Out & About - Flea Markets & Antiques Fairs

Decorating 19th century style

By: Kateri Lanthier

Photography by: Robin Stubbert

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Decorating 19th century style

Image at left: In the master bedroom, a tiger maple canopy bed from New England holds pride of place.

Celebrities get comfy
While the teaching instinct remains, she is also savvy in business, advertising in Time magazine and often shipping to the U.S.

Stief even rents to film companies on occasion. "Bette Midler slept in the canopy bed in That Old Feeling, and Alan Alda, playing the U.S. president, slept in the mahogany spare room bed."

It sounds grand, but she takes a breezy approach. "Sometimes clients want the pieces I have in the house.

It really keeps my business hopping. And I do like to move things around at home - it's not all tried and true."

Image at left: Stief converted a bedroom to a bathroom, adding a charming vintage clawfoot tub. The towel rack is actually an old kitchen dish-towel rack converted for bathroom use; towels dry quickly on it.

Keeping the past alive

century Stief's preference for 18th- and 19th-century furniture is reflected in the carefully chosen pieces that fill her rooms.

"My tastes have shifted a lot. Now I like a blend of English and French country - soft corals, peaches and celadons, along with florals.

All our antique and vintage rugs go with those colours. And all the chairs and couches are comfortable."

She and her husband, John McLachlan, enjoy using their antiques. "When we entertain, we set the table with the porcelain, the sterling, the whole bit."

The original inhabitants would no doubt be delighted to see their home lovingly restored and furnished. As it is, their descendents have a fine view of the restored house from across the country road. And despite all the work since 1968, Stief still has many plans.

While her husband rescues and restores antique buildings outside, Stief's furniture collection grows and restoration work continues. Baseboard still needs to be painted, walls need finishing touches, and her garden - filled with heritage varieties of flowers, no less - is an ongoing project.

"Restoration takes a lifetime," she muses.