Bygones on Broadway

It took ten years of marriage and six moves for my husband and I to finally furnish a place that we could call home.

We started with the standard newlywed furniture. A white couch from his parents, tables from The Bombay Company, a bed from my childhood, and various items from Ikea to fill in the blanks.

All this time, we watched HGTV, gathered ideas, and tried to define our style. When we moved into our permnent home, we were ready to get to work.

We knew that we wanted our home to reflect our love of Texas, while being tasteful. Texas decor can definitely be over the top.

I drove all over San Antonio, kids in tow, waiting to be inspired.

Inspiration struck at an unusual store called Anteks on San Pedro. They were going out of business, and were advertising big sales.

Wandering around rustic wood pieces and wrought iron accessories, I found it - a round, five-foot diameter ottoman in various patterns of authentic longhorn hide. It was stunning. A definite conversation piece.

Rob loved it as much as I did, and we made the unthinkable splurge on this item with which we would build our whole  Living Room/Dining Room around.

The ottoman set back our furniture budget, and sat alone - literally alone, in the large room for about a year.  But boy, was it that conversation piece!  Everyone that came in loved it, and it became the place that I would sit and visit with friends since the only other choice was, well, the floor.

The ottoman sparked many nice chats, so it got me to thinking - why not fill the room with conversation pieces?  I think that in the world of interior design, this technically means having a piece that stands out among the rest, and to overdo it would be gaudy.  I didn't want to go in that direction, but I wanted every piece to be well-thought out.

Our second piece was inspired by a table at StoneWerks in Stone Oak.  I go to dinner once a month with six other friends, and with the size of our group, conversations often get split between the sides of the table.  But, at StoneWerks, we were seated at a square table.  Everyone could see each other easily, and it allowed the conversation to be more unified.

Could I reproduce this effect?

I looked high and low for a square table, but I could never find out.  Rectangles, ovals and circles had the corner on the table market.  A circle would have served the same purpose, but it wouldn't have fit in with my desire to do something unique.

I finally found a table that I liked at Monterrey Furniture.  Rustic Mexican pine, very sturdy legs - it was great.  And, it was a rectangle.  They often advertised their ability to make custom furniture, so I asked them if they could take that table and make it into a square.  No problem.

Several weeks later, I had my massive square table in my Dining Room.  It fit like a glove.  And for these years since, it has been as much a conversation piece as the ottoman.

We filled in here and there - a red couch and red slipper chairs, a trunk as a coffee table, a sisal rug to pull it together, and a Pottery Barn chandelier that made it look like there were candles flickering above our heads.  All of the pieces have been received a lot of comments.  Another favorite is a wall of pictures that I have, which I first saw on an episode of "Divine Design" with Candace Olsen.  They were perfectly hung (I cheated with a template!), and filled with family photos that I had ordrered in a sepia tone.  Click here to see the frame display.

I was excited that this major area of our home was finally coming together.

But, there was one gaping, empty spot.

The dining room table hadn't taken up all of the space, and I knew that a sideboard would be the perfect addition.  Again, I looked high and low., but I only found mass-produced items that wouldn't work with my ecletic theme.

And then, I walked into Bygones on Broadway.

Owned by a mother and daughter, Bygones (now also with a location in Castle Hills) is a furniture consignment store with the highest of standards.  Located near Alamo Heights, it attracts customers with unique pieces of good quality.

I had been before, but usually just to browse, without a particular piece in mind.  I was getting desperate in my search for a sideboard, though, and decided to try it out.

As soon as I walked in, it was there, as if it were waiting for me.  Just the right length, just the right height.  Dark wood to contrast with my light pine table.  Panels on the doors, distressed and tastefully touched with a brush of turquoise. 

I was in love.

My mother-in-law was with us, and saw the possibilities for it as well.  But, I didnt want to buy the piece without Rob having seen it.  It wasn't cheap, but it was perfect.  What would he say?

For a few days, I tried to get him to go to the store with me, but it didn't work out.  I got really worried that it would be gone.  Being a one-of-a-kind kind of piece, I knew that I would never find it again, and that nothing else would work in that space as well as it did.

Mother-in-law to the rescue!  She saw my anguish and decided to make things easy - she would get it for us as a Christmas present!  I was so happy!  I called the store immediately, and a few days later, it was sitting in our home.  Rob loved it and agreed that it was the ideal piece for the space.

Now, our home is fully furnished, but I still stop into the two Bygones locations frequently.  If you love interior design, it is a haven away from the cookie-cutter stores.  It is a spark for your imagination as you look around and piece rooms together in your head.  Now that my mother-in-law has moved to San Antonio, she also drank the Bygones Kool-Aid, and has begun furnishining her house almost exclusively from it. 

She's not quite done, though, so I see more shopping expeditions in our future.  I will just have to sacrifice myself and go with her.  So she won't be lonely.  Yes, that's right.

Note:  For more of a flea-market feel in the world of consignment, try the nearby store, Off My Rocker, located off of Olmos Circle.

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Bygones on Broadway
3615 Broadway
San Antonio, TX 78209
210-828-1424

Bygones of Castle Hills
2211 NW Military Highway #107
San Antonio, TX 78213
210-348-1919