Even the Experts Can Get Fooled at Auctions, but If You Comparison Shop and Watch Your Budget, You Can Have a Satisfying Experience Looking for Just the Right Treasures to Fill Your Home With . . . : Old Values

For many people, the word “antiques” suggests fussy, expensive pieces viewed from behind a silken cord at a museum. The reality is that antiques--a term generally reserved for items more than 100 years old--can be serviceable, fun and affordable.

Well-designed and -crafted pieces can fit comfortably in a small condo or a large Mediterranean-style house. For example, a wool kilim rug usually has the geometric pattern and the bright colors that work well in a contemporary room or even in a kitchen. At auctions, 5-by-7-foot and larger kilims often go for less than $100.

Another misconception about decorating with antiques is that expensive and inexpensive pieces don’t mix. In fact, rooms full of only costly items often do have a stuffy, uncomfortable look.

Newport Beach interior designer Kay Evans’ home is a comfortable mix of antique and contemporary pieces. Her rooms contain treasures she received from her parents and grandparents as well as things she’s found in shops, auctions and flea markets.

“I tell my clients not to expect to make money on an antique, although they may. But the piece definitely will retain its value,” said Evans, who’s been in the interior design business for 15 years.

While new furniture, including reproductions, is often relatively worthless the day after it’s purchased, antiques usually remain stable in value.

The fastest way to purchase antiques is through reputable dealers who sell on a low profit margin to turn the items over quickly.

“You should know your antique dealer,” Evans said. “In Newport Beach’s Cannery Village, Tom Stansbury, Country Elegance and Tiffany House are good, but there are many others who are also. These are dealers who only buy from estates, but not estates large enough to go into an auction house.”

Other ways to find treasures is to frequent flea markets like the ones at the Rose Bowl or Golden West College, to check into thrift shops and to frequent consignment shops like the ones that benefit the Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Assistance League.

Evans’ favorite source for antiques, though, is the auction.

“I enjoy the thrill of the hunt at an auction,” she said. “You never know exactly what you’ll see there. And it can touch every phase of your life: jewelry, clothing, beaded evening handbags, paintings, sculpture, furniture, dishes, anything connected with the decorative arts.”

She is attracted to all types of auctions--from Butterfield & Butterfield megaproductions in San Francisco or Los Angeles to a Santa Ana one put on by File’s or South Coast Auction. “I’ve always decorated with antiques and knew a lot about them, but a few years ago I did a mentor program in San Francisco and went to auctions with my teacher. I learned a great deal more then,” Evans said.

She warns against going into any auction cold. “Always go early to preview the items and actually touch them. Sometimes something can look great from a distance, but when you see it up close, it’s junk. Remember that nothing is returnable at an auction.”

Evans herself got fooled when she bought a crystal vase with a hairline crack. “I put water in it, and it immediately drained out onto the floor. So it has happened to me, and I know what I’m doing.”

Her advice is look around your house, decide specifically what you want and, most importantly, what you can afford to pay.

If there’s time, visit antique shops and find out the prices. Then go to several auctions to comparison shop.

“You have to take time,” she said. “Sometimes when I’m looking for something for a client, I will spend eight hours waiting for one item to come up.

“I recommend that you have a definite budget when you go to the auction,” she said. “Decide at the preview what is your top price for an object, and then don’t go over that.”

For example, Evans decided she was interested in owning oil paintings of roses for her bedroom, but that none could exceed $100, a rule she has stuck to. “I haven’t found all I want yet at that price, but I will eventually.”

Her bedroom wall has the rose paintings, a framed Victorian calling card and a small, contemporary wreath.

The 18th-Century English walnut lady’s writing desk by the fireplace holds Evans’ great-grandfather’s timepiece (which she had placed in a bell jar) a small Spode candlestick (her best auction bargain, costing $1), an 18th-Century miniature portrait, nine miniature volumes of Shakespeare dated 1801, an antique ink well and a contemporary lamp.

Throughout Evans’ house, this kind of mixing of the old and the new is evident. The living room’s chintz-covered sofas and chairs are modern, and contemporary lamps stand over collections like her Scottish tartan items and petite Limoges boxes. Some items are rare and expensive, others are rare but inexpensive, and still others are just things that she bought for their design.

“You can find special pieces anywhere. When I travel, I always bring one empty suitcase in case I find something, then my dirty clothes go in it with my buys. At flea markets, I’ve found wonderful prints for $5 and an ancient marble bust of a child for $100.”

And, when she gets the new piece home, there is the fun of finding just the right place for it. As Evans can attest, it is the personal, adventurous mixing of periods and prices that gives a room character.

Auction Houses

Auction houses usually have a 10% buyer’s premium added to the price of an item. They usually require buyers to put up some amount--such as $100--in order to get a bidding number. That amount is refunded if you don’t buy anything or applied toward the purchase price. Most accept Visa and MasterCard. Here are two area auction houses that often deal in antiques:

File’s Auction

200 North Main St.

Santa Ana

(714) 547-1415

Auctions usually take place on the fourth Sunday of the month; buyers’ preview two hours before the auction. Call first.

South Coast Auction

2202 S. Main St.

Santa Ana

(714) 957-8133

Auctions every Wednesday at 6 p.m.; buyers’ preview Monday through Saturday.