Tara Shaw

Southern Home (SH): In your new book, Soul of the Home: Designing with Antiques (Harry N. Abrams), you describe yourself as a modernist at heart. That’s somewhat surprising, coming from an antiques dealer.

Tara Shaw (TS): As a teen I had a midcentury banquette covered in a leopard print and a black fur bedspread on a midcentury bed. Fortunately my family always allowed me to color outside the lines.

SH: When did you develop your passion for antiques?

I had a pretty successful career in the fashion industry, and I had gotten to the point where I wanted to feather my New Orleans nest. At the time French Provincial furniture was prevalent, which wasn’t my cup of tea, so I started doing research, poring through. I was inside the container, and I started hearing noise on the outside. When I rolled up the door, people ran in and everything sold in about 10 minutes.