Shop Round Top Like A Designer: Audrey Scheck
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Time to read 4 min
What the designer always stops for, how she spots the real thing, the colors she pairs with antiques and the Round Top stops she never skips.
There’s shopping Round Top, and then there’s shopping Round Top like a designer.
For Audrey Scheck, that doesn’t mean arriving with an impossibly specific wish list or trying to cover every field before sundown. Quite the opposite. Her strategy is to come prepared enough to buy confidently, but leave enough room for the pieces she never knew she was looking for.
“Round Top is at its best when you stumble across something completely unexpected,” Scheck says.
So what actually earns a spot in her truck? We asked Scheck to share the pieces she’ll almost always stop for, how she distinguishes authentic age from manufactured “vintage,” and the shopping rules she relies on show after show.
1. Know the Three Things You’ll Always Stop For
For Scheck, the list starts with vintage art.
“I will always stop for a great piece of art,” she says. Landscapes, portraits, interesting frames and slightly unexpected subject matter are particularly hard for her to pass up.
She’s also always watching for small tables, stools and pedestals, pieces that can tuck beside a chair, hold a drink or migrate from room to room as a home evolves.
And then there are the finishing pieces: old pottery, bowls, boxes, vessels and sculptural objects.
“Those smaller pieces are what make shelves, consoles, and coffee tables feel collected over time rather than styled all at once.”
THE DESIGNER TAKEAWAY
You don’t need to know where everything will go. Scheck is especially comfortable buying art without a destination. If the piece is good enough, she trusts that eventually there will be a place for it.
2. If You’re Going to Buy One Thing Vintage, Make It Art
For Scheck, vintage art offers something that’s difficult to recreate with something mass-produced: instant depth and personality.
And pedigree isn’t the point.
“It doesn’t have to be expensive or by a recognizable artist,” she says. “I’m much more interested in whether I love the colors, subject matter, scale, or frame.”
It’s one reason art is also the category she’s most likely to buy when she technically doesn’t need another piece.
“I’d much rather buy a piece I love when I find it and figure out where it belongs later.”
3. Learn to Spot Real Age
Not everything that looks vintage has actually lived a life.
Scheck looks for signs of age that occur naturally: uneven wear, softened finishes, old hardware, slight imperfections, variations in wood and evidence of something being handmade.
Her quickest tell is consistency.
“Real character usually isn’t perfectly distributed,” she says. “If every edge is distressed in exactly the same way, that’s usually a giveaway that the ‘age’ was added later.”
THE DESIGNER TAKEAWAY
Imperfection should be imperfect. Uniform distressing can be a clue that you’re looking at a newer piece made to appear old.
4. Bring a Loose List, Not a Rigid One
Round Top can overwhelm even an experienced shopper. Scheck’s solution is to identify a few categories she’s actively looking for—perhaps a console, art, lighting or accessories—without turning that list into a mandate.
“You also have to leave room for the things you didn’t know you needed,” she says.
Trying to see everything or locate the “perfect” version of every item is where shoppers can get stuck.
Instead, Scheck pays attention to the piece that makes her stop and particularly the one she keeps thinking about after walking away.
“Some of my favorite purchases are the things I didn’t go looking for.”
5. Measure More Than the Empty Spot
This is the decidedly unromantic part of shopping Round Top like a designer: measure everything.
Know the maximum width, depth and height of the space you’re shopping for. Photograph the room from several angles. Keep images of nearby rugs, fabrics, paint colors and finishes on your phone.
And measure the route into the room, too.
Doorways. Stairwells. Tight turns.
Because, as Scheck points out, finding the perfect antique is considerably less exciting if you can’t get it into the house.
6. Stop Waiting for “Perfect”
A worn finish. Slightly unusual proportions. No obvious place to put it.
Those aren’t necessarily reasons to leave a piece behind.
“The pieces that give a home the most personality usually aren’t perfect,” Scheck says.
Her advice is to pay attention to your reaction instead. If something stops you in your tracks—and you’re still thinking about it after you walk away—that can tell you more than whether it checks every box on a predetermined list.
7. Use Color to Make Old Pieces Feel Current
Scheck gravitates toward muddy, nuanced shades with brown or gray undertones, particularly earthy greens, warm browns, ochres, muted reds and creamy neutrals.
Two colors she’s loving right now: Farrow & Ball Dead Salmon and Benjamin Moore Tate Olive.
With old wood and brass, she also reaches for olive, tobacco, oxblood, ochre, dusty blue and warm cream.
Rather than competing with the warmth and variation already present in antique materials, these colors complement them. Conversely, placing a deeper antique against a creamy wall creates contrast and lets its age and patina stand out.
Not ready for an oxblood living room? Scheck suggests starting with a powder bath, pantry, built-in or interior door.
“Small rooms are some of the best places to be brave with color.”
8. Save These Stops to Your Round Top List
Scheck’s regular Round Top rotation includes Marburger, Blue Hills, The Horseshoe, Excess I and Excess II.
Among the vendors she makes a point to revisit are Box Road, Amelia Tarbet, Prize KC, Holler and Squall, Rose & Grace Market and East End Salvage.
“They’re all different, but I know I can count on finding pieces with character that feel special and one-of-a-kind.”
One recent score came from Amelia Tarbet: a beautiful brass chandelier that immediately caught her eye.
“It’s one of those pieces that immediately caught my eye and feels like something I’ll hold onto forever.”
The Audrey Scheck Round Top List
Always stops for: Vintage art, small tables + stools, interesting vessels
Buy vintage over new: Art
Color palette: Olive, tobacco, oxblood, ochre, dusty blue + warm cream
Current paint picks: Farrow & Ball Dead Salmon + Benjamin Moore Tate Olive
Never misses: Marburger, Blue Hills, The Horseshoe, Excess I + Excess II
Vendor bookmarks: Box Road, Amelia Tarbet, Prize KC, Holler and Squall, Rose & Grace Market + East End Salvage
Her shopping rule: Go in with a loose list and trust the piece you can’t stop thinking about.
