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A stylist’s design-district standby, Country Garden Antiques, is revamped

Country Garden Antiques has been a favorite of interior decorators, set designers and collectors for 18 years, thanks to its one-of-a-kind accents and affordable prices.

Last week, the cozy-but-jumbled Design District shop about a football field’s length from the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge unveiled a new look.

“The Trinity River District in Dallas is experiencing an incredible change in growth,” owners Alan and Gina Galichia typed on their blog, country gardenantique.blogspot.com, which chronicled the two-month remodel. “We felt that it was time to upgrade our antique store.”

Gina says the redesign kick-starter was a set of towering antique French doors she found at Round Top, the Central Texas antiques fair. The only way they could function inside the store was if walls were torn down to accommodate them.

They hired longtime client and decorator Annie Uechtritz as project manager to carry out their vision.

In just 60 days, Uechtritz took Country Garden Antiques from a cubbyholed warren to a spacious showplace that’s now more glamorous.

“One of my main goals for the store was opening up the space and making the flow better,” she says. “I also widened several doorways into rooms and framed them with columns or other architectural pieces to add interest and importance.”

Now the shop’s signature pieces — discolored mirrors, old silver, architectural remnants — amassed at Round Top, flea markets and estate sales, are easier to appreciate. It doesn’t hurt that Gina styles accessories and art like a Martha Stewart Living market editor.

“We have a good mix of things so that there’s something for everyone’s taste,” says the owner. “But now there’s less smalls, more bigs.”

Translation: The shop always has been known for its mouthwatering collection of oil paintings, mercury glass and shabby-chic chandeliers. But thanks to a 2,200-square-foot storage space that was opened, there’s room for old beds, salvaged columns and even a sweeping Provençal bakery counter.

Formerly crammed rooms packed with products are now neatly organized and dedicated to specific styles so shoppers can better imagine how to use the items in their own homes, says Uechtritz.

The art room is filled with oil paintings (expect dozens of florals), fashion sketches, abstracts and empty frames. There’s an industrial-furniture corner as well as sections focused on English looks, Asian antiques and shabby-chic examples.

One room is entirely devoted to Christmas decor — tinsel garland, glass jars, wintery landscape paintings — year round. It’s also home to Dallas’ largest selection of vintage ornaments, according to the owners. Vignettes are arranged by color, making it easier to shop to suit a color scheme.

Country Garden Antiques is located at 147 Parkhouse St., west of Riverfront Boulevard.

Brittany Cobb is a Highland Park freelance writer.

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