A Somerset antiques dealer has not only been catching the eye of fellow antique dealers but is now feted by several A-list architectural and interior designers who cross the world to visit Rebecca Christie-Miller’s showroom near Bruton. What makes Rebecca’s style stand out is her intuitive eye for the antique designs decorators might be after but also because she seeks to source new to the market pieces that have been in the same family for generations. So it was high time the blog paid Ralfes’ Yard Antiques a visit…
The journey west to Somerset
I wasn’t exactly travelling from California like one of Rebecca’s most recent interior design clients but I was looking forward to the journey from Reading to Somerset.
When you finally get on to the A303, the light lifts from the cocooning forests of Berkshire. Expansive skies with billowing cloudscapes open out over the fields of Somerset countryside reminding me a little of Erin Spencer, a US artist whose cloudscape paintings I admire. Even with work journeys, the gear changes by default to holiday mode and the mesmerising sight of Stonehenge never fails to astonish.
The last time I went to Somerset was to visit The Newt and the art gallery Hauser and Wirth (both must-sees and not far from Ralfes’ Yard Antiques in Upton Noble) but I ran out of time then and couldn’t visit Ralfes’ Yard. So it was wonderful to have the opportunity to finally meet Rebecca and to see the business, which is much larger than I had anticipated.
It was lovely too to sit in Rebecca’s kitchen discussing all things antiques! There are always so many different antiques stories to tell but Rebecca thinks that after the 1980s when they were last popular, that linen presses are growing again in popularity. They always look beautiful in a room and offer great storage.
Both engagingly knowledgeable and passionate about antiques Rebecca became a member of the LAPADA (Association of Art and Antiques Dealers) early on just after she started the business. Prior to this, Rebecca ran a successful restaurant business in Bruton.
Rebecca and Johnny’s own home is full of interesting paintings, curtains and furniture from previous generations so the language of antiques is very much in their family DNA.
Antiques mentor
Spencer Swaffer is one of the people who has been a huge inspiration and mentor to Rebecca. “I love Spencer’s eye for collections and how he displays them in his shop in Arundel,” says Rebecca.
Location
The showroom and backroom operation of supplying antiques takes place in Rebecca and Jonny’s family farmhouse in Upton Noble, a pretty Somerset village that is 4.5 miles north of Bruton (the town that has been attracting a West London exodus). They share their home with their children and with Jonny’s parents who came to live with them during lockdown.
‘The Yard’ is an old farmyard that is at the centre of their farmhouse home which has a wing housing the showroom. Redundant barns make the perfect storage facility for furniture. On the day I visited, some pieces were earmarked for shipping to interior design clients in the US, Singapore and Italy and other pieces which were waiting for renovation.
Photography studio
A ‘studio’ section at the back of one of the barns is where top light affords the sweet spot for Rebecca’s styling and photography for the Ralfes’ Yard Instagram account. It was super to see how this rustic setting is transformed with antique textiles and a seamless mix of antiques from different eras to create the clarity of style that many of us enjoy in Rebecca’s Instagram vignettes. The showroom also provides some pleasing side light shadow for Rebecca’s photography.
Next to the studio space is Jonny’s showroom for @gloryboyrecords_ his extensive vintage vinyl record business that he runs alongside the antiques business.
Ralfe Yard’s antique style
Rebecca specialises in antique furniture, architectural pieces, lighting and decorative artefacts. Within these categories is a backbone of classical design with a mixture of styles from Regency to Victorian and Mid Century with a sprinkling of the Anglo Indian pieces that I find that I am often drawn to.
Rebecca says, “I buy what I love and what we would have in our own home.” It seems to be a good guiding principle as Rebecca says that “even if the odd item takes longer to sell, everything does go in the end.” And most items seem to sell as quickly as they go up onto Instagram.
These are a few of my favourites some of which have already sold but Rebecca has new stock coming in all the time.
Bespoke sourcing
Rebecca is sometimes asked by interior designers to find specific items for their clients. One such recent request was to source a George III dining table to seat 20 with a generous 70 cm allowance per table setting (I am imagining at least 5 courses, Waterford Crystal, with each table setting uniformly measured …?)
The table was for a very stylish client in their 30s who was building a new house but wanted some serious history. Amazingly, it didn’t take Rebecca too long to locate the perfect table in Ireland.
Blog Rewind
In case you didn’t catch these posts first time around, here are a few others on antiques that I hope you might enjoy.
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Thank you
Thank you so much Rebecca and Jonny for inviting me to see your wonderful business and home. And thank you for reading! If you have enjoyed this and would like to receive email alerts for future posts, please just press the free ‘Subscribe’ button either at the beginning or end of a post.
With many thanks,
Charis x