'I still have that adventurous spirit': Inside a 97-year-old's treasure-filled apartment

When Evelyn Bauer, 97, downsized from her four-bedroom location successful Sherman Oaks to an flat successful Reseda successful 2014, the longtime collector and antiques trader was forced to relinquish galore of her idiosyncratic belongings.

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“It was hard to portion with truthful overmuch stuff,” Bauer says. “My location was perfectly full. But it was a joyousness to spot different radical follow my things astatine the property sale. I got a batch of pleasance retired of it due to the fact that everyone fell successful emotion with my things, conscionable arsenic I did erstwhile I archetypal bought them.”

Originally from New York, Bauer, who taught simple schoolhouse successful New York City and Los Angeles, says she saved astir a 3rd of her astir cherished items for herself.

“Collecting is my passion, my addiction, and I’m truthful blessed to beryllium afflicted with it,” says Bauer, whose two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat astatine an autarkic surviving installation for seniors is filled with furnishings and decorative arts from her 65 years arsenic a collector.

Bauer’s antiques marque a connection successful the surviving and eating country wherever they bent from airy orangish painted walls she chose for her apartment. “It’s a blessed color,” she says.

Step wrong her surviving room, and the immense postulation of antiques feels similar entering the erstwhile Encino Antique Center, wherever she was erstwhile the proprietor during the 1990s. Each point has a story, a representation and a unsocial charm that she cherishes.

As a erstwhile teacher, Bauer finds joyousness successful educating others astir antiques and sharing these stories. “Purple solid has magnesium successful it, and it turns purple aft galore years successful the sun,” she says arsenic she picks up a portion of solid successful her eating room. “People who cod patterned solid deliberation this is an abomination due to the fact that it’s not successful its archetypal state. That’s ridiculous. I emotion it.”

A instrumentality of assemblage walls, Bauer installed a partition of mirrors successful her bedroom.

Moving connected to the impermanent room, Bauer points to a Fretwork wood partition sheet supra the daybed. “I bought that astatine a gait merchantability on with a chair. I deliberation I paid $65 for the 2 pieces,” she says. “It hung from the ceiling of my edifice for years. Then it was my headboard and present it’s here.”

Her postulation includes the archetypal antique she ever purchased, an iridescent orangish vase made of agelong glass, arsenic good arsenic the 1930s-era rocking seat from her parents’ location successful New York. “It was my father’s favourite chair,” she says.

After surviving successful a 2,600-square-foot home, Bauer indulged her passionateness for orangish by coating each of the walls of her flat a airy orangish to marque her ceramics, partition pockets, solid and furnishings pop.

“It’s a blessed color,” she says, noting the orangish chaise successful her chamber and the Art Nouveau ceramics. “I knew erstwhile I saw the flat that I was going to adjacent the doorway to the bath disconnected of the surviving country since it had 2 doors. That’s wherefore I painted everything the aforesaid colour — you don’t truly spot that determination is simply a doorway down the etageres.”

Despite the information that she doesn’t thrust anymore, Bauer’s adventurous tone has not diminished. She inactive enjoys the “thrill of discovery,” which she says is simply a important portion of her passionateness for collecting. After bringing her treasures home, she looks them up connected Google and successful her notation books. Then, the existent amusive begins: uncovering a location for them successful her apartment.

“Not to worry,” she says. “There’s ever country for 1 much gem.”

A tireless researcher, Bauer tries to support a grounds of her purchases, from the colorful vintage Bauer pottery ringware successful her room to the Akro Agate glassware successful her impermanent room. She tags each portion with a enactment that identifies the maker, year, however overmuch she paid and what it’s worthy present successful her tiny handwritten cursive. Taped to the bottommost of an Art Deco ceramic vase, for example, she has written: “Weller, Forest c. 1920. Paid $1 astatine a gait sale. Took to Antiques Roadshow successful the 1990s. Valued astatine $250-$350.”

To maximize her show space, Bauer installed a brace of etageres successful beforehand of her bath door, which has a 2nd entrance.

The different broadside of the doorway offers further country for her treasures wrong the bathroom.

As thing of an antiques adept now, she recalls however intimidated she was erstwhile she spotted the orangish agelong solid vase successful a store model successful Silver Spring, Md.

“I had ne'er been successful an antique store earlier successful my life,” she says. “I was acrophobic to spell in.” When she returned home, she says her hubby told her, “Go backmost and bargain it if you similar it.” So she went backmost to the store and inquired astir the vase. “The salesman told maine it was a fantastic illustration of agelong glass,” she says. “I had ne'er heard of it. That was the opening of my education.” The $4 terms tag remains connected the bottommost of the vase today. “It’s not worthy a batch of money,” Bauer adds, “but it’s 1 of my favorites.”

By contrast, erstwhile asked what she would drawback if her flat were connected fire, she walked implicit to a bookshelf and picked up a ceramic pitcher. “I would drawback this,” she says of the 1880 Wilhelm Schiller & Son portion successful mint condition. “I conscionable emotion it.”

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1. A ceramic figurine and woody timepiece are among the treasures successful Bauer’s apartment.

Like the household photos passim her apartment, determination is, successful fact, overmuch for her to love. And though she has suffered losses — her archetypal hubby died of pancreatic crab astatine property 42 and her 2nd husband, Harry, died successful 2013 — her apartment, she says, has the aforesaid consciousness of lukewarm familiarity arsenic the location she shared with her household for astir 50 years.

Recently, erstwhile 2 of her granddaughters expressed involvement successful immoderate plates and mirrors successful her eating room, Bauer didn’t hesitate to enactment their names connected them. “I told them ‘they’re yours,’” she says.

“But you can’t person them yet,” she adds, laughing.

That’s due to the fact that her things, specified arsenic her Art Nouveau pottery and her black-and-white silhouette artworks, inactive bring her joy. She inactive remembers purchasing the John Widdicomb Midcentury Modern java array caller successful Washington, D.C. She loves partition pockets of each kinds, mirrors — adjacent hats.

“I won archetypal prize astatine past year’s Halloween costume party,” she says arsenic she reaches for a chapeau connected her overgarment rack. “I’m going to beryllium Michael Jackson this year, and I’m determined to moonwalk.” (She looked up Jackson’s creation moves connected her iPad and is presently practicing.)

Despite her affinity for her beloved objects, Bauer is simply a self-described radical person. She hosts monthly lectures astatine her status location and plans to instrumentality her neighbors to the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop successful Encino aboriginal this month. Recent topics successful her Antiques and Collectibles bid person included lectures connected celluloid, vintage weddings and Art Deco.

“I bash a batch of probe first, and past I springiness a little history,” she says. “A treatment follows, and past I amusement them my things.”

A enactment of Art Nouveau pottery connected the etagere successful Bauer’s apartment.

Her neighbor, erstwhile L.A. City Councilwoman Joy Picus, says she had small involvement successful antiques until she met Bauer. “I furnished my location successful Midcentury Modern,” she said by email. “I past saw Evelyn’s flat afloat of absorbing things, and saw things successful a antithetic light. Through Evelyn’s outstanding programs, different satellite has been opened up to me.”

During her caller lecture connected Bakelite, Bauer brought the candlestick telephone from her flat and discussed the past of the integrative material. “I cognize a lot,” she says, “but there’s ever much to learn.”