My Weblog

Happy 2019 from the Royal Port!

Hoping everyone is having a very Happy New Year! Mike & I are already planning for the New Year at the Port.  We look forward to adding fun and unique items to our inventory on a daily basis.  We share these finds weekly on our Facebook, Instagram and now on this site in album form.  Always feel free to call, email or Facebook and Instagram message us with questions. We are looking forward to this year's Arts in Bloom and will be posting more about a special exhibit including 6 of our friends who have created beautiful artwork on the door panels they have purchased from us.  The exhibit is: PANELRAMA '19, a contemporary take on Creative Art on Board!  We will also be hosting 4 artists that weekend.  More details to come!  Stay tuned to more updates on this site.  Happy New Year!

Springtime at the Royal Port!

Springtime is a great time at the Royal Port!  It's a perfect time to freshen up the porch and Picker's Field with things for the home and garden!  Many customers are working on finding just the right door, mantel, furniture, window, shelf or piece of wood to complete their projects.  We appreciate the photos our customers send us showing off their DIY projects using our handpicked inventory. One of our customers, Seana, did just that by sharing their dining room with the barn door they acquired from us to use as a focal point. What a beautiful room!  We are getting the shop ready for the upcoming Arts in Bloom, Studio Tour through Salem County, May 20th & 21st.  We are hosting Yvonne Mucci, Amber Ayars and Ron Wilson.  Their Watercolors, Photographs and Turned Wood pieces are currently on display and for sale at the Port! We are also having an Open House that weekend!  Looking forward to a great weekend!  We will also be doing our first Clover Market of the season on April 23rd in Bryn Mawr, PA.  Stop by to say hi to Mike! We continue to add new inventory to the shop daily. If you're looking for something, feel free to call, message or email us.  We put the new inventory on Facebook and Instagram weekly and a complete album on Facebook on Sunday night.  Also see our events page for updates on upcoming shows, markets and open houses.  Enjoy Spring and the upcoming Summer season. Add us to your travels!

What's in Store for August?

It has been a busy summer. We have added a lot of new inventory throughout the shop and continue to revamp our second floor.  As most of you know I love to redo and constantly add new items to the shop. 2 booths downstairs will be targeted in the next few weeks!   Mike has been unveiling items from Picker's Field as well.  I am constantly asking "where did that come from?".  It always pays to peak out back.  We have done several calls this past month and have been able to acquire some fun and interesting pieces of furniture and architectural.  We have also repurposed some unusual industrial stands.  Royal Port will be showcasing our inventory at the Antiques in Old New Castle Delaware Show on Sunday, August 23rd.  We are bringing a collection of our early country antiques along with some architectural, industrial and garden elements!  We hope to see you there.  We are also gearing up for our Annual Open House and Customer Appreciation Day at the Royal Port on September 19th from 10am -6pm. We will have plenty of new inventory, food and discounts throughout the day. Stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks. The August Inventory Album has the new inventory added this month.  Also a lot of new inventory photos were added late to the July Album. Always feel free to email or call with questions.  Enjoy the rest of your summer!  Suzanne

Royal Port is Decorated and Ready for the Salem City Yuletide Tour Today!

We are prepped and ready for today's events in our Historic Town of Salem City, NJ.  The parade begins at 11:00am.  Sammy will be on the float for Mannington School! (they rock) The house tour runs from 1:00pm-6:00pm.  You can purchase your tickets here.  And the tree lighting is at 6:30pm. The shop is full of some great Christmas shopping goodies!  Mike and I had a lot of fun (really we did) adding new things to the porch and inside the shop.  I love how they both look.  We acquired several mantels ready for decking for the holidays as well as some great furniture pieces and smalls.  After the excitement of today I will post some new December inventory.  In the meantime take a peak at the Christmas 2013 album with a few decorating ideas using antiques and natural items.  Hope to see you today.  Feel free to call for more details or visit the Salem Yuletide Facebook Page.  Have fun!  Suzanne

Customer Creations! Renee Austermehle's Cathedral Wall DIsplay.

Renee and her husband purchased a cathedral window frame from the Royal Port a few years ago. When she mentioned it the other day I asked her to send me a photo.  This window had been salvaged from an old church in Clarksboro, NJ. With the high ceiling in their newer home Renee and her husband wanted to create a cozier area.  According to Renee, the arched window has been a great conversation piece and it certainly has helped them fill in their empty, tall wall.  They surrounded it with old ceiling tiles.  So many of our customers are looking for this type of idea for their high ceilings.  Thanks for the photo Renee!

