The Quest for Unique Accents

Photo by Bob Greenspan for the Gerson Companies

A. The minute I signed the lease on my first apartment, I began my quest to fill my home with fabulous antique accents. To stretch my meager paycheck farther, I first tried to plunder my parents' home for family pieces they no longer wanted. I'd shamelessly sweet-talk my mom out of dishes and vases.

But pretty soon, my dad was on to me. When I'd pull up for a weekend visit, he'd yell to my mom, "Mary Lou, Mary Carol's home — start tying everything down!" I think he was sore because on one visit, I almost outwitted him when I secretly made off with this amazing iron coat rack he'd discovered in a historic building he purchased. When Dad spied the coat rack in my backseat, he stole it back from me.

Thus began one of our favorite games. Every time I'd visit, I'd try to steal the coat rack without him noticing, then when he came to my place, he's silently take it back.

My parents' house isn't the only place I found great stuff. I've been over the moon about antique malls for decades. I have spent many a Sunday afternoon haunting these musty shops, scouting for a steal. Back then you could still find bargains on vintage collectibles.

But no more. To my dismay, the prices on some of my favorite collectibles have shot through the roof. With each year, I get more discouraged as I antique, because now many of the pieces I cherish are so expensive, they are out of reach for the average collector.

As antique stores got pricier, I started to hunt for antique reproductions at the home interiors markets I attend on buying trips for my stores. I really wanted to offer the timeless treasures I adore, like wood boxes, trays and candelabra, to customers who, like me, have a sentimental spot for classic pieces.

But again, I was sadly disappointed. If I found the quality I demanded, the price was way too high. And pieces that were affordably priced didn't meet my standard for excellence. Year after year, I'd come home from market totally bummed out.

That's when I decided to act on the adage, "If you want something done, do it yourself." So I worked with a team of designers and the Gerson Companies to develop a signature line of home interior accents. My goal with the Mary Carol Home Collection was to create a group of affordable, timeless pieces you can use forever in your decorating and entertaining.

Many of the items in the collection are reproductions of my favorite antique store finds, like the porcelain and wooden boxes I've collected through the years. Others are copies of my family heirlooms, like group of serving trays that sport the same grape leaf pattern on the silver my mother-in-law, Mimi, passed down to me.

The line is also full of the building blocks I use in my everyday decorating and entertaining. These design foot soldiers, like hand-painted trays, ornate candlesticks, glass jars, willow trunk baskets and tiered plate stands, are a key component of the Nell Hill's look.

Since I'm a dish-a-holic, I also worked with the design team to come up with both original dishware and reproduction china. We came up with some original salad plates decorated with motifs like birds, bees and flowers that people could use to pep up their basic white dishes. And for formal occasions, we copied my treasured gold-banded china. The remakes look like the real thing, but are so inexpensive, you won't die a thousand deaths if you accidentally break a plate.

Even though I now rely on my new line to meet most of my home accent needs, I still can't keep myself out of flea markets and antique stores, continuing my quest to find one-of-a-kind pieces. Good luck on your own journey!

Written in collaboration with journalist Micki Chestnut.