With items including ornate plaster mantles, a collection of vintage cameras and a wiry bird cage strung with Christmas lights, it’s hard to characterize the style at Small Holdings Farm in Aquebogue.
Sherron Francis, owner of the Main Road antique furniture and decor shop, said it’s easier to describe it by what it is not, rather than what it is.
“I don’t like cutesy woot-sey,” she said at the store on Sunday.
“I’m really into old things, but I want them to be hip and cool,” Francis continued. “I buy almost anything, from industrial items to something fine like silver.”
We adored a lighted wine bottle ($20) for sale at the shop. A circle has been drilled in the green bottle, which was filled with Christmas lights and embellished with a bow. The overall effect was lovely and very North Fork-y. But if you want one, go soon. There was only one left on Sunday.
Also of note were the unique chandeliers ($150) hanging from exposed beams in the barn that houses the shop. The eclectic inventory rotates as merchandise is brought in and sold, but there will likely be an item in stock to satisfy every taste.
She said many of the decorative items work best as accent pieces rather than a consistent them.
“I wouldn’t want a whole house of this stuff. It’s too much,” she said.
Francis, an abstract painter, spent many summer on the North Fork while she was living in the West Village. She and her husband Walter King purchased the Main Road property in 2000.
“All of my friends (in the 70’s) went to the South Fork, they wouldn’t even vista me,” she said. “I thought going to the South Fork was like walking around SoHo. I wanted to get away.”
Small Holdings Farm is located at 965 Main Road in Aquebogue. It is open 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting.
Be sure to follow the store on Instagram @smallholdingsfarm, it’s one of our favorites.
Boutique Beat highlights the smaller, independent shops of the North Fork. Email [email protected] with suggested stores to feature.
