Architectural Antiques & Design, where history meets creativity
by Joan Perry | Contributing Writer
A jumble of mysterious antique furniture and accessories, three hundred doors, piazza spindles, decorative iron bits and pieces, rich fabric samples, old records, random dusty china and a bucket with one last lucky rusty horseshoe. The overgrown garden in the back is my happy place. It feels like a mad hatter tea party location with stone birdbaths, pillars and iron work.
I love this place, and Architectural Antiques & Design at 1011A St. Andrews Blvd. is within walking distance of my home.
A hop, skip and jump down the West Ashley Bikeway, turn left – you know, next to where the old Hokus Pokus was.
My ship hasn’t come in yet, so I can’t buy the authentic Philip Simmons ironwork, or the doors from the Middleton Pinckney House Ballroom circa 1796, but every visit I latch on to an item I didn’t know I needed. The miniature furniture sample cabinets I visit regularly I don’t need, but I’d miss them if anyone bought them. I sneak pictures in the garden to post on Facebook and friends spy something they buy. Arlen went for the cat/butterfly lamps and Holly found a stone figure for her garden.
Owners Jeffrey McKinney and Randall Grussing arrived in Charleston by way of Chicago forty years ago. They came with a wealth of experience in buying, advertising and in high end furniture and fashion businesses. They were at a point in time when some of the stores they dealt with were closing, and of reassessing business changes and life choices. Randall was able to work remotely, allowing them to move to Charleston.
Friends of the former owner, Jeffrey and Randall had co-hosted her 60th birthday party right before she unexpectedly passed away in 2009. They were still in shock, as the store was put up for sale and the contents were in a final liquidation sale. An auctioneer friend clued them into the situation and with three days to decide, they made the sudden decision to buy the business.
They had their hands full. They hit the ground running, cleaning, organizing and painting. Feral cats from the swamp behind the property had accessed the building. They knew the business, but had to learn how to run it, do inventory and stock. Randall described finding thirty five gallon drums of Victorian tile. They dumped them out on tarps to sort and clean.
One resident cat did endure. Brad the Tuxedo cat is in many of my pictures, posing draped gracefully over the antiques. I was heart sick one day when I saw the “Closed for Medical Emergency,” sign on the door. Brad passed away in October at the age of 17.
Almost everything is locally sourced, except for a few chandeliers and rugs. “We have good working relationships with local contractors. As they renovate historic lowcountry properties, they notify us about items that can be salvaged and repurposed. In Charleston, someone needs exactly that vintage spindle or door. These pieces have stories to tell.”
For three years Jeffrey and Randall hosted a local television show called Hidden Treasures. After the first episode aired, they arrived at work to find customers waiting at the door and local stores wanted to advertise.
I asked about the little room crammed with fabric samples and rolls. They special order fine fabrics at 35 percent over wholesale, and have bolt goods priced well under wholesale. There are affordable sample sizes perfect for small upholstery projects, chair seats, purses and designer pillow fronts.
I always visit the jumble of a garden filled with vintage urns, statuary, plaques and fountains, and buy the occasional affordable treasure. The company they work with is able to reproduce antique pieces in cast stone. Watch your step. Don’t wear heels!
A fun bit of information is their working relationship with the film industry. Randall rhymed off popular movies and television series from Army Wives, Cold Mountain, Mr. Mercedes, Outer Banks and Righteous Gemstones that either purchased or rented items from the shop.
For more information visit: architecturalantiquesanddesign.com. Customers enjoy posting images on social media so look them up on Instagram at @aadcharleston.
Stay healthy, my friends and wave at me as I wander. Send ideas for upcoming columns to: westashleywanderer@gmail.com.
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