Their upscale yard sale has Cape collectors curious

HennHouse owners Sandra Cavallo (left) and Paula Hennessy created Henn-Pecked, a room for men that features sports memorabilia, barware, and nautically-themed antiques. (Globe Photo/Vincent Dewitt)

CATAUMET - Joan Holden is flush with the joy of discovery. "This is so sweet!" the Cataumet summer resident exclaims, pointing to a distressed wooden cabinet. "How much is it?"

"That's $48," Sandra Cavallo replies, then delivers her standard disclaimer: "But you know, you can make an offer."

It's a line Cavallo and partner Paula Hennessy repeat throughout the afternoon as they attend to a steady stream of customers at HennHouse, their monthly retail venture offering an impeccably edited collection of refurbished antiques. Since its launch in February, the Upper Cape sale has attracted a coterie of fans, from well-seasoned collectors to summer cottage dwellers. In the process, it's satisfied the needs of its founders, two self-proclaimed junk addicts with a passion for making the old new again.

North Falmouth residents Hennessy and Cavallo - acquaintances since their daughters took ballet together - weren't in the market for a small business. Hennessy, who spent eight years as the owner of home store Smith-Pratt, had left retail and was dipping her toe into interior design. Cavallo, a former designer for Disney, was putting her energies into the construction and design of her family's new home.

But after Hennessy asked Cavallo, 49, for some business branding help, and Cavallo consulted with Hennessy on home color schemes, their creative kinship was clear.

So the two began shopping "like, immediately," said Hennessy, 44. Antique fairs, flea markets, yard sales, vintage stores - they hit them all, traveling around Massachusetts and up to Maine, snatching up old wooden furniture, antique lamps and chandeliers, unusual linens and fabrics - anything with potential. They stashed their finds in a storage space Hennessy kept in a quaint Victorian house located in Cataumet, a village of Bourne.

Then they sat down and decided what to do with it all.

They came up with an unconventional retail model: a weekend-long "upscale yardsale," held the last weekend of each month.

With a concept in place, Cavallo and Hennessy set about sprucing up the inventory. They stripped, distressed, and repainted much of what they'd stockpiled, turning ordinary finds into singular pieces.

"We can find the beauty of something that people may not necessarily see as a piece of art," Cavallo said.

The two then freshened up Hennessy's storage area, creating a cozy space with paint-combed walls and country curtains. The eponym HennHouse (from Hennessy's name) conveys a cheeky yet down-home sensibility.

When they opened in February, they unveiled an antiquarian utopia: a flawlessy selected and restored collection of home goods, with a large number of items priced under $150.

Janet Ogilvy of Falmouth was an early HennHouse devotee, having followed Hennessy from Smith-Pratt in West Falmouth. "I just loved the uniqueness of the store - there's always new inventory," she said. As she spoke, she brandished her latest HennHouse find: a large, weathered wooden oar.

Mary Gelsthorpe, a Cataumet resident who lives down the street from the store, was another early admirer. "It's very eclectic, it's shabby chic, and it changes every month, so it's amazing. You just never know what you'll find."

As HennHouse caught on, Hennessy and Cavallo grew more creative. They began offering customized signage, old metal letters and numbers attached to found pieces of wood (address signs are popular). One of their latest ventures is the Feathers bed linen line: new sheet sets purchased on the cheap from a hotel vendor and then embellished with antique buttons, ribbon, and fabric. At $40 to $60 a set, the sheets have become immediate favorites with summer Cape residents looking for affordable and unique linens.

Hennessy and Cavallo also emphasize artwork - most often, found photos and images they have professionally framed.

"It's hard to buy great art and affordable art," said Cavallo, whose outfit - a funky skirt constructed of a tablecloth and a piece of upholstery - reflects her artistic sensibilities.

In the future, the two are considering asking other antique dealers to join the monthly sale. "I am convinced that we need to be a 'destination' of many small shops in order to get people to come regularly," Cavallo said.

They also recently expanded to create Henn-Pecked, a male-oriented room featuring classic barware, nautically themed antiques, and sports memorabilia (last month's highlight was an old pair of boxing gloves).

"We get a lot of husbands who just stand there, [saying], 'Are you ready?' " said Hennessy, adding slyly, "We're going to haul an old couch and TV up there."

HennHouse will be open tomorrow through Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 1337 County Road at Route 28A, Cataumet. Call 508-274-0672 or visit henn-house.net.