By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published October 15, 2004
The bright sunflower-yellow exterior and the whimsical Seuss-like shutters painted by a local artist belie what's inside. Owner John Benton calls it "Not your typical antique store."
A peek in the old house nestled snugly along Howard Avenue's restaurant row reveals furniture that might have been plucked from cottages in the English countryside: three-door pine wardrobes, curio and display cabinets, pub tables and chairs, vanities, dressers, chests and enamel washstands.
In fact, Benton and his wife, Mary Ann, travel to Lincolnshire, England, several times a year, a ritual since they first hung a shingle on a dead-end street in nearby Palma Ceia 20 years ago.
"Florida is such a new place that it's not full of old furniture," Benton explains. "And England is about as different from Florida as you can get and vice-versa."
The couple, who both grew up in Tampa, ventured into the antique business in the early 1980s after Mary Ann's grandmother died and left them a house full of furniture.
"We started restoring, refinishing and repairing," Benton explains, "and we soon realized that we were really interested in antiques."
The Bentons love antiquing so much they have few other hobbies except their three Chihuahuas: Mimi, Huey and Wheezie. In fact, this fall marks a special occasion for their store, The Other Side Antiques.
They're selling the contents of the 125th container full of furniture brought back from England. A container is a storage vessel that's typically 40-feet long, 12-feet tall and 12-feet wide and is used to ship cargo across the sea. In short, it holds a lot of furniture, especially from England.
"English furniture works well in homes in South Tampa and Seminole Heights because it's typically smaller in scale," says Benton, who attracts a wide swath of clients from all over the Tampa Bay area.
He's also been drawing customers interested in old stained glass windows, many of which sell for about $80. The windows, all from English homes, come in a variety of patterns including roses, sunbursts and crests. Benton has more than 600 in stock and recently cranked up an Internet site, www.othersideantiques.com devoted solely to the windows because business is so brisk.
They also carry a huge selection of elegant little cocktail bars from the '20s through the '50s. For more modern interiors, there's a campy one shaped like the bow of a motor boat, and another featuring a George Jetson-style mirrored interior etched with a martini glass pattern.
Customers may buy pieces in various states of repair depending on what they want to pay. A basic oak pub table, refurbished and perfect for a kitchen nook (it also features leafs) costs $800. It includes four matching chairs, with sweet carvings in the backs and leather seats so worn it's easy to imagine the generation of conversation that transpired over Shepherd's Pie or mugs of Earl Grey. A gorgeous Art Deco bar with a lion's head drawer pull will fetch $450; an antique burled-wood wardrobe converted to an entertainment center costs $600.
In fact, Benton and long-time employee, Robert Childs, are best known for their modifications of wardrobes and other furniture. In their backyard woodshop, they transform wardrobes into functional 21st century furnishings, turning them into freestanding linen closets, kitchen pantries, entertainment centers, computer desks, bars, even bookshelves. Dining room buffets and bedroom chests morph into clever cabinets for bathroom sinks.
"Converting wardrobes is the biggest thing we do," Benton says. "A lot of people want them for their South Tampa condos because they add extra storage."
They also add an element of character and warmth, something Benton's customers tend to value.
Last week, Anna Gervait from Sarasota studied the furniture and explained what has drawn her to the store for six years: "Just the beauty of what I find here."
She pointed to a turn-of-the-century-mirrored armoire crafted from a variety of woods including a deep mahogany rich with burls and swirls. It was like looking at the texture of a river in late afternoon sunlight.
"See the beauty of the craftsmanship, the detail of the woodwork," Gervait said. "Whoever built this put a lot of love into it."