Customer Creations! Steve Harris Shows Us Two of His Creations!

Steve and his wife purchased snow birds  and a  lamp post from the Royal Port last August and sent along some pictures of his creations.  The cast iron eagles, or snow birds, he purchased are from 1900-1910 and were designed to prevent the hazards of snow slides upon metal roof buildings by allowing snow and ice to melt or drop off safely.  Steve utilized them along with some scrap walnut to create some beautiful bookends.  I love how they came.  Steve also created a new mailbox  from a lamp post he purchased here.  He found a concrete base & a dummy bomb that he bought on-line. Steve shared that his wife was not too excited about the bomb!!   I can say it has an interesting look especially for those that collect military items.   I like how Steve utilized the early cast iron light post to make into a mailbox post.  I would be curious to know what the mail person thought on their first delivery to the bomb box!   Thanks for sharing your photos with us!

Customer Creation's Lydia & John Del Rossi!

We often get interesting work benches in varying styles and sizes.  I enjoy using them for display in the shop.   Customers are always asking me what someone would do with a workbench in their home.  In many cases customers use them as a center island in the kitchen or for their intended purpose as a work bench.  Others like Lydia & John chose to use it as a side board or side table to display photos and collections.   You can see the photo of the workbench in the shop.   Lydia & John shared an after photo of the work bench decorated in their home.   I like the combinations of the collectibles and photos as well as the things placed underneath.  (I see a few things from our shop too!)  The artwork above it finishes off the setup.  The piece fits perfectly on the wall with the windows on each side.  Nice job.  Thanks for the photo!

Royal Port Antique's Farm Table Gets Center Stage in House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Month!

Well we cannot take credit for this beautiful kitchen but we can take credit for the beautiful Farm Table that is a central point in Claire Shean's amazing kitchen redo.  Claire resides with her family in Mount Kisco, NY.  Claire's son was taking lessons in the area so she decided to search architectural shops in New Jersey and found the Royal Port.  She saw the farm table and knew it was perfect for her new kitchen redo and had it shipped back home.  In the House Beautiful article we read that Claire's goal with her renovation was to recapture the feeling of her childhood home, a simple yet “real” kitchen that was utilitarian yet homey. And she wanted it to fit with the rest of her circa 1900 house in a seamless way. 
In the article Claire reveals she wanted a farmhouse table instead of an island not only for the evocative period effect but because she loves to bake and the table height is easier for kneading.  The attention to details including lighting, paint, hardware, appliances,  counters and of course the farm table is what makes this kitchen fit in so beautifully with Claire's 1900's home.   If you want to read the entire article it is in this month's issue of House Beautiful.  We were excited that the Royal Port was mentioned in the article.  Thanks Claire!

Royal Port's Open House..... A Perfect Fall Day!

We had a great time yesterday.  It was a beautiful day inside and out.  We offered a great selection of Antiques, plenty of food and great customers.   We thought it would be fun to share some of the items our customers purchased.  Check out some of their photos in the Open House Album as well as some simple Fall decorating ideas.  Thanks to those who played along!  We were overwhelmed by the crowd so we know we missed photos of many of you before you left.  We'll get you next time.  Even one of Sammy's friends paid him a visit!  Thank you to all that stopped by.  We have several new items coming into the shop next week so I will be adding new inventory to the September Album.  Our next event is the Annual Ghost Tour of Salem City.  We are one of the sponsors.  It is October 26th.  Stay tuned for details.  Suzanne

Royal Port is Gearing Up For Our Annual Open House on Saturday!

It's amazing that in just a week's time it's starting to feel like Fall is here.  It was just yesterday that we had our feet in the ocean and today I am planning where cornstalks and pumpkins will be placed for the Open House this Saturday.  We have been adding and rearranging in anticipation for your arrival.   I love the new booth we created across from my office window.  The colors of the walls, mantel, quilt and treenware blend together so well.  In a short time we were able to transform the space.  Some natural things added to bowls and stoneware give that instant Fall feel.  I added a New Album of a few new things we placed in the shop this week.   Mike has been busy organizing Picker's Field.  Always interesting things to find there.  Our stone is in place for our new driveway out back.  And if you haven't been here for a while check out our new building that houses our Solar Panels.  We are officially a bit greener here at the Port.  Looking forward to a great Open House.  See you then.  Suzanne