Text by Bethany Adams
When Paige and Smoot Hull began viewing properties in Round Top, Texas, they were dreaming of a second home where their children could get a taste of the serenity of small-town life—they never expected to create a unique space for connecting like minds. But when a realtor informed them of the need for lodging in the town, which grows from a population of 90 to accommodate tens of thousands of guests during the Round Top Antiques Show, their plans began to change.
“I loved the town but was really just a shopper and had no intention of becoming a vendor or [joining] the hospitality business there,” Paige says. “But we feel it was really meant to be, just the way everything fell into place.”
In 2012, they opened The Vintage Round Top as a refurbished farmhouse that they gutted and renovated, and they’ve since added to both the property and the company. Now, in addition to the home goods line offered in collaboration with local artisans, as well as an online antiques shop, The Vintage Round Top provides a place to stay for individual shoppers, group retreats, and everything in between. From the original farmhouse—now known as No. 1450—and the Boho, which connects to it, to the freestanding, 400-square-foot cottages that opened in 208, every inch of the property features the modern vintage style Paige is known for.
“That was a gift,” she says of the now-popular design aesthetic, explaining that the home she and Smoot ended up purchasing had been renovated to include full drywall and wall-to-wall carpet. While they found the finish far from what they had been expecting, they realized gutting the home and starting over would give them a blank canvas. “We began to think, ‘Actually, this could be cool,’ because we could add these pieces that we were finding at the show and make them into lighting or into art,” Paige says. “And because we left the walls almost like museum walls, it really allowed those pieces to be prominent.”
When it comes to decorating with antiques, Paige notes that there’s no wrong way to do things, but The Vintage Round Top follows the philosophy of “less is more,” allowing each individual find to shine. “When you’re shopping for pieces, they need to speak to you,” she says, adding that antiques have the power to connect people to their history.
And that’s what The Vintage Round Top is all about—making connections. Through retreats, workshops, and other events the property hosts, Paige and Smoot love facilitating connections between strangers and friends alike.
“We’ve had people sit next to one another at our Business Branding and Social Media workshops who have never known one another but who became business partners or best friends or the source to the answer that somebody needs,” Paige says. She adds that many of the bridges built beneath The Vintage Round Top’s roof have led to the creation of charities and other life-changing undertakings. “It’s just such a blessing to be a part of.”