There's nothing antiquated about Geoff Clark's ideas. Get ready to mix the old with the new.

"Mix up your pieces to create a signature look. Not only can you mix old and new, you can mix pieces of different origins. Why not place an antique Asian piece beside a French one? It comes back to individuality. If you buy a dining table with matching chairs - you get that commercial feel. because everything is the same colour and style. Mix it up and you get something new, not borrowed".

"The best way to clean antique timber is to dust it with a soft cloth, and then use prepared furniture wax with no beeswax. Beeswax is a product that people have been misinformed about. It stays greasy, so you'll spend your life trying to make it shiny - every fingerprint shows. Clean and care for any antique upholstery as you would for modern upholstery".

Go back to the future with the 20th century industrial angle poise lamp. It'll certainly bring that scientific feel of a bygone era to your desk. The moulded steel shape pull rim gains height with a three-way stem with spherical aluminium joints and it's set on a circular base. It's $1950 by Lisi.

Geoff's Tips:
1. Antiques should mostly be used as accent pieces. Decorating in a single period is too limiting. 2. One or two antiques will 'lift' contemporary pieces. It's the counterpoint that makes it exciting. 3. Find interesting ways to adapt antiques to give them a new function. A 1940s tin drum can be used as a planter or a side table. 4. Antique painted furniture shouldn't have a shine on it. It should have a chalky finish.

A love of interiors, design and antique pieces is what insprired Geoff Clark to set up The Country Trader 18 years ago. After studying architecture, working as a builder and trading in old pieces, "The Country Trader was a logical follow on," Geoff says of his Sydney-based business, who antique-filled showroom covers 3000 square metres - the size of your average Bunnings Warehouse.

"Antiques shouldn't be about how old or how rare items are; there are ugly things from every period. For me the design and the proportion are more interesting. The approach to take is, 'I have a spot to fill and I want a strong accent piece that's a one-off. I want something with character, warmth and a sense of history.' Consider how the piece will fit the space, and the way it'll affect the room. Then start looking around at what styles and periods you like and what you can afford. If the piece you've found fits the bill, look at how old it really is, what it's really worth and how original it is."

Buyer beware! It's best to deal with businesses that are members of the Australian Antique Dealers Association (AADA). Also, be careful at auctions. Find out the value of a piece from another source before you bid on it.

"I live and breathe period pieces- but I've chosen to live in an ultra-modern home because that's the best backdrop. I have pieces from the 1950s through to Hellenistic Roman marbles - a lot of architectural and stone pieces - I mix it all together." Back