The Journal

For months, I kept going back to a green onyx lamp in booth 128 at the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall. Then I needed something for a console radio I don’t even own yet.

A Mills Violano-Virtuoso at the John Moran preview in Monrovia: a mahogany cabinet with a brass plaque reading You can play 1 to 15 nickels. Inside, a real violin and a piano, played by a paper roll.

A carved St. Francis relief caught my attention on a thrift store shelf. A closer look at the surface, worn gilding, frame construction, and carved scene raised enough questions that the next stop is a specialist. 

A scratched 1934 Lane cedar chest, buried under a pile of antiques, became the coffee table I had been searching for. Here's how to find one, date it by its serial number, check it, and restore it gently.

A short list, a favorite antique mall in Hawaiian Gardens, and a cut crystal and brass table lighter in the second booth. For weeks I'd been hunting one for the small table in front of my bookshelf.

I sat in the green armchair I almost never use, and the room looked different from there. Here is what I noticed from that seat about visual weight, layered light, and how pieces from different eras share a wall.