Arts & Antiques
Imperfections, History Desired
Antiques are an open book to the past — and the secret to a spellbinding home.

Every antique has a story.

Take the vaissellier that sits against a wall at Webster House Antiques in the Crossroads Arts District. The polished wooden boards, which now display brightly colored dishes, sag from years of heavy household use. The original metal hardware is worn smooth by the touch of a family’s fingers, and if you look closely, there’s a seam and sets of pegs down the front of the cabinetry where the entire piece was taken apart and, later, put back together.

Unlike brand-new items, most antiques were handmade — not mass-produced — and spent a lifetime in someone’s home before making it to a dealer in the present. They’ve been used and loved, and each marking or imperfection makes up part of their history.

By an antique connoisseur’s definition, it’s the imperfections that make pieces like that vaissellier special, yet some furniture buyers think antiques aren’t worth their price because they’re “flawed,” says Keitha Kaminski, director of Webster House. But she says that someone who really appreciates antiques respects how true a piece is, from its knobs and handles to the feet that keep it off the ground.

“All the bumps and bruises are important to you — you have to like those inconsistencies,” Kaminski says.

And the older the piece is, the more it was used and can still be used, the more it’s worth in the market today. Antique pieces usually cost more than retail, but their craftsmanship and long-term value exceed that of retail pieces by a long shot, Kaminski says.

Rick Bumgardner of Morning Glory Antiques adds that even when buying your first piece, it’s OK to start small, but small doesn’t necessarily mean cheap. “Buy the best initially,” he says. “The low end will always be the low end, but the high end will always escalate in value.” Buying a solid first piece ensures that you can “trade out” or “trade up” as your tastes change or as your eye becomes more refined. With a cheap piece, your best bet down the road may be reselling at a garage sale. Member of the Antique Appraisers Association of America, such as Bumgardner, offer their services — for a fee — to determine an item’s worth, or you can take the time to educate yourself. “When you shop for a car, you should definitely look at two or three places,” he says. The same goes for antiques, especially if a price seems unusually high somewhere. Using the Internet to search eBay or other online auction sites is another good option, but “what something will sell for in New York City is not what something will sell for in Kansas City,” he adds.

Todd Miller, director of Charlecote Antiques in the Crestwood Shops, agrees that education is one of the most important aspects of antique buying. After 25 years in the business, Miller says he’s seen too many good customers tricked by dealers asking high prices for low-quality pieces. The key to avoiding those situations is to keep a good head on your shoulders, to read and do research, and to ask questions of every dealer. If a dealer can’t or won’t answer your questions, “put on your tennis shoes and run away,” he says.

Antiques around town
At 17th and Wyandotte streets in the Crossroads Arts District is Webster House, which was converted from a historic public school building into an elegant antiquing destination and popular lunch and brunch spot (even for non-antique shoppers). Themed rooms on the first floor are packed with furniture, such as the country room, with country-style wooden furniture from Holland, France, England and elsewhere, and the Georgian room, where formal furniture shines by the light of twinkling crystal chandeliers. Many pieces, including the vaissellier, double as display items — “Antiques are usable. We use them as display pieces to show that to people,” Kaminski says. As director, she does much of the buying for Webster House, which involves lots of travel and even more research.

Just a few minutes south of Webster House is the antique district at 45th Street and State Line Road, a quaint West Plaza neighborhood. A small antique mall occupies the north side of 45th Street; customers make their way through the dimly lit, musty stores on footpaths forged between antique pieces that stack to shoulder-high. Seasoned antique enthusiasts and treasure hunters would be most comfortable in these shops. Bumgardner’s store, Morning Glory Antiques (whose sign actually says Earl’s Court), is located in this district at 1703 W. 45th St. Scented candles just inside the door create an inviting aroma, and creaking wooden floors cover the three rooms full of eclectic European antiques — antique French furniture, glassware, art and more. Bumgardner, who has been a collector and dealer for more than 25 years, says the district is a close-knit community. If Morning Glory doesn’t have what a customer is looking for, he says he will often send them to a store that will, such as Christopher Filley Antiques, just a few storefronts down to 45th and Bell streets.

Past the Country Club Plaza and traveling toward Brookside, you might miss the Crestwood Shops if you’re not looking for it. Nestled in a residential area just east of 55th Street and Brookside Boulevard, the Millers’ shop, Charlecote, makes its home here. Charlecote, which has been in business since 1980, and Elva Needles Antiques, are both institutions in the area. Miller boasts his membership on the executive committee of the Art and Antique Dealers League of America, of which Charlecote is the only member in Missouri and one of few in the Midwest. Elva Needles has been in the antique furniture trade for about 40 years and is one of the only dealers left in Kansas City who specializes in American.

Continuing south into Johnson County, the Mission Road Antique Mall, located at 83rd Street and Mission Road, offers more than 50,000 square feet of antiquing heaven. There are 350 vendors in the two-level mall — the site is a historic farm, and some vendors occupy what were once stables in the building. Casey Ward, owner and manager of the mall, says that many antiques malls have trouble finding quality dealers today, but Mission Road has an active waiting list of dealers who want a share of the mall’s success. Carol Barta, a “founding dealer” who has been in her space since 1994, says a mall setting gives customers the advantage. “We have a built-in competition,” she says. “It’s not as though mom and pop sit in a store and say, ‘By golly, I want $150 for that piece and I won’t take anything less,’” she says. The sheer number of vendors make price gouging nearly impossible because a customer can just as easily walk away and find a better price. Many of the dealers are in their booths only a few times a week or to rotate their merchandise, so independent shoppers — and those who can resist the attraction of impulse buying! — would be most comfortable here.

Wherever your antique shopping leads you, Kaminski says to stay open-minded. Even tiny shops in the middle of nowhere carry the occasional diamond in the rough, and it may be just what you’re looking for to complete a room or start a new one. It’s good to ask questions and learn as much as possible to get the best value, but never stop listening for that piece that “speaks to you,” Kaminski says. An antique’s story can continue to write itself long into your future.