When I first moved to the Asheville area and opened my interior design business, I quickly realized, I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Simply put, there are definitely fewer options as to where to shop in this area compared to South Florida for home decor. I had some homework to do! I needed to find the best local sources for furnishing, art, accents, and unique finds. I started pounding the pavement exploring different towns and cities across Western North Carolina and the South Carolina Upstate.
After a few short weeks of legwork, I was able to come up with a solid list of resources. As a designer it is important to have a diverse source of where to find those special pieces to set my designs apart for a couple of reasons. First of all, budget; not every client can afford the designer, custom showrooms. Second, and equally important in my opinion, the most interesting, well thought out designs are layered with pieces that look as if they've been collected over time. You achieve this by opening your horizons on where to shop. This is not a top so and so list, but a tool I use time and time again when creating beautiful spaces for my clients.
Go to for Quality and Design
These are my first stops when clients have a healthy budget and want the best custom and quality selections out there. They offer countless customizable options, and offer warranties to back their furnishings that are unsurpassed by any other resources in the area. Let's face it purchasing quality home furnishings is an investment, and I understand the piece of mind that comes with purchasing from venders who stand behind their products. Also, who doesn't love a tailored to suit your needs, nobody else has one, expertly crafted piece of furniture.
Design Avenue Home Furnishings located in Fletcher, North Carolina in the Design Center. This is one of my most valued resources when beginning a new design. Regardless of the style direction a design project might take, I can always find the perfect selections. If what I'm looking for is not currently on their showroom floor there are 100s of venders available to source from at my fingertips in their design studio.
The Summer House located in Highlands, North Carolina. They have an beautiful, sprawling showroom, with loads to look at from indoors to out. They also specialize in beautiful bedding and bath linens.
ck SWAN located in Highlands, NC. This eclectic little gem of a shop is a must stop for unusual accents, antiques, and beautiful art. Love, love, love this store!
Budget Conscious
Budget is always front in center of a design. Not the most fun topic, I know, but important to us all that we get the most out of what we have to spend. I'm a big fan of sourcing from these places even when my client might be less budget conscious. I know you've heard it all before, "splurge where can, save where you can". Also, getting out of the regular retail experience can result in amazing, unexpected results.
Marketplace on Locust Street Located in Hendersonville, NC. Isle, the store owner has discerning taste when it comes to consignment. She knows her furniture and it shows as you enter the 10,000+ square foot retail space. She rents to venders who are always changing their inventory of new, reclaimed, antique, and consignment pieces. It's a great source for all your home decor needs.
Rudy's Furniture located in Asheville, NC. Rudy's is unique in that they buy from Furniture Market Showrooms, meaning when these high end furniture venders set up to sell to the high end shops, Rudy's purchases what is left on that showroom floor after the market is wrapped up. Let me tell you, they are priced to sell! You can score crazy markdowns from suggested MSRP but its total luck of the draw, so stop by often as the are always getting new truckloads in.
Sweetbriar located in Greenville, SC. Whenever I have a client who appreciates a bohemian or shabby chic type of design, I always take the drive down south to Sweetbriar. They use an Indonesian based company that offers one-of-a-kind pieces that are all cash and carry. Sweetbriar also employees a number of artists who rehab tired classic pieces of furniture, whether painting it a fun, funky color, or bringing it back to its former glory. Their shop space isn't huge, so they always have everything priced to get it out the door to make room for what's new.
Off the Beaten Path
I recently had a large design project based in the Atlanta area. The home was just under 7,000 square feet of living space and literally one beige box after another. There was ZERO life or interest in this house. It's in these circumstances that I turn to the roads less traveled. This is the ace up my sleeve when I need the WOW factor, adding architectural elements, unique finds, and artistic details, in my designs. Plus, it's just fun to take the time and get lost at these spots!
Underground Salvage located in the Lumberyard Art District of Brevard, NC. Want to talk about where to find what makes a design stand out... this place is it. I recently designed a restaurant in the same neighborhood as the Underground Salvage, and I now tell people that everything that makes that space cool was brought over from Underground. Now, I will say it may take a little creativity and imagination (I'm here to help should you need) but this resource cannot be beat!
The Screen Door located in Asheville, North Carolina. I always swing by the Screen Door if I'm on the hunt for something special. It's a little hit or miss, but when it's a hit, it's always a favorite find and just right for what I need. They do have a wonderful selection of books on the subject of home, garden, cooking, and design which I love to use beautiful books in my designs, so, it's never really a miss.
Architectural Warehouse located in Tryon, North Carolina. This place is the crème de la crème when it comes to special finds and Jim Strausbaugh the owner and creator is a treasure. He is a wealth of knowledge and has a long history of acquiring artifacts from all over the world. He is dedicated to bringing in only the most unique of items through hand-picked selections of antiques from flooring, doors, hardware, ironwork, chandeliers, windows, both stained glass and leaded, garden statuary, rugs, oil paintings, furniture, taxidermy and furs, books, crystal, silver, china, porcelain, and rare carvings. In essence, pretty much everything you can imagine.
Get out there and get creative with what you fill your homes with, and if you're stomped on where to start looking I hope this has been helpful. If you need guidance on how to put it all
together Eclectic Current is always open to taking on new challenges, just give me a call. Look for my next blog on how incorporating antiques in your design can add a modern twist.
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