 |
Home & Design: Luxury Homes - Fine Interior Design & Furnishings, July-August,
2006, p. 122
(excerpt reprinted with permission)See
full article at:
http://www.homeanddesign.com/article/123
International Furniture
...A great accent piece for a living room or bedroom, this French Napoleon
III-period folding screen boasts six panels of oil-painted canvases, each
panel depicting a different composition of flowers or birds. The reverse is also
painted with simple, complementary designs. Available at Sparrows in Kensington;
phone (301) 530-0175 or visit www.sparrows.com..
|
|
|
PRESS
Style 1900 The Magazine of Turn-of-the-Century Design
May, 2003 issue, p.13 (excerpt reprinted with
permission)
The Arts and Crafts Traveler
by Anne Stewart O'Donnell
Washington D.C. and Vicinity
...What local museums lack, local antique shops offer in
plenty... North of the city, the shops of "Old Town" Kensington offer five
browsable blocks of antiques and collectibles. For serious
turn-of-the-century wares, however, cross Connecticut Avenue to Kensington's
West Howard antiques district. Dotted among the auto-body shops area
number of warehouses whose drab exteriors hide Aladdin's caves of European
antiques...Head for Sparrows for French antiques from the 1700's to the 1930's,
including Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau bedroom and dining suites, period
paintings and objects. Particularly striking were two 1912 murals ($32,000
the pair) from the Grand Hotel, Vichy -- sun-dappled California-like landscapes
that would make a perfect backdrop to a room furnished in American quarter-sawn
oak... |
The Washington Post, Home Section,
Thursday, July 13, 2000, p. H4
Kensington's French Quarter
by Kathleen Stanley, Special to The Washington Post
If the antiques dealers of Kensington's warehouse district have their way, Bastille Day will
become known not just as a celebration of French independence or the running of the
traditional waiters' race in downtown Washington (celebrating its 25th year tomorrow).
They're hoping to institutionalize a truly American way of celebrating a national holiday:
shopping.
More specifically, shopping at one of five stores along Howard Avenue, just west of
Connecticut Avenue that all have a definite French accent.
"Normally, we're in France on Bastille Day doing some buying, but this year we'' be
here," says Lori Chaikin, showroom manager at Sparrows, which has been selling French
antiques since 1974...
The veritable grand-pere of the group is Sparrows (4115 Howard Ave.; 301-530-0175)
owned by Henning and Nancy Kramer. Though it carries a mix of things French, the primary
focus of the 10,000 square foot showroom is 19th century revival styles, but other pieces
range from the late 18th century through the Art Deco period... "People sometimes have
a preconceived notion that French furniture is always gold or heavily carved," says
Chaikin. But most of what we do is much less formal and in line with the way people live
today.
|
|
 |
The Washingtonian Magazine, April, 2000 issue, p. 83
(excerpt reprinted with permission):
Where to find it
...In Kensington, most designers favor Howard Avenue shops west of Connecticut
Avenue, going for gems like...Sparrows (sic) (4115 Howard Ave., 301-530-0175)
specializing in country and formal French fare...
|
The Washington Post, August 12, 1999
:
Where Designers Buy Those Finishing Touches
...Majolica fan David Herchik swears by Sparrows Inc, 4115 Howard Ave., Kensington,
301-530-0175.
|
Home & Design: Luxury Homes - Fine Interior Design & Furnishings, May-June, 1999, p. 30
(excerpt reprinted with permission):
Fine French Antiques: A Panoply of Treasures,
by Barbara Karth
Devotees of fine French antique furniture make regular sojourns to Sparrows showroom
on Howard Avenue in Kensington, Maryland, despite the fact that Sparrows is hidden on
the warehouse side, west of Connecticut Avenue, not in Kensington's Antique Row. The
search for Sparrows is well worth the effort: their 12,000 square foot showroom provides a
panoply of treasures...
A gem like Sparrows is no accident. The educated eye of Henning and Nancy Kramer
combined with their love of French furniture, and more than twenty-five years of
dedication has resulted in the Sparrows of today...
|
CDecor Magazine:
Design Wish List, A through Z, Dec, 2002, (S):
|
"S" The spirit of France will never leave Washington, D.C.
From Paris's influence on L'Enfant's design of America's capitol and Jefferson's ideas for the Capitol
building to Maison Jansen's decoration of some of the rooms in the White House during the Kennedy years,
Washington, D.C.'s architecture is undeniably French-inspired. Sparrows fits right in, with its huge
inventory of French antiques, from the late 18th century through Art Deco periods, from country to formal.
The furniture is made of woods such as walnut, cherry, oak, mahogany, pine and exotic hardwoods and is
accented by a vast collection of French majolica and faience figural items, tobacco jars, cachepots and
jardinieres.
|
|
