MARRIAGE OF TRUE FINDS - by Robin Amster
For Jeffrey Kracht of JK Interiors, LLC in Clifton, "scale, color, and
proportion" are the elements that will determine whether an antique fits in or
doesn't. "You wouldn't want to place an eight-foot-high hutch next to a small
piece, for instance," says Kracht. "These factors are more important in terms of
how pieces blend than thinking, 'Oh, this piece is from 1780, so I need
something of the same style and era.'"
Function, too, can be a factor, he adds. "What will the
antique do for you? Is it just a beautiful piece, or does it have to perform a
function as well?" he asks. "Antiques made to be something at the time they were
created can often be put to to a different use now. You can take an old desk,
for example, and use it as a console table behind a sofa, or use the cubbies of
an old apothecary cabinet for holding keys, photos or other items. You have to
be careful, though. It's one thing to adapt something, but another to try and
take a petite little table and make it function as a cocktail table."
Issues involving both function and style come into play when
contemplating decorating an entire room in antiques from the same period, Kracht
notes. "I'm not sure that would work with today's lifestyles because these
antiques are from a different age; they're not designed for our needs," he says.
"And in terms of style, you don't want to walk into a room and feel like you're
walking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art."
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"History and permanence" are key to the lure of antiques,
especially in newer construction, agrees Kracht. "It's wonderful just to know
that certain things have lasted more than 100 years, versus, say, a computer you
buy today that's obsolete within a year or two. There's a quality,
craftsmanship, and attention to detail with antiques that's very difficult to
find today," he says.
Antiques passed on to family members add yet another
dimension for their emotional value and for the link they provide with one's
past, says Kracht. "But even antiques you've acquired on your own are special as
something you can hand down through your own family."
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