When you first begin to contemplate and compare French and English gardens, most Americans are surprised to find that the mass florabunda flower gardens we love are English cottage gardens, while the typical French garden expresses order, symmetry, and formal beauty.

Both styles of gardens can make your heart leap with joy. The French love flowers and to feature them in gardens, but only as one aspect of garden beauty. Louis XIV threatened the life of Le Nortre, the genius landscape designer of Versailles, if he did not include more flowers at Versailles, “Enough of these fountains, green lawns, manicured shrubs and such, where are the flowers? “

Of Urns, Fountains, and Expected Things
Most likely, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the French garden are the magnificent urns and fountains. French urns come in all sizes and many materials including limestone, concrete, marble, iron, and even bronze. They have been a part of the French landscape since before Francis I and have been continually made and adapted to the current style. Urns are currently reproduced all over the world including in France and Italy. Many less expensive French-style urns are produced in the Far East. They have flooded the market, but give a good, inexpensive look to garden corner. They may not be authentically French, but they draw their inspiration and style from France.

The French have always loved to “control” nature. Their gardens emphasize this desire. Fountains are a part of most French gardens. Large, spectacular fountains to small trickling fountains are a natural part of the landscape. There is nothing like the sound of trickling or splashing water. It helps create a garden to remember.

Small Chalk Figures

When examining the French garden accompanying a comfortable country home (but not a chateau), you begin to notice certain things. Yes, there are beautiful flowers and urns, and perhaps a fountain or two, but there are also expansive lawns, bushes, shrubs, flowering trees, and often antiques and old things in the garden as well. In the French garden you find hints of the latent French whimsy. Sitting under a tree or nestled into a shrub you will probably find a gnome, a chalk figure, of an elf – part of the whimsical fantasy of the French garden.

About three years ago we attended a special exhibit in the Château de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, which featured several hundred small French gnome statues. The exhibit, a Paris hit, was widely covered on their television stations. The French love these charming, small, chalk figures.
When in the countryside, you may notice what the French middle class and manor owners have in their small manicured gardens. There are often chalk figures such as an escargot (snail) or a bunny. They are never overdone, always understated as a chalk escargot can possibly be. But there it is!

French Wrought Iron

An element in all French gardens, whether grand orf modest, is wrought ironwork. It might just be a garden gate or an arbor. Iron fencing in France is magnificent and used around cemetery plots, to divide garden areas into “rooms,” to create protected play areas, or confine puppies to quarters. The French love their ironwork and have for a millennium.

Faux Bois
Faux bois (concrete made to look like wood) is a French garden staple. You find faux bois tables and chairs and romantic garden seating, as well as faux bois windmills, doghouses, yard animals, and planters. The variety faux bois applications in the French garden are almost too numerous to list.

Historical Antiquities
Another antique element found in gardens, particularly in the south of France are “historical” antiques, such as elements from the Roman period and occupation and even medieval pieces of buildings such as gargoyles. Once we were in Mirepoix visiting with the sort of the local “dom” who we met through his nephew. We were instructed to call him “uncle,” which we did. After talking with Uncle a couple of hours he said that he wanted to show us something. We followed him into his back garden, which had two garden paths intersecting at a rather smallish water well structure, which Uncle informed us was Roman and had been carved from one piece of marble. Of course, we tried to buy it, but Uncle wouldn’t part with it.

Religious Artifacts
One of the enormous sources for yard ornamentation in France is the cemetery. Differing from America, many French cemeteries do not sell you a plot, they rent you a plot, usually for 50 years. For those 50 years, you can decorate the plot with special, beautiful wrought iron fencing and put incredible iron filigree crosses near the graves. When the rental term ends, your kin can either pay the rental fee again to keep the plot for a longer period of time or decline to do so with grace.

If there are no direct kin or if it is decided, the plot will go back to the cemetery, which is usually tied in and controlled by the local church. In such cases, all ornamentation is removed and sold to fund the cemetery’s maintenance. The bones of the departed are placed in the ossuary and blessed by the local priest. Records of the comings and goings from the cemetery are usually kept by the parish church.

This is the reason such incredible small-scale wrought iron fencing is found in the French gardens along with gorgeous iron crosses. Also, fancy altar rails and gates decorate the the garden as well as the occasional church statue. It all works together rather wonderfully.

