Auburn’s Classic Farmhouse offers new ideas with all things antique
Published 5:06 pm Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Raised in a 1910 home that was always in process, Auburn’s Katy Selden learned early on to appreciate old things. She is convinced her parents met at a garage sale.
Among her first collectibles were paper dolls as a little girl. She soon began to gather decorative items as a teenager.
“I like the uniqueness, the personality,” Selden said of all things antique.
Selden always has been practical with her money, thrifty with her finds and creative and expressive with her ideas. Her passion for art, interior design and repurposing old things has grown from a hobby into a small business. Her first foray into entrepreneurship took root when she opened the Classic Farmhouse, which specializes in an eclectic mix of vintage, antique and repurposed furniture and home decor.
“It’s a gutsy move,” Selden said of her busy shop tucked inside the Sunbreak Café. “I didn’t think I would actually be doing it, but the opening came up and it worked out.
“It’s been fabulous, better than what I had anticipated.”
One look into Selden’s store and the customer is immediately sent back in time. Customers can shop and find all sorts of fun and inspiring, rural-type things with farmhouse flair.
The inventory constantly shifts, shuffles and takes on seasonal personalities. The store offers antique furniture of all shapes and sizes, kitchen ware, games, clocks, lamps and toys. There is a vintage double wash basin, a perfectly rusty rolling bar cart, Dunning-hand carved children’s lamps and a set of white milk glass vases with a beehive-style base.
Selden’s growing clientele matches her suppliers.
“The more I do it, the more people come to me. It’s all about the connections,” said Selden, who grew up in Auburn. “I’m always changing things, always doing seasonal trends. I like to keep it fresh … always rearranging.”
Selden stays active in the antique community, attending many flea markets, antique sales and handmade marketplaces in the Pacific Northwest. Those events bring more ideas and greater possibilities.
Selden appreciates old things and how they bring life, warmth and an inviting, comfortable feeling to a specific room or place.
“Antiques give a home character and a story,” she said.
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We’re open
• Business: Classic Farmhouse
• Location: 22 A St. SW, Auburn (inside the Sunbreak Café
• Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, Friday; 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday. Extended hours planned for the fall.
• Specializing: Eclectic mix of vintage, antique and repurposed furniture and home decor
• Information: www.theclassicfarmhouse.com. For decorative gift ideas, recipes and other trends, read Katy Seldeon’s blog.
