Echoes of Beauty, Softly Reclaimed
Walk into the Antica Collection showroom this fall, and you’ll feel it immediately—a quiet reverence. The room holds its breath, cradling carved stone, burnished wood and early artifacts that have lived centuries of stories before arriving here.
Lisa Strait Vanpoucke’s vision is unlike anyone else’s at Round Top. At Antica, ancient beauty isn’t just preserved—it’s reimagined. Whether it’s centuries-old columns transformed into consoles with 17th-and-18th-century single-board dark wood tops or a 17th-century Spanish door, every piece carries soul, weight, and a sense of place.
“I want you to come into my showroom and fall in love with historical beauty from afar, reflect on things that were lived in long ago with a new purpose,” Vanpoucke said. “I’d like you to browse and take in the smells of Antica’s perfumed-filled room, listen to the music, and fall in love with your own reflection in one of my massive early mirrors and know you, too, are beautiful.”
That attention to feeling defines Antica. The showroom is full of nuance: pale wood and pastel tones one season, dark oak with jewel-toned velvet the next. Vanpoucke plays with contrast—black and gold, stone and glass, rough and refined—to create visual harmony. Her gift lies in layering historic texture with unexpected softness.
This fall’s arrivals are no exception. Among them: Portuguese stone benches salvaged from a castle, breathtaking 17th-century doors from Spain, and one-of-a-kind Italian mirrors whose gilded edges catch the light just right.
Vanpoucke’s journey as a finder and taste-maker began early, driven by a love for history and a collector’s instinct. “In my twenties, I began collecting fine furniture, silver, and early artifacts,” she said. “With my love for history and my thirst for education on period furniture, I became a prolific hunter of early treasures.”
“I’ve always loved period films, textiles, and fashion,” she elaborated. “When sourcing, I look for beautiful, timeless furniture and art that speaks to me in the same way fashion does. I think about how things have been used long ago and how they can tell a new story today.”
Over time, her passion turned into a career, and Antica became one of the most distinctive spaces in the business. Every show, Vanpoucke curates her layout like a film set. Music filters through perfumed air. Light dances across gold. Each vignette tells a small, complete story—elegant, arresting and just a little dreamlike.
Lately, Vanpoucke said she has noticed a shift at Round Top. A wave of younger homeowners—curious, design-forward, and aesthetically fearless—have begun finding their way to Antica to decorate their homes. “My Italian Mid-Century usually captures their attention,” she mused.
This fall, Antica tells a story of presence. Of touchable history. Of falling in love with things built long ago and imagining how they’ll live again. Vanpoucke’s message is simple: beauty is not fleeting. It’s layered. It’s lived-in. It’s reborn each time you walk past a carved bench or run your fingers across a mirror’s edge.
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