As anyone who has lived in a college dorm or white-walled rental can attest, the right furnishings turn a house into a home. Not only do furnishings make a space more comfortable, they show off personality. Are you more into a bold, minimalist loft with clean lines and pops of color, or a bohemian rowhouse with exposed brick walls and layers of color and texture?

From stocking sofas that will squeeze into Canton’s notoriously narrow rowhomes to custom-designing a table that works for a vast, open-concept kitchen and living space, local business owners know their clients and their city, making furniture shopping (even more) fun for customers.

And when it comes to a significant investment that you’ll be using daily, there’s really no substitute for experiencing furniture in-person before you buy. That’s why we’ve compiled this ode to independent brick-and-mortar furniture stores, from high-end modern design studios to quirky antique shops, and everything in between.

Contemporary & Traditional

BECKET HITCH
After moving Becket Hitch into its new, larger spot in Greenspring Station this spring, owner Kohli Flick is finally able to stock more of the larger items she loves but that wouldn’t fit in the store’s prior home. That means more furniture—from upholstered cocktail tables and couches to supple leather side chairs. A MICA grad, Flick stocks the shop with the perfect finishing touches to infuse a room with your personality, from textured, woven throw pillows to nautical wall decor and rustic dishware. 2360 W. Joppa Rd., Lutherville-Timonium, 410-296-4818

DREAM HOUSE FURNITURE AND DESIGN
Whether you need help picking the color and style of a new couch or want a full home makeover, Dream House Furniture and Design can make your vision a reality with its combination of thoughtful design services and furnishings from Cassandra Senn Vaira, Wendy Flynn, and Mary Beutler. Nestled on downtown Frederick’s Patrick Street, home to vintage, clothing, and other boutiques, Dream House stocks furniture from American Leather (known for its decidedly chic recliners) and CR Laine (for those embracing color and texture in upholstered furniture) alongside everything else needed to outfit a room, from lights and art to wallpaper and rugs. 102 E. Patrick St., Frederick, 301-360-0680

MCLAIN WIESAND
Channeling the ethos of the great 18th-and 19th-century artisans and ateliers, custom furniture designers at McLain Wiesand craft ornate pieces that would look at home in the most decadent, historic buildings—and clients often commission them just for that purpose. Owner David Wiesand’s maximalist aesthetic has been on display at his Mount Vernon by-appointment showroom and personal apartment above for nearly two decades. Wiesand’s one-of-a-kind creations include gilded mirrors, hand-painted details, intricate metalwork, and ornate faux finishes. 1013 Cathedral St., 410-539- 4440

SHOFER’S FURNITURE
With more than 70,000 square feet of show- room over five floors, Shofer’s Furniture has one of the largest selections of furniture in Maryland, making it an easy first stop for any budget or style. From its original Federal Hill location (a former Hecht’s Department Store acquired by Harry Shofer in the 1930s), attractively styled living room and dining room scenes beckon shoppers inside, where third-generation owner Henry Shofer and his team steer loyal patrons through more than 200 brands to find the perfect fit. 930 S. Charles St., 410-752-4212

SU CASA
Su Casa hits that perfect balance between fun and sophisticated, stocking every- thing from quirky kitchenware to upholstered couches and one-of-a-kind furniture and decor from local makers. With two decades in the business, Nick Johnson knows his customers. Each shop (Fells Point, Ellicott City, Bethany Beach, and Ocean View, Delaware) takes inspiration from its location, and white-glove delivery from a crew that’s used to narrow doors, awkward stairwells, and tight spots means getting your new space together faster. 901 S. Bond St., and other locations, 410-522- 7010

URBAN THREADS
Like an interior-design Instagram feed come to life, this boutique carries bedding,
draperies, and throw pillows, along with select on-trend furniture—think a rattan
peacock chair, luxe velvet accent chair, and a rustic, live-edge coffee table highlighting the wood’s natural shape. Owner Jane O’Donoghue moved Urban Threads from Ellicott City to The Shops at Kenilworth earlier this year. You can even design your own custom pillows for the ultimate finishing touch. 800 Kenilworth Dr., #854, Towson, 410-769-8485

