Chance (the husband) just emailed me this photo of his dream house, it is indeed "classic":

He is a professional engineer and I have no doubt that if he set out to achieve this "dream house" of his that he could do it… I on the other hand, probably would not be around to do the interiors when the time came.

On with more "classics"!  I do not think you can go wrong with black & white art… any medium, any subject…

Por ejemplo:

Hugo Guinness [seen above and available thru John Derian] married to Elliott Puckette [seen below]

[Ducasse via 1stdibs]

[Suzanne Kasler publications above & below]

love white mats & simple gold frames!

Another classic: SILVER… look what Housemartin found!  My mom collects antique trophies… and I’ve always loved them.  When I was in middle and high school friends who didn’t really "get it" always made snide comments about mom’s trophy collection "why does your mom collect those?" As in: trophies are just for the person who won them. Most trophies these days are total junk… I know because I worked in a trophy shop (HA! Seriously! I refer to that stage of my life as "my short stint in a trophy sweat shop") cutting that plastic tubing with a chop saw and engraving brass plates "Boys Golf Tournament 3rd Place"… it was not a fun job… no worries though it didn’t last long. 

[Trophy Lamps from 1st Dibs]

[ebay find]

[another on ebay]

[and a whole slew of them on ebay]

Obviously most of these are probably "silver plated"… not solid… but they are still beautiful.

Silver trays and other service pieces are obvious "classics"… but where I come from (Kentucky) we are fond of Silver Mint Julep cups:

[lovely]

Disclaimer: everyone describes "classic" in different terms… but I guess since this my blog, we’ll go with what I think is classic… these are light fixtures I would not leave a flea market/antique show/antique mall/garage sale without – if the price was right.  And remember… lamps are always better in pairs! Lamp shades are a whole different ball game… trends drive shades more than lamps, so don’t be afraid to buy a classic lamp and change the shade every few years to give it an updated look!

ALABASTER LAMPS:

[image from 1stdibs]

LANTERNS:

[image from House Beautiful I think]

[image from 1stDibs] {they didn’t get the memo re: clear glass = clear light bulb, frosted glass = frosted glass bulb}

[image from 1stDibs]

TOLE CHANDELIERS:

[D*S enlisted the help of ATNY for help finding this tole chandelier]

[my kitchen wants this, image from 1stdibs]

[another from 1stdibs]

URN LAMPS:

I’ve never seen an urn lamp that looked "outdated"… or that I didn’t like.

[from Pieces via 1stDibs]

[large chunky urn from circa]

TASK LAMPS:

You know, the kind you might see on an architect’s desk… I love them all… never can resist. (I know, I have issues.)

[Boris Lacroix via 1stdibs]

[Edward Bouquet Reproduction via 1stdibs]