Old Exterior Elements Made New

There are several things that were once apart of l8th- and l9th-century buildings that are now being recreated in artistic form for use in the garden as well as on buildings. The prime example is the epi, the spire ornament on the roof peaks of substantial l8th- and l9th-century buildings, especially in Burgundy and Normandy. It is very rare to fine an old, fully intact epi. When found, because of their uniqueness, they are typically kept inside as a fragile architectural treasure to display. One French potter, Jean Diox, has become famous for his modern creations of this old folk art form. His epis are shown throughout France and Europe. They are, in fact, art.

Doix’s Epis are generally deep-brown, glazed pottery and take the form of stylized, whimsical birds, looking much like they did in the l8th century. He also makes a wonderful, historically-correct green glaze for some of his epis.

During the 19h century it became fashionable to have pottery animals, such as cats and squirrels, on the roof or on the side of the house. The most charming example of this is on the roof of the hotel in Honfluer, located behind an old church building. On the roof for more than a hundred years there have been two ceramic cats having a spectacular fight. These ornaments came from the nearby Normandy town of Bavent. Bavent ceramic animals, both old and new, can be seen throughout the small gardens of France.

Small antiques in French gardens are a long-standing tradition. Whether they are placed for a smile, or to make a design statement, they have warm, important places in the jardins of France.

More than 150 of the world’s most-respected antique dealers will assemble in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center for a spectacular 3-day event this September 17, 18, and 19. The antique extravaganza is sponsored by The Houston Antique Dealers Association. HADA, as it is more familiarly dubbed, is one of the oldest antique associations of its kind in the nation. The quality of shows HADA has assembled throughout its long history is legendary within the antique industry, and the upcoming September show promises to be another stand-out exhibition.

Several new events promise to add sizzle to the show. Two lucky attendees will win the trip of a lifetime … and the chance to scout the secret buying sources usually only insiders ever see. The lucky pair will accompany a HADA dealer on an all expenses-paid, antique-buying excursion to London, England.

In another first-time event, shoppers are invited to stop by the design booth and register for a complimentary consultation with a Houston-area interior designer. The weekend after the show, HADA will sponsor and judge a new design competition for the local chapter of American Society of Interior Design – The Best Use of Antiques in Design. As if these exciting events aren’t enough to entice even the most hesitant of first-time antique shoppers to the show, HADA has added an entire booth of antique items with a price tag of $200 or less. New events, educational opportunities, and exceptional exhibitors promise that the September show will be a show to remember.

There are those of us who look forward to HADA shows not just for their new events, but for their commitment to authenticity, integrity, and education. It is good to know that those things haven’t changed. All the new events and dynamic collaborations are lock-stepped with the mission of this not-for-profit association: to educate an expanded audience about the benefits of purchasing antique.

Since 1964, HADA shows have educated antique collectors, inspired decorators and designers, and enticed first-time buyers into the antique arena. Other shows have waxed and waned, and completely disappeared. HADA has not only flourished, but has become a part of the important show circuit that connects quality exhibitors and committed collectors from across the United States – and around the world. Attendees are often amazed to find that the purveyor of the pristine porcelains that caught their eye at a show in Philadelphia, New York, or Paris, might be just across the aisle from their favorite Houston haunt at the next HADA show.

A key to the success of any show is to attract exhibitors of the most extraordinary antiques, and of course, the shoppers who desire those objects. I find myself musing about what it is that draws exhibitors and collectors back to HADA year after year. I am certain one reason they return is the expertise of the vetting team that places their stamp of approval on each item in a HADA show. A dozen professional appraisers from the Houston area systematically vet all HADA shows. Vetting authenticates the claims exhibitors make about the age, provenance and manufacture of the antiques they offer. It is an invaluable facet of any serious antique show, both for the exhibitor and the purchaser.

Before the time restraints of running my own brick-and-mortar shop, managing my online store, and writing about antiques for Texas Home and Living forced me to forego the show circuit, I exhibited in HADA shows. I can attest to, then, what a sense of satisfaction it was when the vetting team authenticated each piece of my American furniture. No matter how sharp your eye for detail, how long you have been in the business, or how much research you have done on a piece – there is nothing like a well-respected, concurring second opinion.

There is no doubt about it, a HADA show is a first-class show. It is a show that educates. It is a show with strong, long-standing alliances. The HADA-sponsored lecture series at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts is always one of the highlights of the winter antique season.

A HADA show is a philanthropic show. It is a show that contributes. PBS, The Heritage Society, the Houston Symphony, the Brookwood Community and the Houston Junior Forum all receive financial support from the Houston Antique Dealers Association.