Modern

DESIGN DISTILLERY
The pieces at this chic storefront are hand-selected with Baltimore urban living in mind. Brought to life after owner Karen Graveline began a search for modern furnishings for her own digs, Design Distillery continues to stock furniture that feels at home where Baltimoreans live, whether that means a loft or narrow rowhome. From its origins as Home on the Harbor 15 years ago, Design Distillery has grown physically (it moved to new, 9,000-square-foot digs off Key Highway in 2016) and in scope. You’ll find modern pieces from brands including Gus Modern, Knoll, Masaya, and Blu Dot arranged into floor sets that make it easy to envision them in your space. Best of all, the team is happy to coach customers in their design choices to make furniture shopping fun. 1414 Key Hwy., 410-433-1616

INDOOR FURNITURE
Don’t let its big-box exterior scare you away—Indoor Furniture in Columbia has been sourcing contemporary, modern, and Scandinavian-inspired furnishings for the Baltimore and D.C. area for more than 30 years. Its 35,000-square-foot showroom brings together high-quality home and office furniture, from family-owned Danish brand Skovby, known for pioneering extension systems for tables, to its best-sell- ing, sculptural Estelle dining chair from Vermont-based Copeland Furniture. 8895A McGaw Rd., Columbia, 410-381-7577

MIY HOME
Michael Ryan Wright and Seth Barkman live by the motto, “What’s mine is yours.” It inspired the name of their modern furniture shop in Fells Point, MiY Home. The showroom—in a triple-wide rowhouse—spans four levels, plus a rooftop deck highlighting outdoor furniture. The cozy showroom stocks versatile, modern essentials for urban living, many of them sustainable and made in the U.S. Wright and Barkman’s recommendations are based their expertise, not product descriptions—many of the pieces they stock also furnish the couple’s home above the shop. 1605 Eastern Ave., 410-881- 0187

ANTIQUE, VINTAGE, & RECLAIMED

ANNAPOLIS MARITIME ANTIQUES
Nautical lovers, rejoice! This Eastport shop offers maritime-themed home decor, artisan jewelry, high-end antiques, and rare artifacts from around the world. Does it sell tote bags with anchor and nautical knot prints? Sure. But this shop, owned by Navy veteran Tony Kime, goes beyond the typical preppy coastal decor trend to stock authentic antiques such as an 1800s-era anchor used by watermen on the Chesapeake Bay, perfectly weathered ropes and pulleys, vintage sailing instruments, and an extensive collection of historic photographs from navies around the world. Kime also creates custom furniture that incorporates nautical elements. 128 Severn Ave., Annapolis, 410-268-7490

ANTIQUE EXCHANGE INTERIORS
From antique furniture to consignment and new items, Antique Exchange on Chestnut Street in Hampden has it all—and somehow makes old and new fit together effortlessly. The whitewashed brick rowhome stocks brands like Worlds Away, Jonathan Adler, and Dwell Studio alongside classic antiques sourced by co-owner Tom Finnerty, like a Dutch cabinet from the early 1800s and Victorian-era painted ceramics. With nearly 30 years in business, Finnerty’s shop has evolved from strictly antiques to an eclectic mix of classic and current pieces, including gifts and smaller home-decor items such as candles, coffee table books, and pillows and throws of all patterns and textures. 3545 Chestnut Ave., 410-532-7000

BAREFOOT DWELLING
Stroll in or by appointment, this treasure trove in downtown Annapolis is chock full of the elements interior designer and owner Lisa Quina favors when putting together a comfortable space that’s full of a client’s personality: mid-century modern furniture, industrial lighting, and vintage textiles. Like an elevated vintage shop, Barefoot Dwelling explodes with color and texture. Its walls are lined with quirky paintings in rustic wood frames, and pillows in vintage fabrics and patterns are stacked up on top of teak chairs. 65 Maryland Ave., Annapolis 443-603-4386

CEDAR & COTTON
The best furniture styles of the past half-century have found a new life at Cedar & Cotton, a vintage home-furnishings company in Southwest Baltimore. Friends and decor lovers Raina Smallwood and Nasira Latif lovingly source and refurbish vintage finds, from classic upholstered teak dining sets to bohemian bamboo and cane barstools—even retro sofas with funky fabrics. 208 S. Pulaski St., Ste. 2A, 443-990-1427

MARY KAY’S FURNITURE
Frequented by local interior designers looking for high-end estate pieces, Mary Kay’s Furniture brings together fine Danish, Art Deco, and mid-century furnishings acquired from across the country on Falls Road. With an encyclopedic knowledge of furniture, owner Mary Kay can tell you the designer, era, and often the history of the pieces she sells. Find statement lighting, like a five-tier spiral clear-glass chandelier by Venini or like-new teak scissor lounge chairs by Swedish designer Folke Ohlsson. 6245 Falls Rd., 410-852-4896

