British Invasion: Pillar & Post

Happy New Year! Alas, the holidays, multiple deadlines, and illness running through the family put up obstacles to this post, which I meant to write before Christmas, but it’s no less relevant now—and even more so—as we all make resolutions to contemplate how we can make our homes more beautiful in 2018.

I spent a delightful afternoon last month with Daphna Peled and her mother, Judith, at the Book Hill store they run together, Pillar & Post.

Daphna is a recovering lobbyist whose parents lived in England for 15 years. On her many trips to visit them each year, she fell in love with English antiques. Since last June, she’s been displaying her finds—along with some lovely French pieces, modern artwork by mostly British artists, and American lighting—at Pillar & Post. She’s already made several trips back to Britain and Europe to continue the hunt. Now that her parents are back stateside, Judith helps run the business.

“There was a long time when brown furniture was considered ‘out,’ but now it’s coming back,” Daphna says. Especially when it’s mixed in with other elements, such as this amazing blue-mesh chandelier:

 

I also love how this modern still life mixes in with the antique below it:

 

I’m obsessed with this antique, circa-1890 French herbier, which was originally used in a herbalist or pharmacist shop to store herbs and plants:

 

 

More “brown furniture” that would make your space shine:

 

 

 

Daphna also stocks current British brands that aren’t available anywhere else in the United States, such as:

Daylesford:

 

India Jane:

 

Burleigh Pottery:

 

and Dartington Crystal:

 

Once this awful cold snap breaks (I hear by next week), take a stroll up Wisconsin Avenue from Georgetown to the shops and galleries of Book Hill and stop in—you won’t be sorry!