To get a sense of Montreal’s passion for antiques, all you need is to take a simple stroll down Notre-Dame West. But should one be looking specifically for 18th and 19th century furniture and accessories, a quick detour to Attwater Avenue’s Rowntree Antiques’ is in order.
English expat Jennifer Rowntree has been running her Little Burgundy outpost since 2003, bringing along with her an intimate knowledge of antiques. “I grew up in a 17th-century farmhouse and through my childhood I would accompany my parents to flea markets all over the English countryside. That informed my vision of interiors – I thought everybody furnished their house with the kind of furniture I was surrounded by!”
Jennifer made the switch from the corporate world to the world of antiques in 1986, following the birth of her second child. “I wanted to work on my own projects and follow my passion. Opening the shop just seemed like the natural progression,” she recalls.
