Once in a while, Ash and I like to take random drives around the back roads of the Richmond area. Virginia is filled with so many interesting historical landmarks, battlefields, museums, and parks that you’re bound to find something that piques your interest no matter what direction you end up heading. Even though Ashley and I have lived in this neck of the woods for most of our lives (well, all of hers; most of mine), we still haven’t seen all of the attractions our area has to offer. So, it’s a lot of fun to take a drive every now and then just to see what we come up with.

Recently, while on one of our drives, we stumbled upon McLawhorn’s Red Barn Antiques. It’s right in the middle of a fork in the road, and looks like it’s been there forever. As it turns out, it was once a very popular general store, Borkey’s Store, back in the early 1900′s. The history alone makes this an interesting stop.

The items sitting outside gave us a preview of what we would find in the store. Everything out here was from an era where furniture was made from solid wood. I don’t think you could find a single scrap of particle board anywhere near this place.

Oh–Did I mention the reason all the furniture is sitting outside is because the inside is so packed with awesome stuff from bygone eras that we wouldn’t have had a place to walk otherwise? Yeah. This place is going to take several trips to even scratch the surface.

There are three huge aisles, lined with tons of great items – so packed you could barely walk through them. The left side of the store is stocked with tons of kitchen-oriented antiques and records.

While this part of the shop also has some kitchen items, it’s home to my favorite section: books. You can see a few of them peeking out of the bottom-right corner here.

I’m a big fan of solid wood, dark-stained desks. The detail work is simple and clean, but it adds that extra touch that makes this desk look special.

You’d think this was just a cool conversation piece in the middle of the store. Nope. It’s a real, honest-to-goodness, working(!) drink fridge from which the antique shop staff hands out free Cokes to its customers.

Ash and I have a fascination with antique trunks, so these certainly caught our eyes. They were a little out of our price range for the day (coming in around $250 a piece), but I hope someone gives these a good home. They’re truly amazing in person.

We found this small chest of drawers sitting outside and Ashley immediately fell in love. She said it would be perfect for the foyer.

It was very solid and had a little wear and tear but that could be fixed. Coming in at $75, it was worth a try. So we packed it up in Ashley’s parent’s SUV and took it home.

I have to admit, I was a tad skeptical whether or not it would be a good fit for the foyer. I trust Ashley’s “style judgment” most of the time, but for some reason, I just couldn’t see it. I guess it’s a “guy thing”. When we got it in the house, I had a change of heart. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect piece for the foyer. Like how I say “we” now that it looks good? haha…

For now, we’re going to hold off on painting it. Even though the worn paint looks pretty cool, we’re not sure this shade of green is quite right for our house. In some lighting, it looks a little dull and heavy so it could use a little brightening up. I don’t know about Ash, but if we do decide to paint it down the road, I’d love to find a way to emulate the “worn” look.

As for what’s going to go on, in, and above… Ash said she envisions a large mirror (like this one she found on Pinterest) and maybe a lamp to bounce some light around. We plan on sprucing up the inside of the drawers as well with some graphic wallpaper turned drawer liner. Once that’s done, we’ll probably use it to store miscellaneous items like extra candles and maybe a drawer for Bentley’s leash and his sweater collection… he’ll think he’s spoiled – even more than he already is!

So that’s the rundown on our latest find for the house! Have you had any cool finds lately? Share them with us by leaving a comment…