Market Hill: The Premier Showplace of Round Top, Texas - The Nation's Capital for the World's Most Coveted Antiques

The small Texas town of Round Top (population: 90) has long been considered by the world’s most elite interior designers, collectors and curators to be the ultimate hidden gem for sourcing world-class vintage and antique finds. In more recent years with both supply chain issues rendering mainstream furnishing purchases unreliable and a surge in the popularity of sustainable sourcing, this industry-kept destination has seen an explosive surge in popularity and has become a national sensation for the design-forward masses - the nation’s capital for the most exceptional and unique antiques from around the world. Round Top is an agricultural community that is both filled to the brim with Southern charm and a self-admitted challenge to get to - nestled halfway between Houston and Austin with about an hour or so of drive time to each. Despite the small-town nature and limited lodging, the small town does big numbers. Over 100,000 designers, curators, collectors and interior design aficionados are willing to travel from far and wide to experience the 17 mile stretch of dealers across Texas Highway 237. The Round Top Antiques Fair, overtaking the town for a major bi-annual event each Spring and Fall, started from humble beginnings in 1968 as a small-town antiques event featuring a handful of vendors in a single red barn. Flash forward to today, the Round Top Antiques Festival has become a global destination dedicated to providing an unmatched selection of next-level finds sourced from the world’s most interesting places, all in celebration of the thrill of the hunt. 

A  curator, collector and designer’s paradise, the world’s best are finding their way to Round Top at rapid pace. Widely-considered the creme de la creme of the scene is industry frontrunner and world-renowned Market Hill. The first and last stop for the most in-demand dealers, serious buyers, designers and shoppers, Market Hill is a bonafide design destination, comprised of 225,000 square ft of showrooms and common areas, housing some of the world’s best antiques, furniture and decorative arts across two large buildings, all sourced by the industry’s best - a collective of 33 of the nation’s top dealers, many of whom have provided pieces that have graced the homes of A-list celebrities or the interior of the world’s best hotel properties. Unlike many of their Round Top counterparts, Market Hill is open year-round outside of the seasonal Antiques Fair and serves as the industry’s epicenter for sourcing treasures from centuries past and one of a kind finds mixed with bespoke modern art and decor. Market Hill is a home away from home for the world’s design community, offering thoughtful and refined amenities for a hassle-free experience including the cleanest restrooms in all of Round Top, air conditioning, plentiful free parking and a full-service, chef-driven restaurant, bar and event space, Duo Modern. With multiple bars and comfortable areas to relax and unwind, every moment at Market Hill is a celebration of the finer things in life. A visionary design experience, guests can find inspiration at every turn with a fully-styled showroom offering a most unique opportunity to meet and engage with the industry’s top names that have spent countless hours scouring every corner of the Earth to source each piece firsthand. 

Market Hill is the passion project of highly-acclaimed artist Paul Michael of the Paul Michael Company, alongside his wife and Co-Founder, Debbie Michael. Dating back to adolescence, Michael worked in his grandfather’s department store, Mansour’s on Main Street, in Lake Village, Arkansas. It was in this role it became overwhelmingly evident that he possessed a natural-born gift in the art of buying, selling and trading. During the 70’s, Michael fostered this gift by buying antiques and selling them to national chain T.G.I. Friday’s, making a name for himself in the design industry. It was at this time Michael met his future wife Debbie at her antique clothing store, Betty Boop’s in Nashville, TN, which was one of the first vintage clothing stores in the country. Debbie shared a similar upbringing to Michael in that she herself had grown up traveling around the country in the five-and-dime merchants’ tradition, and their dates naturally included scouring antique shops for the best of treasures. Through these adventures, the pair realized their compatibility in both love and a mutual admiration for the treasure hunt, and as such a brand was born as the two took their talent on the road, eventually making their way into the jewelry business to great success. This venture led Michael abroad, where he first saw potential in the home decorative antiques market. The duo eventually married, had children and evolved the Paul Michael Company brand into what it is today - a custom line of accessories and furnishings designed by Michael himself. A true art-repreneur, Michael creates “the antiques of tomorrow” guided by the principle of transforming the past to enrich the present and inspire the future.

