Marcia Nelson's favorite pastime is rearranging accessories, making contact with the objects that so delight her. She laughs but doesn't joke when she says, "That activity makes me salivate." Marcia has an eye for Uncommon Finds!, her aptly named antiques business, and she goes to great lengths to own what attracts her.

Marcia Nelson's favorite pastime is rearranging accessories, making contact with the objects that so delight her. She laughs but doesn't joke when she says, "That activity makes me salivate." Marcia has an eye for Uncommon Finds!, her aptly named antiques business, and she goes to great lengths to own what attracts her. "It seems I'm always asking people to sell me the things they have that aren't for sale," says Marcia. It took five men to move an oak wardrobe from a church basement up to her second floor. She even special orders cotton swabs because they are "cooler than the average ones." She buys white toothbrushes and plants white flowers. While her rigid aesthetic narrows the field, it heightens her discrimination for the pieces she chooses to own.



Creating a quiet style: Marcia has determined that every room in her home incorporate a palette of only white, brown, black, and silver. While the limited spectrum of colors certainly makes coordinating an easier endeavor, it's a challenge (albeit a fun one) to find the right elements. To keep to her self-imposed palette, she transfers dry goods to plain glass jars, purchases shampoo based on the bottle hue, and, on occasion, colors something black with a Sharpie.



Although certain colors appeal to Marcia, she is equally taken with texture and shape. She loves baskets for their inherent warmth, industrial wire for its simple form, and shells and horn for their luster. Then she groups things in odd numbers and off center.



Marcia Nelson's 1868 house is a repository of collections, neutral in palette but not in passion.



Sculptural wire implements become found art.



The kitchen is a mix of forms and textures; a store clothing rack works as a pot holder.



According to Marcia, whisk brooms are a perfect mix of utilitarian and natural.



A special place for everything, including a much-used collection of ribbed turtlenecks; her color palette makes a fashion statement.



Marcia coated a giant ball of string with polyurethane to keep her cats from playing with it.



Marcia tags old suitcases-"Marcia's report cards" and Marcia's old photos-to make it easier to find things.



By Jane Dagmi. Photography by Laura Resen