Shopping Europe’s Best: Antique Shops I Love

I meet lots of “antique” people I love.  I shouldn’t, but I do ~  pick favorites. Dealers, that is. The antiques world has many different personalities, as you can imagine. Today, I would like to introduce you to two of my very favorite antique dealers I met in Holland this summer.  While touring Europe on a buying trip this past summer with my husband, we had the privilege of following our own little “brocante tour” using this great guide: Brocante Route Limburg. { while it is in Dutch only right now, the addresses and information is accessible and I believe all the dealers speak English.}

The first dealer I would like to introduce you to is Suzanne.  I was so surprised when she recognized me from my blog, of all places, at a flea market in Belgium. Now we keep in touch via her Facebook, where she shows off all her latest finds. Suzanne was so sweet, she invited us to visit her home and shop, even though on the day we were available, she traveled back from France and didn’t sleep at all the night before.  Her shop is literally on her “veranda” , and is open a few days a week or by appointment.  Aside from treating us to coffee and the most wonderful “vlaai” {a special kind of fruit tart from her area} Suzanne has the most fabulous treasures.  I can’t tell you how much fun we had, and how much I loved her.  Not only does she have a wonderful collection of treasures, she is a joy, the biggest treasure of all.

Suzanne has lots of smalls, but she is really “famous” for her furniture, her prices are so great that many shop owners shop with her. If you are ever in that part of Europe, or close to it, be sure to give Suzanne a call and arrange a visit!

Our next stop, Caatje Antiek & Brocante. oh. my.  I became friends with Caatje on Facebook before our trip, and just knew I would love her.  When we met, I did love her. Immediately.  Caatje not only has fantastic taste, beyond dreamy antiques, she herself is kind, wonderful, and made us feel instantly welcome.  She too has her shop connected to her home, and while John sat in the garden drinking coffee with Rene (Caatje’s version of Mr. FrenchGardenHouse} I talked, shopped, talked some more. It was difficult not to be rude, I wanted to get to know Caatje more, talk to her on and on, but we had a time limit before we had to travel on, and then, well….you can see my problem!  There were all these glorious pieces to explore, and I knew that you would want me to bring some of these back for you.

See?  Every single antique Caatje has chosen is gorgeous.  She travels to France nearly every weekend with her Rene to find the best, most beautiful French pieces to delight her customers. We had so much in common, kindred spirits, we kind of live paralell lives on opposite sides of the ocean. {both of us blessed with a beautiful business, the best customers who become friends, and a supportive and hard working “helper” too}

I had a difficult time chosing what to buy for you, I could just as easily have wrapped up her whole inventory!

These two shops and antique dealers are just two of the many wonderful ones we were able to meet in Holland on our trip.  If you are interested in hearing about more of them, please leave a comment and I’ll work on another post for you.  If you are in the south of Holland or anywhere close {close is France, Belgium and Germany!} be sure to contact Suzanne and Caatje. You just might find the piece of your dreams there!

Not going to Europe anytime soon?  If you want to romance your Home and Garden with antique and vintage treasures to make you smile each time you come home, visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.