A Designer’s Resource Guide to Ulster County

  |  April 3, 2015
Downtown antiques

Downtown Antiques, Accord, NY

As an interior designer and professional shopper, I am often asked the inevitable question. What are your best sources for antiques, floor coverings, draperies, etc.? Recently, while attending the opening reception of the Architectural Digest/DIFFA Dining by Design Event in Manhattan, several fellow designers commented how fortunate I am to live in close proximity to Hudson, NY. Yes indeed, Hudson is a terrific resource. However, I must admit I am rather County Proud, Ulster County Proud! So I thought I would share a few of my to go to Antique/Shopping resources in Ulster County.

Downtown Antiques, Accord, NY
Downtown Antiques is one of those rare shops where every where you turn there is something you either need or did not know you needed. Ron Sharkey, the proprietor, has an incredible eye for Antiques, Urns and Garden Statuary. The price points are incredible. It is a rather not-so-kept secret that Downtown Antiques is a major resource for Manhattan Interior Designers. A typical Sunday finds interior designers from the Architectural Digest 100 List shopping alongside noted Artists and even a few celebrities.

Milne's

Milne’s At Home Antiques, Kingston, Ny

Milne’s At Home Antiques, Kingston, NY
I love converted industrial spaces. Milne’s, located in Kingston Historic District, is housed in a former industrial laundry. Yes, the name Milne’s Antiques might ring a bell. Rebekah Milne, has taken on the family business of her parents James and Judy Milne. Judy Milne’s client list reads like a who’s-who in America. Every one from Barbara Streisand, to Ralph Lauren, to Martha Stewart consider Judy a go-to resource for Weather Vanes, Folk Art, Quilts and Garden Accessories. Rebekah, with her dynamic personality, has taken the family business and raised the bar up a notch. Rebekah is the number one resource for industrial furnishings and hand crafted items in a range of mediums. Zinc tables can be found intermingled with 18th and 19th century furnishings. If gardening is your passion, Rebekah’s collection of Urns, Statuary, Garden Benches and Garden Seating are unparalleled. In addition to offering full Interior Design services, Milne’s has recently expanded their services to include a metal manufacturing facility. Again don’t be surprised if you run into a few celebrities while shopping with Rebekah.

Outdated

Outdated- An Antique Cafe in Kingston, NY

Outdated An Antiques CafeKingston, NY.
What could be better than an Antique Shop that also offers delicious breakfasts and luncheons?Certainly, dining and shopping are a terrific combination. You never know what mid century piece, vintage glass ware, or outstanding taxidermy you might find at Outdated.

Newbury and Company, Saugerties NY
Newberry and Company is an Antiques Gallery located in one of the former Newberry Five Dime Stores, which dotted the American landscape in the 1960’s-80’s. This is one resource I almost hate to divulge. Intermingled between vintage items are an outstanding collection of French, Italian and Russian Antiques. If items from the 19th Century known as “Grand Tour” Antiques are your passion, Newberry’s  is your place. To be frank I have never left Newberry’s without one to five items. The selection and quality of the merchandise is on par with the greatest shops of Madison Avenue.

Time and Materials, Woodstock, NY
Time and Materials is by far one of the areas best resources for lighting. Though smaller in size than the other shops listed, Time and Materials is chock full of lighting. Everything from Italian Bronze Lamps, to Art Deco Wall Sconces, to Mid Century Designer lamps may be found within the walls of time and materials. The inventory is a designers dream.

FRED

FRED, High Falls, NY

FRED, High Falls, NY
A curated shop which offers a wide range of furnishings, gifts, accessories and art work. Similar to Milne’s, FRED offers full range Interior Design Services. In actuality FRED is the brain child of Manhattan Based Interior Designers Charles Farruggio and Michael Van Nort. If you follow my columns you might remember You’ve Got To Meet FRED, where I wrote a full feature on this great shop.

Habitat For Humanity Restore, Woodstock, NY
If thrifting is your game then the Restore is your place. Vintage Goods, Mid-Century Modern pieces, and a few high-end antiques and art may be found within this cavernous space. Bargains and more Bargains are how I would classify the Restore.

Obviously, as one of New York States largest counties, Ulster County has a rather extensive list of Antique Shops, Thrift Stores and Design Resources and these are a just a few of my favorite places.
Field & Barn Sale
I would be remiss if I didn’t list a DO-NOT-MISS Event happening this weekend. The Field and Barn Sale in High Falls New York, orchestrated by the ever talented Ron Sharkey, is held periodically throughout the year and is a practical candy store for Antiques Shoppers. Ron and a collection of his friends transform his recently restored Black Barn and adjacent field into an Antiques Festival. Again the Field and Barn Sales are deadly because I have never left without a Station Wagon packed with Treasures.

Black Barn & Field

Black Barn & Field, High Falls, NY

About Haynes Llewellyn

Haynes Llewellyn, an interior designer, preservationist and accomplished party planner, relocated to the Hudson Valley city of Kingston from Manhattan’s Central Park West neighborhood in 2007. During Haynes’s almost nine years in the Hudson Valley, he has been featured in numerous television, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews. Haynes’s first Kingston restoration project was of a Historic 1840’s Greek Revival home, featured in the recently released Rizzoli Interior Design book Heart and Home: Rooms that Tell Stories by Linda Okeeffe. Haynes has served on a number of boards of directors, event committees and commissions since arriving in the Hudson Valley. Haynes, along with his two Scottish Terrier Rescues and partner Gary Swenson, is currently in the process of renovating his second Kingston home, a 1939 Colonial.

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