OFF MAIN
Just off Main Street in Ellicott City, this appointment-only and online shop from Lyssa Balick and Kelric Goodman lovingly sources and restores mid-century, retro, and Americana furnishings. Follow them on Facebook for posts about each piece as it comes in, from Bassett dressers in rich wood tones to vibrant vinyl couches and lounge chairs in attention-grabbing colors. If you’re looking for something specific, let Balik know—she has a running list of clients looking for certain items and will email them when one comes in. 417 Oella Ave., Catonsville, 443-851-3221

PARADISO
Tucked between Voodoo Glass Company and The Food Market on The Avenue in Hampden, Paradiso’s ever-changing window in its chartreuse-green storefront shows off the mix of antique and modern furnishings and decor inside. From husband-and-wife team Sharona Gamliel and Ric Martinkus, the eclectic store offers everything from a rare 1950s bar cart by Cesare Lacca for Cassina to Art Deco posters and mid-century modern leather sofa and chairs by Brazilian designer Percival Lafer—all in pristine condition. 1015 W. 36th St., 410-243-1317

RYAN’S RELICS
If you enjoy the hunt, there’s no better place than Ryan’s Relics. With two locations on Belair Road in Nottingham, this store has been bringing affordable estate furniture to Baltimore since 2004. Wander through the tight aisles stacked high with furniture to find anything from a painted Japanese screen to an upholstered cedar chest and mid-century dining sets. Because Ryan Chandler and his team liquidate estates, there’s constantly new merchandise, including other interesting and sometimes bizarre items, such as vintage games and toys, jewelry, musical instruments, and even used vacuums. 7900 and 8100 Belair Rd., 410-870-6493

SECOND CHANCE
A nonprofit that salvages materials for repurposing by the public, Second Chance’s massive warehouse stocks everything from doors and windows in various sizes and colors to rows of vintage and retro appliances, furniture (everything from mahogany credenzas to ’90s-era sofas), and original architectural details saved from Baltimore-area buildings (think ornate fireplace mantles, reclaimed hardware, and brass door knockers). You never know what you’ll find at Second Chance, and that’s part of the fun. 1700 Ridgely St., 410-385-1700

URBAN INTERIORS
Kathleen Anguera has a knack for arranging furnishings to make a space feel like home. It’s a skill she perfected after living in five countries around the world and studying interior design in England, and one that she continues to perfect as owner of Urban Interiors. Anguera landed in Baltimore in 2015, opening her antique shop just off The Avenue in Hampden about a year later. Filled with mid-century pieces (from an arc floor lamp to a matching rattan couch, chair, and ottoman), the brick-walled shop offers statement pieces at affordable prices. If you’re not sure what your space needs, Anguera is happy to lend a hand rearranging the furniture you already have and adding new elements for a total refresh. 1200 W. 36th St., 434-907- 3168

VINTAGE MC
Step through this Frederick shop’s bright teal door and enter a world of mid-century finds, from Danish teak dining sets to an Eames-style chair and ottoman duo. Clearly, the “MC” in the shop’s name means mid-century, but it’s also the initials of owner Mindy Cawley, who opened her ode to home goods from the mid-20th century in 2017. After outfitting her Frederick 1950s rancher in era-appropriate furnishings, Cawley began selling furniture from booths in Cannon Hill Place Antiques before making the decision to open her own store, attracting fans of the Mad Men aesthetic from D.C., Baltimore, and beyond. 103 S. Carroll St., Frederick, 240-514-8623

WISHBONE RESERVE
On nice days, Wishbone Reserve’s roll-up garage door is open, beckoning passers-by with unobstructed views of its bohemian collection of Persian rugs, vintage furniture, and quirky, retro furnishings. From the wooden-boat-turned-planter outside to the salvaged movie-theater sign compelling shoppers to “Fall in love with Wishbone Reserve” and “Vote! Vote! Vote!,” this vintage, antique, and consignment shop man- ages to feel like a hip friend’s home that you want to hang out in for a while (and whose style you want to copy in your own home). Arriving in Hampden by way of Mt. Washington last year, design-obsessed friends Athena Hoffberger, Julie Lilienfeld, and Ryan Haase make the shop available to local artists as a gallery, too. 3811 Falls Rd., 443-961-3376