A HADA show is a big show. It is a show that confuses your sense of directions. Carry a notebook. Mark the location of your favorite dealers, and the objects you desire. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve found a landmark to guide you back to them. Remember, in this maze of beautiful objects everything looks like a landmark.

A HADA show is a friendly show. It is a show that is wheelchair-friendly, stroller-friendly and provides valet parking. It offers food on the premises, provides a carry-out service for large items and there are always plenty of volunteers to answer questions. The icing on the HADA cake is the fact that The George R. Brown Convention Center is conveniently close to fine downtown dining, lodging and nightlife.

When you add everything up, it’s clear why exhibitors and shoppers alike list the HADA show as one of their favorites. A HADA show is always committed to quality, diversity and the authenticity of the antiques they assemble. It always inspires and educates. And this September, it has added some fabulous new events in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Add it up. And it becomes crystal clear why the HADA Fall Show is a show that makes everyone’s short list.

Barbara Crozier, a frequent feature writer for TH&L, owns and operates Laurel Ridge Antiques in Gonzales, Texas, specializing in American furniture of the 19th century. For questions e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The houses in which we live characterize our lives in ways that only the places we call home can. The residences we restore, the rooms we renovate, the dream homes we design and build signal who we are and how we live. In this often perplexing 21st century, Americans are beginning to long to live more simply, to build things better and to be part of something that makes more sense.

In this case, that more sensible something is choosing to make sound environmental building choices. The charming, authentically green, demi-homes that are the signature pieces of Tiny Texas Houses, dramatically characterize the sensibilities of their owners and their builder. And they reflect a growing awareness of the need for environmental responsibility and the vast recycling opportunity of selecting salvaged materials.

When I wrote my first article for Texas Home and Living about a collective green-consciousness growing within the antique industry, Brad Kittel of Discovery Architectural Antiques had already stepped out on a recycled limb. Brad, who with his wife Suzanne, founded one of the largest architectural antique businesses in the Southwest in 1997, had for over a decade been selling individual salvaged elements to builders, designers, and homeowners across the nation. Then in 2006, driven by his Texas-sized appetite to create, Brad began to build houses from the architectural elements he sold. Brad started building Tiny Texas Houses and the landscape along I-10 just north of Gonzales was never the same. And neither was Brad. He became part of the trillion-dollar inventoried, paradigm-changing, construction phenomena of salvage building.

Kittel believes that Tiny Texas Houses are possibly the most purely built-from-salvage structures available in the modern marketplace. Yet while these tiny homes are part and parcel of the remnants of our past, they embrace 21st-century design simplicity and function. Brad is quick to point out how seamlessly the sleek, modern energy-
efficient appliances blend with the gleaming vintage flooring, wainscoting, and fixtures that are staples in a Tiny Texas Home.

These little gems are constructed from some of the finest lumber ever milled. Harvested from the vast, relatively untouched forests of mid-19th century America, it is still unsurpassed in beauty and durability.  That lumber, whether a structural beam, a framing stud, or a piece of tongue and grove flooring is the cornerstone of the building materials in a Tiny Texas House.

If 19th-century salvaged lumber is the staple of a Tiny Texas Home, it is the staggering array of recycled decorative resources to which Kittel has ready access that is the spice. The beauty, and sometimes quirkiness, of their decorative elements separate these tiny custom-designed castles from their cookie-cutter competitors, and gives them a plus-sized personality. These houses, some as tiny as 200 square feet, are unique designs. They are, as often as not, shaped by their daring decorative choices. The entire design of a Tiny Texas House can start with the discovery of a single piece of salvage … a piece that might have been discarded, overlooked, or abandoned for decades.

Consider the simple weathervane/vent that sat perched on the side of the drive into the Tiny Texas Houses lot. Tomorrow the perfect proportions of its salvaged silhouette might determine the height and style of the roof on a custom studio of a home. It could determine the type of roofing materials, and influence how the new home will be positioned on the land.  That’s not a bad future for a piece of salvage only recently rescued from a distant ditch.

It’s no coincidence that a Kittel tiny house nearly always uses fine 19th century hardware and decorative elements. The vast inventory of glistening doorknobs and backplates, hinges and cabinet hardware, transom tracks, window locks and weather vanes amassed by Brad and Suzanne at Discovery Architectural Antiques, is a proverbial treasure chest of inspiration for Kittel and his clients.

