I spent a long afternoon in Round Top this week hunting decor, antiques and just overall design inspiration. I’m sharing some sweet eye candy here today as well as a few takeaways.

Round Top has evolved into something more upscale these days. Everyone I’ve talked to or seen online commenting about the old days has noted how pricey and elevated all the goods are now. While you can still find deals in some areas, like the fields, many of the shows have antique dealers that come from all over. There are lots of artists, makers, clothing and new furniture too.

And boy, is there a market for their goods. I saw big vans with drivers off dropping loads of girlies decked out in fashionable westernwear. Of course, if you’re on Instagram you’ve seen that too!

One place I spent the most time in was Blue Hills. I think I last visited Round Top about a year and a half ago, and Blue Hills was expanding with new buildings then. They have even more buildings now with more food and drink offerings and lots more vendors. Most of these are higher end too, with tastefully arranged spaces and artfully displayed goods. Blue Hills is great for inspo and the antique dealers there have some beautiful things.

After that I headed to The Arbors, I like seeing the artists there and other home goods vendors. The Arbors recently moved across the road and up closer to Blue Hills, so they were not in their usual field across from Market Hall.

This is a higher end show too, but I did make two good purchases there. A brightly colored floral tablecloth was a total impulse buy. It was from a small maker from Columbia, and I haven’t seen one like it anywhere else.

This was not the one I purchased, but I might order it. Love the colors and pattern. It would be gorgeous as a fall table cover.

I specifically went to The Arbors to visit The Han House and check out his beautiful lamps. I found one for a job I’m working on. He brought lots of patterned, colorful lampshades too so I picked one of those as well.

Here’s a round up, below, of what I found interesting along with some takeaways and decorating tips.

(I wasn’t really looking for furniture items, so I didn’t photograph much of that.)

Wall Decor Ideas

I recently saw a designer proclaim that plates as wall decor were going to be a hot trend this year. I think it has been around a long time and I love it!

I love seeing people make big design statements with plates like on this wall seen at Blue Hills.

Vintage majolica looks amazing as a plate wall.

Do you have a lot of empty wall space? Add warmth and wood tones to your walls by hanging antique and vintage furniture doors.

These fluffy juju hats top off this slightly short hutch.

I love antiqued mirror and this vendor had lots of artfully crafted mirrors. Isn’t the way the antiquing hugs the perimeter of these four mirrors cool?

Architectural salvage, in particular, gilded ornamental mouldings, make for special wall decor. They can compliment any kind of style.

Round Top is a great place to find your next favorite piece of art and to buy directly from the artist. See it up close and personal, talk to the artist about their inspiration and the tools they used. This is a wonderful way to buy art and personalize your home. You can buy vintage too.

Here are some I enjoyed seeing.

I’m obsessed with vintage still lifes. I’m ready to start this collection for myself.

Love these! They would look great surrounding a mirror to add color.

I always like seeing sets or pieces that can be grouped together like this.

Decorative Bowl Filler

I always have my eye out for cool ways to fill decorative bowls. It seems to be something that stumps people when they get down to the last layers of decorating.

I just love the way a few gilded wooden bits were piled into this beautiful footed bowl.

Could these onyx bowls be anymore showstopping? I love the casual way the orchids and lilies were just popped into these for display.

Marble hearts fill this large wide bowl.

Silver, Copper and Brass

Metal objects seemed very popular this year. One of the dealers told me some silver trophies from Belgium she had went fast.

Here was a silver plate coffee and tea service, much like what I have from my mother. I shared it in my Christmas home tour this year.

I recently polished up a lot of the silverplate I have inherited and tucked it away in cloth until the holidays. After all that polishing, I wanted to preserve the finish for awhile. Silver tarnishes fast!

I really wanted one of these little brass trays but (eeek!) $78 for a smaller one.

These brass candlesticks are about the going rate now, but estate sales and FB marketplace are best bet for getting better pricing.

See the two swirled candlesticks in the pic above? I have that exact same pair! I got them back in the 80’s and after some years in the 90’s of not displaying my brass stuff, I definitely have them all out. Check out my mantel below.

There was a lot of copper too, which made me happy since I just polished the collection I have and hung it in my kitchen.

These two copper coffee pots below were listed as rare. Interesting! I have two copper kettles with similar feet, very old and primitive, that I bought antiquing in Norway.

These pots below were not that old.

I think my wall of copper will price out in the $1500-$2000 range. (Not that I could or would sell it after polishing all those pieces!)

Shelf Styling

These two displays inside cabinets with their doors flung open made for such a beautiful look! I love the mix of color, white and gold together in both.