Paul Miller is an avid collector with an acquisition philosophy designed to keep the things he loves from becoming the clutter that could eventually choke his two-bedroom Mount Vernon condominium.
“For me it is about the hunt,” said the 33-year-old pastry chef and painter. “I am looking for pieces that speak to me. When I’m ready to move, I sell it or give it away. No point in collecting and storing in a box for 40 years.”
Therein lies the story behind the wonderfully staged vintage collection of 1920s telephones, electric desk fans with metal grates arranged on the floor, and wall-anchored gold-framed mirrors — most with separating silver. “I look for collections and find things that complement the space,” Miller explained.
The multi-shaped mirrors on the living room wall aren’t just hung but compatibly styled in a grouping sensitive to size and design. At just the right angle, reflections in the glass reveal canvasses Miller has painted.
Not just any mirror can make the cut. If by shape or style the frame doesn’t fit the planned scene, then out it goes to other walls in the condo or someone else’s place. “Some mirrors didn’t fit in,” he said with the coolness of a surgeon.
While the old is Miller’s preferred new, latter-day items like the teapot set and the contemporary dining area chandelier still could make his collection, thanks to a little cheating with the aging treatment he applied to them using a product called liver of sulfur.
Whenever he moves, there’ll be no thought of packing up the collection to restage for the next place. Instead, he’ll find the pieces new homes with other collectors. “Getting rid of things keeps me fluid in the next space” Miller said. “It allows for a clean start.”
As for hanging onto things, “I really do not see the point of it,” Miller noted. “No matter how much you love objects, they’re just objects.” Except, of course, if the object of desire is the elusive 1891 potbelly candlestick dial phone. “It would go in the bedroom,” he said.
Paul Miller’s Style
Throughout his condo Paul Miller uses his artful collection of antique electric table fans, telephones, old framed mirrors and his own artwork to create unique vignettes that are the secret to the arresting snaps of interest that grab the attention.
STYLE PHILOSOPHY — Look for things with a human touch, things that are made by people not assembled by machines. These hand-made pieces should be organized to fit in and tell a story.
STYLE SECRETS — Make everything tell a story instead of leaving things out of order. Make them make sense through composition. The visual effect is important. I can’t have something in my home that doesn’t make sense visually.
GOT STYLE FROM — At 10 years old I got into antiques and amassed collections and wondered what I would do with these things.
COMFORT VS. STYLE — These are not opposing. They go together, hand in hand. You can make something very stylish and comfortable. Comfort for me is what is visually comfortable.
COLOR VS. TEXTURE — For me one without the other does not work. If I had a room with color and no texture it would not feel whole.
FAVORITE COLOR — Earth tones.
WHAT DOES COLOR SAY TO YOU? — Comfort, unless it’s loud color and that says ‘get out of my face.’ Loud is okay as long as it is in small quantities.
MUST-HAVES IN YOUR HOUSE — Handmade stuff. Things I acquire must have a human quality and touch. Can’t be so sleek and stylish that it doesn’t look like it had a person there to make it. The makers of the antiques and other things I collect had a life and this is what they left behind and it connects everybody and everything.
MOST BELOVED OBJECT — A small M&M Christmas ornament my brother gave me when I was small and things were out of balance with us. He passed away a year later. I keep it in a box and put it out every Christmas.
WHAT PEOPLE WOULDN’T KNOW ABOUT ME — That I paint and draw. They’d say ‘who’s Vernon?’ Vernon is how I sign my work.
I WOULD NEVER — Hang a mass-produced piece of artwork in my home. It would have to be an original that I do myself or negotiate a price for. I don’t have all perfect artwork but all of it is original.
FAVORITE DESIGNERS — Henry Johnson of Johnson-Berman, who designed the shape of my bar.
MOST UNUSUAL THING ABOUT ME — I don’t know exactly what I want and where I want to go. I am so open to so many things because I don’t see myself set in one spot. I don’t want to be pinned down. I don’t want to be Paul the painter. I want to keep exploring.