Brad’s desire to give new life to thousands of pieces of salvaged beauty fueled a thriving new business, and created a new set of challenges. Before starting Tiny Texas Houses, when Brad helped a client select the perfect front door, he knew just which salvaged hinges they should use to hang it. But the first time he helped them select 100-year-old siding for the home he would build for them, he discovered they wanted paint not only appropriate in its look, but compatible with a healthy environment. He found that the flooring he was about install needed finishes that not only capture the depth of the wood graining, but would endure the test of time without damaging the environment. Brad started a systematic search for the perfect paints and finishes, and he found centuries-old solutions. He rediscovered linseed-oil products, milk-based paints, and tung-oil finishes. Allback, a Swedish company whose exterior paints he now uses exclusively, produces high-quality linseed-oil paint in the same manner it has been produced for hundreds of years. With a simple application of pure linseed oil once every 8-10 years, two properly applied coats of this linseed-oil paint can last up to 50 years. Linseed-oil paints hold up heroically in extreme heat and cold, and don’t emit the environmentally dangerous VOCS of modern petroleum-based paints.

He discovered that old-fashioned, milk-based paint creates the soft, luminescent finish modern homeowners want in their interior spaces. This old favorite still makes the most sense, offers the widest color selection and leaves the least effect on the environment. Now the interiors of all Tiny Texas Houses glisten with water soluble, milk-based paint of The Real Milk Paint Company.

So … we come to the pressing question: how much does all of this modern technology, these conscientious environmental choices, and so many great salvage selections cost? A Tiny Texas House, complete with the best lumber in the world, the finest hardware ever manufactured, the most environmentally friendly paints and finishes, costs roughly $200 per square foot. Kittel concedes that is substantially higher that the average modern construction, but when you consider how long it will be before you will have to repaint, or replace a porch, or re-roof – the cost difference diminishes quickly. Brad believes that if you calculate the enormous cash outlay spent on treating chemical-related health problems, the gap evaporates completely.

While Brad’s building passion has grown into a thriving, environmentally-conscious, salvage-building business, this one-man, one-piece-at-a-time process is far too modest for Brad’s vision. Kittel envisions operations much like Tiny Texas Houses across the United States, employing thousands of salvage miners, restorers, and environmentally-conscious builders. He believes that if you started a tiny house operation every 300 or so miles, you could capture the very essence of the move to regionalize consumer consumption. And you would protect those regional peculiarities that make architecture distinct, engaging, and sensible.

Regionalizing salvage-building operations could employ thousands in areas hardest hit by the rural flight of the 1950s and urban blight of the 1960s, where today, some of the richest salvage opportunities abound. Regionalization would recycle trillions of dollars of traditional building materials, and save millions of gallons of fossil-based fuel in the process. It is most certainly a win-win approach to building.

Brad’s enormous enthusiasm for building something better is completely contagious. Tiny Texas Houses, an operation that now builds dozens of houses each year, hums with energy. The song of its saws and clang of its hammers amplifies Brad’s enthusiasm. I felt a little like Snow White watching as these guys whistled while they worked – and worked hard at the hard work they clearly love. Brad characterizes the palpable energy that drives his operation as the excitement of change. Kittel and his crew of salvage miners and Tiny Texas House builders are busy changing the accepted paradigm of what we build, what we build it with, and how we build it.

This is the third in a series of articles about the green aspect of buying “antique” that Barbara Crozier of Laurel Ridge American Antiques in Gonzales, Texas has written for Texas Home and Living. Her other articles explore the benefits of  going green with antiques; whether it is the fine 19th century furniture in which she specializes or the great recycled hardwoods and hardware one finds around the corner from Laurel Ridge at Discovery Architectural Antiques.

Photo: Nineteenth-century French desk with French chairs covered in cow hide.

Photography by Don Hoffman

The word antique often means varying things to different people. As an antique dealer, I like to think antique means tradition, style, beauty, and quality. I was dismayed one day, however, when a man walked into my showroom and informed me he was there only because his wife dragged him in. He told me he had always hated antiques. For him, the word conjured images of his grandmother’s attic stocked with musty, dusty furniture that fell apart. Determined to change his mind, I walked him though my shop, pointing out my favorite pieces and telling him the stories and history behind each. Explaining the background and uniqueness of each piece was all it took to change his perspective. Today he is one of my best customers. Now, when this man admires an antique saying things like, “look at that carving” or “this patina is really beautiful,” his wife delights at his artistic awakening. She no longer has to drag him along on her quests for treasures; he has become a willing participant in finding the perfect antique or piece of art for their home.