amazing chicken salad and a light  BBQ chicken wrap that just melts in your mouth. And the coconut cream pie was yum!

Nicest Restrooms:

       This might seem like a preoccupation but....

  1.  The Compound in Round Top.

   2.  Blue Hills in Round Top.

3.  The Blue tent behind EX-CESS in Warrenton.

  Well ya'll, I hope you learned a little bit from our journey. There are something like one hundred thousand people who make the trip to Antiques Week and they all leave with their own tales to tell. I highly encourage you to plan a trip so that you can write a story of your own. 

                                                                                                       Big Southern Hugs,

                                                                                                                     -BB