Designer Snapshot: Zany for Zinc

Sandra Goodkind does a lot of shopping–for her interior design clients, for Crowning Glory, her home-design boutique in Branford, Connecticut, and for her own Stony Creek house, featured in the summer 2011 issue of New England Home’s Connecticut.

Among her favorite shopping destinations is the Brimfield Antique Show. “Some people go to Europe to buy,†she says. “I go to Brimfield.â€

That’s where she makes discoveries like Mark Dooley, a regular at Brimfield, whose Dallas, Texas–based North Star Antiques has proven to be a treasure trove for Sandra. She especially loves what Dooley does with zinc. He crafted her dining room table by nailing a slab of oxidized zinc to an old trestle. “I love zinc. It just speaks to me,†Sandy says. “I love the fact that it can be integrated into any design. It has texture and strength but it also has a softness.â€

Here, she shows us a few more of Dooley’s pieces she loves.

A simple wooden table gets a zinc top. “This would make a great kitchen island, or a work table for a potting shed.â€

Photos courtesy of North Star Antiques

“Isn’t this desk beautiful, with its zinc inset instead of a leather blotter?â€

An antique French zinc tub would make a beautiful planter for the garden or patio, Sandy says. “Zinc was often used for metal basins years ago. I have a double sink of zinc in my potting shed.â€