Discover local stores near The St. Regis Monarch Beach that feature high-end furniture, fine artwork and unique collectibles.
By Vicki Hogue-Davies
Whether you are a serious collector looking for a special addition to complete a room in your home or just enjoy the thrill of the search, there are several upscale antique shops not to be missed in Orange County. The variety of establishments adjacent to The St. Regis Monarch Beach offer a noteworthy and remarkable selection that spans across the ages, covering multiple periods in world history. From traditional to exotic collections, numerous boutiques satisfy every distinctive taste.
Eclectic Essentials
Located in a building built in 1905 near the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, Dynasty Collections & Antiques has three showrooms filled with an assortment from around the world. Cynthia Dennis, gallery director, explains that its owners’ passion for collecting has developed the space for 25 years. It blends findings from Asia, Europe and the United States, and she explains some of the standout items on display.
“Japanese bronzes—they are exquisite pieces—the work is exceptionally fine,” Dennis says. “During the Meiji period, when the Japanese could no longer carry swords, sword makers turned to creating bronzes inlaid with gold and silver.”
A pair of Chinese pottery camels from the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) is available for $300,000 and a pair of horses from the same period is half that price.
“They buried them for the afterlife,” Dennis says. “That period was considered the golden age in China for tomb art. These pieces came from the tomb. Prior to the Tang Dynasty, they were actually burying camels, horses and servants with their owners when they passed away.”
Other highlights of the collection include a marble inlaid Italian table and an American highboy made in Massachusetts between 1740 and 1760, as confirmed by Sotheby’s.
Trove, owned by Heather and Bobby Lee, has a broad inventory from different time periods. “We carry items from the 11th century to the mid-1960s,” Heather Lee says. “We have antique tribal art and artifacts to midcentury club chairs from Germany and 19th-century folk art to works by contemporary artists. We buy what we love and that’s what we recommend. If it doesn’t resonate with you on some level, then it shouldn’t be in your home.”
Extraordinary collectibles at Trove include 11th-century ceramic apothecary bottles from a shipwreck, a 19th-century French wine-tasting table and an early American ventriloquist puppet. In addition to selling antiques, the couple also makes their own bronze line for the home that they hope will become collectible items one day.
At Mélange Antiques, exotic possessions from all over the world are mixed with traditional antiques to make up the collection of owner Kathleen Robertson, a self-described world traveler who brings goods home that she personally loves and would be happy to have for herself if nobody buys them. As you may assume, she doesn’t always keep regular hours due to her explorations. The store carries jewelry, books, 17th-century and 18th-century engravings and mementos from Thailand.
“I have a beautiful, bronze rain drum from Southwest Asia that is 150 years old,” Robertson says. “They were called rain drums because they would sit them outside and the raindrops would make music. I have a lot of Buddha [statues] including a beautiful stone Buddha called ‘The Coming Buddha.’ Like the coming of Christ, there is the same sort of story in Buddhism. This one is of the young returning Buddha. Because it is stone, it is hard to say exactly how old it is, but it is more than 100 years.”
Another noted decoration, and the most expensive in the store, is a French palace mirror that likely hung over a fireplace at one time. Robertson explains that it is a diamond-dust mirror made by spreading diamond dust over glass, turning the surface into a mirror.
Gallery One is another local shop that has operated for 35 years. In addition to standard antiques, the store features one-of-a-kind items, and owner Ken Uranga recently acquired a 22-piece collection of American brilliant glass. The cut glass, produced between about 1876 to the beginning of World War I, was made by the finest engravers of glass, who had come from Germany to the United States. The jewelry collection includes gold bangle Victorian bracelets and adornments with Roman coins. Small ivory carvings from Japan, called netsuke, are other significant objects that are 100 to 300 years old. The figurines depict animals, gods and items such as flowers and tea bowls, which represent daily life.
“The Japanese did not have pockets on their kimonos or outer garments,” Uranga says. “They would carry a pouch on the kimono sash for small items and the netsuke acted as a counterweight on the sash. They were very popular in Victorian times as collectibles and The Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the largest collections in the world.”
A European Sensibility
D&G Antiques and Restoration in the affluent village of Corona del Mar, a neighborhood of Newport Beach, focuses primarily on 18th-century and 19th-century France and Europe. Located in the area since 1992 and owned by Daphne and George Saharyldizi, the store mainly carries furniture, decorative lighting and fine art in its showroom. Antique porcelain, clocks and bronzes can also be found at the store, which specializes in bronze and metal lighting, inlay furniture and statue restoration.
“Our specialty is probably lighting fixtures. Chandeliers are our forte,” Daphne Saharyldizi says. “We find a lot of things on request for our clients, as well. We are proud to say that we do have a source in France. We go on buying trips to Europe. We also have family in the same business, so we are closely connected to them.”
The most expensive item in the store is a French Roumier hand-carved gilt table that sells for $180,000, but a smaller item, a silver egg made by a famous, early 18th-century Russian artist, is one of Daphne Saharyldizi’s favorites, along with a 19th-century replica of a 17th-century chandelier.
Time is also precious at Dean Armentrout Antiques, a captivating store that specializes in 19th-century European clocks from Holland, Switzerland, France, England and Germany. The store carries about 70 clocks for sale. Armentrout, who has been in the business for 38 years, says that when people visit the store, the first thing they will see is many clock parts since he also performs restorations. He learned the craft while working in Laguna Beach and through a clock-restoration course in England. Armentrout’s work is recognized by the British Antique Dealers’ Association, which was founded in 1918 as the trade group for the leading antique dealers in Britain.
Throughout the space, you can admire empire styles from the Napoleonic era, a simple American schoolhouse design or an elaborate, 11-foot-high floor clock from the 18th century. One of the more detailed timepieces is a black-slate French mystery clock, which features a statue of a woman with her arm outstretched holding a pendulum. The “mystery” relates to how the mechanism operates, and the secret was patented in 1867.
“There is a whole genre of mystery clocks and this is one of them,” Armentrout says. “It is not a rare clock—rare is overused—but it is an unusual clock.”
The family-owned Nicholson’s Antiques, which originally opened in Southern California’s Inland Empire in 1903, has been an antiques institution in Laguna Beach since 1973. Owner Fred Nicholson’s grandfather founded the store. “We have a lot of 18th-century French and Italian furniture,” Nicholson says. “We offer some really nice French commodes and a great selection of chairs, most of which are very usable. We also carry other items to go with the period, including lamps, porcelain and statues.” The large collection at Nicholson’s extends to woodcarvings, decorative boxes and wall sconces.
20th-Century Treasures
Fast-forward from traditional European antiques to the 20-century collection at Archive. The store displays the work of top designers from the 1940s to 1980s. Business partners George Kubisak and Nick Batchelder, whose combined antique experience surpasses 45 years, own the shop. Just one of the coveted designs in the 4,000-square-foot store is a rare 12-drawer dresser by George Nakashima for Widdicomb. The 1950s-era construction by the esteemed woodworker is made from walnut with brass pulls. You can also find creations from Edward Wormley, Paul McCobb and Kipp Stewart.
Batchelder says the appeal of midcentury work is probably related to an appreciation of quality and originality.
From grand 18th-century clocks to exquisite chandeliers, you’re sure to find an array of rare collectibles in Orange County. As an avid antiques collector or a traveler looking for that certain special keepsake, there are many hidden gems to be uncovered at these shops local to The St. Regis Monarch Beach.
