Halcyon House Antiques

Just north of Baltimore City, in the heart of the beautiful Greenspring Valley, lies Halcyon Farm. Owner Stiles Colwill has opened Halcyon House Antiques in one of the farm’s former tenant houses to share with friends and others the genius of his extreme good taste and keen decorating eye. I’ve peripherally known Stiles for years, dating back to when he was on the staff at the historical society and I was on the staff at the museum of art, and have always admired him from afar.
I got a glimpse of how wonderful Halcyon House Antiques would be at the Ladew Garden Festival a few weeks ago, and when I got there, I was not at all disappointed. As you come down the driveway, you see the house nestled in a garden in front of you. The porch is filled with flowers and baskets, creating a charming entry. A small porch to the left in the image above has some garden terrific antiques, many of which were on display at Ladew.

Each of the rooms in the house, including the kitchen, is filled with antiques and accessories appropriate to the room. The paint colours are rich and beautiful and you realize that a lot of thought has gone into choosing them. Naturally, I forgot to get the names of the paints!

The front hall, with beautiful fresh flowers.

There are beautiful beamed ceilings throughout the house.

The sunroom off the back of the house looks out to the gardens and the woods on the property. The green is such a super cheerful colour and must be terrific in the heart of the winter.

This cheeky monkey keeps an eye on the comings and goings of visitors to the shop.

A variety of majolica pieces echo the green from the painted walls.

Halcyon House is one of the few places in the area that sells John Derian’s plates. I love the center one with the geraniums.

Not only does the kitchen showcase a selection of glass and china, it’s fully-functioning, as well. I’d be happy cooking there.

The dining room, with its pale yellow walls and the silver and drinks on the sideboards, makes visitors feel at home. The horse paintings reflect the history of the Greenspring Valley and its tradition of horse racing, including the Maryland Hunt Cup.

Another line that Halcyon House carries exclusively is Bunny Williams’ Beeline furnishings. They just arrived at the shop last week!

The living room at Halcyon is another sun-filled room, with paper that looks like yellow bead-board.

One of my favourite things in the living room was the pagoda set in the corner.

This fireplace with its green glass vases, dogs, porcelain boxes and landscape painting is just perfection.

All of the fabrics in the master bedroom are from John Robshaw.

Who could resist this little guy perched on some pillows in the lap of luxury?

This chocolate brown room, echoing another Baltimore decorator, was filled with lots of treasures, including this shell-covered mirror, one of several scattered throughout the house.

Although I would never, ever want one mirror right in the shower, let alone two, I did love this treatment!

A beautiful bulls-eye mirror with a carefully curated selection of blue and white china, which I adore, hangs over another of the house’s fireplaces.

The little porcelain starfish in a majolica bowl comprised another lovely tabletop vignette.

Thanks so much to Stiles Colwill, and to store manager Eric Walch, for letting me come out and spend the morning wandering around and taking photographs.