Consignment

THE CLEARING HOUSE
For more than 30 years, The Clearing House has been giving Towson-area residents’ furniture a second life. Its 7,000-square-foot showroom stocks both antiques and newer items, like Arhaus sectionals, Oriental rugs, and fine china sets. Sisters Lisa Hudson and Cara Derr are the second generation to run this beloved shop, which sees the same customers returning to sell and buy for years. 200 W. Padonia Rd., #5, Timonium, 410- 561-4546

GREAT FINDS & DESIGN
A consignment store with the feel of a boutique design studio, Great Finds & Design arranges its unique furniture, jewelry, and home-decor items into styled vignettes, so it’s easy to picture each piece in your own home. Sisters Camille Quillen and Dianne Doccolo bring in like-new items that fit the contemporary and transitional design aesthetic, from brand names like Restoration Hardware, Blu Dot, Crate and Barrel, Mitchell Gold, and more. Items are priced fairly and are reduced by the amount of time they remain for sale on clearly marked tags. 1924 Greenspring Dr., Timonium, 410-561-9413

OBJECTS FOUND
Drive down Egges Lane in Catonsville and a sea of statuary (from aliens and goblins to Buddha and St. Francis) catches your eye. Lawn art is a summertime best-seller for Objects Found, a consignment store overseen by veteran antiques dealer Reggie Laskauskas. From quality mid-century furniture to quirky knick-knacks from the past 50 years, Objects Found is filled to the brim with items worth a look and wading through the sea of treasures (think old-school video games, Baltimore Colts memorabilia, Shaker furniture, and vintage glass bottles) is half the fun. Call Laskauskas and her team before moving or redesigning—it’s likely she’ll find value in items you may have already thrown in the box marked “donate.” 11 Egges Ln., Catonsville, and other locations, 410-744- 9000

THE TURNOVER SHOP
A consignment store serving Baltimore since the 1940s, the family-run Turnover Shop sells high-quality furniture, home decor, art, and estate jewelry out of a tidy white rowhouse with blue trim on Roland Avenue. Mother- daughter team Alice Ann Finnerty and Alice Ann Martin hand-pick the best items from estates and downsizers to consign in their shop, from a DWR patio set to a set of turquoise wicker chairs and a 19th-century mahogany chest. 3855 Roland Ave., #1, 410- 235-9585

TWIG
After running a gift shop for many years, Olga French was looking for a more sustainable business model. In 2011, she opened Twig, a consignment and antiques shop in Columbia offering a second life to statement furniture (a pair of smoked Lucite, mid-century tulip chairs), tabletop wares (retro fondue pot, anyone?), and lighting (Tiffany- style to modern). Drop in during the week for consignment appraisals, or by appointment on Saturdays. French also sells local art out of Twig, like the colorful, textural paintings from Sandra Wexler. 9170 Old Annapolis Rd., Columbia, 410-740-221

RUSTIC & INDUSTRIAL

HOUSEWERKS
From the 1880s-era former headquarters of the Chesapeake Gas Company, Ben Riddleberger has been collecting and selling salvaged architectural, ornamental, and decorative antiques for nearly 15 years. Stained-glass windows, industrial ceiling lights, salvaged tile and ceramics, and vintage signage makes up just a fraction of the character-laden items at Housewerks. If you’ve already got a piece that needs a little TLC, Riddleberger can help restore it, too. This past June, Housewerks hosted the inaugural season of the Pigtown flea market. 1415 Bayard St., 410-685-8047

INDUSTRIAL HOME
Veteran designer Christopher Ritchie honed his skills with clients including Starbucks, Bryan Voltaggio, Neiman Marcus, and Restoration Hardware before pouring his passion into Industrial Home. Since opening in 2013, the Frederick business has outfitted industrial-chic homes and businesses with its own line of custom furniture and rustic home decor, from buttery leather sofas to live-edge tables and adjustable metal barstools that look like they were pulled from an old-school science lab. While the aesthetic is decidedly rugged, Ritchie’s designs look just as at home in a log cabin as a light-washed modern loft. 154-A N. Market St., Frederick, 301-360-0600