With this storied past and a love for bringing the design community together, Market Hill was born. Built by a creator, for creators, Paul Michael and the Market Hill team place the utmost importance on celebrating the vibrant vendor community found within the town of Round Top. Michael has gone above and beyond to create a venue that not only showcases vendor talents, but caters to their unique needs with streamlined setup processes and easy navigation, allowing vendors to focus on what they do best - creating and sharing their exceptional offerings with the world. Founder Paul Michael’s own showplace at Market Hill features a collection of beautiful, unique and livable accents for homes of all shapes and sizes, sourced from Arkansas to Texas to Shanghai to Mumbai, each with a story to tell. Paul Michael Company goods are 100% American-made and are constructed of natural elements including stones, crystals, steel and wood that Michael has sourced himself. 

A world of its own, ultra-curated for the connoisseur, the showroom at Market Hill is constantly expanding as it adds new dealers and clients, with dealers sourcing pieces to show exclusively in Round Top. Market Hill’s current collective of the industry’s most sought-after dealers includes: Paul Michael Company, Ables Antiques, Props Antiques, Scoville Brown, Antica Collection, Zap Props and Artifacts, Susan Horne Antiques, Amelia Tarbet, Nomadic Trading Company, Renouveau Antiques, SVO, Architectural Anarchy, Paul Meyer, The Select Pick, Architect’s Daughter, Joseph Collins Antiques and Modern Design, Vincent Peach, Heja Home, Dinner Party Antiques, Architectural Artifacts, Robert Masselo Furniture, Leisel Farms Antiques, M. Naeve, Inc., Tiffany Farha Design, Urban Vintage, Shabby Slips, Atlanta Fine Rugs, Moxie Interiors, Provence Antiques & Amadi Carpets.

Duo Modern: the Restaurant at Market Hill is a delightful addition to the charm of the town of Round Top and a vital element to the overall enchantment of the Market Hill experience. Duo Modern is an open-kitchen concept built on the idea of togetherness and a true appreciation for the creative process from a culinary perspective. Much like the uniqueness of the pieces within the showrooms at Market Hill, the chef-driven restaurant offshoot isn’t beholden to a particular type of cuisine. With each day, a new menu is determined, based on an equal amount of seasonality and daily innovation and inspiration. Much to be expected, the decor that dons the walls and fixtures that hang from the ceiling of Duo Modern are nothing short of the standard of interior excellence set by the market itself. A one-of-a-kind experience available to visitors with each trip to Market Hill, Duo Modern is both a staple element of the antiques shopping experience and an ancillary asset to the town of Round Top. The restaurant doubles as a private event space and the culinary team is available for private catering for special events ranging from client dinners, weddings, banquets and everything in between for up to 300 people in Round Top and the surrounding areas both on or off-site. Duo Modern is open year-round to the public for dinner on Wednesday (5pm - 9 pm), lunch and dinner service from Thursday - Saturday (10 am-9pm) with brunch available on Sundays (10am-2pm) with extended hours during the Spring and Fall shows for visitors to enjoy. A tradition at Market Hill, Duo Modern hosts a pig roast during each show, made possible by a special smoker built by Paul Michael himself in the spirit of bringing people together through the power of great design. 

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Widely-considered the premier shopping experience in the nation’s antiques capital, Round Top, Texas, is Market Hill, an industry frontrunner and world-renowned venue located at 1542 Hwy 237 N.The first and last stop for the most in-demand dealers, serious buyers, designers and shoppers, Market Hill is a bonafide design destination, curating 225,000 square feet of of showrooms and common areas, housing some of the world’s best antiques, furniture and decorative arts across two large buildings, all sourced by the industry’s best - a collective of 33 of the nation’s top dealers, many of whom have provided pieces that have graced the homes of A-list celebrities or the interior of the world’s best hotel properties. Unlike many of their Round Top counterparts, the Paul Michael Showroom along with select other merchants, as well as the on-site restaurant Duo Modern are open year-round outside of the seasonal Antiques Fair and serves as the industry’s epicenter for sourcing treasures from centuries past and one of a kind finds mixed with bespoke modern art and decor. Market Hill is a home away from home for the world’s design community, offering thoughtful and refined amenities for a hassle-free experience including plentiful free parking and a full-service, chef-driven restaurant, bar and event space, Duo Modern. A visionary design experience, guests can find inspiration at every turn with a fully-styled showroom offering a most unique opportunity to meet and engage with the industry’s top names that have spent countless hours scouring every corner of the Earth to source each piece firsthand.