Cierra Toland, owner of Greensboro-based Toland Interiors, has an appreciation for antiques and heirlooms. “I just love old things. My husband’s grandmother put it plainly and perfectly: If it’s not 100 years old, I don’t want it.”
Her residential interior design studio handles renovations, new construction, furnishings and finishes, often finding creative ways to incorporate antiques, vintage finds, and family heirlooms. Beyond their history and charm, Cierra appreciates that antiques often offer craftsmanship that is difficult to find in today’s mass-produced furnishings.
“Right now, the marketplace is infiltrated by a lot of flat-pack furniture, throwaway furniture designed to last two to five years but is not made to be recovered or refinished,” she says. Antique pieces offer solid construction, hand-carved details, and dovetail joints that reveal the time and attention that went into creating them. They may also cost less than comparable new furniture while lasting considerably longer. “They’re truly one of a kind,” Cierra says.
For Cierra, a thoughtfully designed home should reflect the people who live there and the stories that shaped them. You can blend old and new without making a space feel dated or mismatched. Cierra recommends choosing vintage pieces that complement your personal style and paying close attention to scale. Neutral upholstered furnishings can provide a clean foundation, allowing an antique table, vintage rug, original artwork, or family piece to become the room’s focal point.
She often begins with practical additions such as cocktail tables, end tables, or wood furniture. From there, rugs, pillows, and accessories can introduce color and connect the room’s elements. The result feels collected over time rather than purchased all at once.
“We never want it to look like a showroom,” Cierra says. That happens when a home is filled with all newer items. Blending provides more of a collected look, a curated home. A layered room with a healthy mix of older and newer items would instead communicate “a real person lives here.”
Cierra acknowledges that sometimes it’s difficult to know how to incorporate heirloom pieces into a modern home. She advises that sentimental pieces can also take on new purposes. Consider using an antique dresser to store gift-wrapping supplies, or convert a china cabinet into a storage unit for linens, games, or office essentials. Cierra encourages homeowners to consider where their homes lack functionality and whether an inherited piece could meet that need.
In one recent kitchen project, Cierra designed a lighted glass cabinet to showcase a client’s treasured Blue Willow china collection. The display allowed her client to enjoy the pieces every day while protecting them from dust and damage. For another project, Cierra planned a guest suite around an antique framed kimono the homeowners expected to inherit one day.
Cierra likes to remind homeowners that honoring family history does not mean keeping everything. Spend time determining which pieces genuinely resonate, and give yourself permission to pass along items that do not suit your taste. That gives the most meaningful possessions room to shine.
Ultimately, choosing antiques is about more than decorating. It can help support local shops and craftspeople, reduces reliance on disposable furnishings, and preserves stories that can continue for generations.
Learn more about Cierra and Toland Interiors at www.tolandinteriors.com.