CUSTOM

CRUMP & KWASH
Combining sculptural and architectural elements, the pieces from design-build studio Crump & Kwash are functional works of art. Founded by business partners Justin Kwash and Paul Crump in 2015, the duo’s modern-retro aesthetic has landed its furniture in numerous interior design publications (from Domino to Architectural Digest), and even in the bedroom of actress Ashley Tisdale (custom-finished Phillip nightstands). After moving into a new workshop in Hampden earlier this year, Crump & Kwash will open a showroom to the public this fall. 1525 W. 41st St., 410- 537-5184

OLIVR STUDIO
Master craftsman Tony Oliver arrived in Baltimore by way of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where he was a lead carpenter. After meeting his wife during the filming of an episode in Baltimore, he relocated to Charm City and launched Dylan Design Company in 2012. Last year he paired the move to a new workshop space with a new name: Olivr Studio. His minimalistic designs let the materials sing, from the English bridle leather-wrapped Cale Settee to the stone-topped Maeve console with geometric, stained-wood legs and bronze hardware.

BLISS WOODWORKS
A class on woodworking taken at the Station North Tool Library set Kate Christian on a path that culminated in the launching of Bliss Woodworks. Christian’s custom-furniture company offers a variety of luxe furniture combining meticulous details (brass inlays, rounded corners, and a variety of finishes) with reclaimed materials. Find her work for sale at retailers that support local makers, like Trohv in Hampden and the Made in Baltimore store in Station North.

CAMPOS IRON WORKS
This workshop crafts industrial, metal, and reclaimed wood creations from a studio in the Crown Industrial Park between Brewer’s Hill and Greektown, but sends its custom pieces to corporate and residential clients across the country, thanks to a healthy online following on Etsy and Amazon Handmade. Founded in 2012 by designer and engineer Marcus Comfort, Campos Iron Works’ pieces expertly com- bine form and function. Most, like the popular adjustable drill-press stool or stand-up, sit-down office desk and stool combo, feature welded steel and moving parts in a French industrial style. 4401 Eastern Ave.

SANDTOWN FURNITURE COMPANY
Since 2010, the skilled craftspeople at Sandtown Furniture Company have been saving old-growth pine lumber from demolished buildings in Baltimore and repurposing it as high-end furniture. Each piece, from the modern, square-beam Ellwood coffee table to the classic, trestled farmhouse-style Hamilton dining table, takes on a unique quality from the wood’s character. Baltimore pride flows through Sandtown, from furniture named after neighborhoods to the signature pewter emblem on each finished piece, declaring it “built with pride from wood with character in Baltimore.” You’ll find Sandtown’s work in local businesses as well, like the communal tables at the new Broadway Market in Fells Point. 1830 Belt St., 410-299-9833

This is a story of a stomach bug, a house fire, and a couple of guinea pigs.

It was 2017, an unbearably hot August day, and homeowner Julie Phillips was having work done on her Roland Park home. The rubber roof had been leaking, and a crew—recommended by a friend—was there replacing it. Her daughter Chloe, 7 at the time, had a bad stomach bug, and the two escaped the noise of the work for a nearby friend’s house and pool. Her 4-year-old daughter, Ruby, was off with other friends. That’s when Phillips’ phone suddenly began vibrating with smoke notifications from her alarm company. She called the roofer to make sure everything was okay. He was off-site, and his truck had broken down. “Let me call my guys,” he told her.

Phillips, a counselor at Loyola University, was less than a mile away from home and getting in her car when the alarm company’s central monitoring called to say 911 had been dispatched. “I rounded the corner with Chloe, and there were three fire trucks in the front of the house and smoke billowing out of our third-floor window,” remembers Phillips. She was in shock. The firemen had already broken in through the side door and the left side of the house appeared to be engulfed. Julie suddenly remembered the guinea pigs that belonged to her girls. A firefighter successfully retrieved the cage but accidentally dropped it as he came outside, allowing its inhabitants, Sugar and Cream, to make their break for freedom. Chloe, shivering and feverish in the neighbor’s yard, watched her house burn and her mom run after the guinea pigs. (Both were caught and returned to the safety of their cage.)

After that, Phillips called her husband, David, vice provost for admissions and financial aid at The Johns Hopkins University. “I said, ‘The house is on fire. Please come home.’ And then I guess I just hung up,” she says. It was 3 p.m.

The next few hours were pretty terrible. “You’re in a state of shock,” says Phillips. What wasn’t destroyed by fire was damaged by water and smoke. It turned out the roofing company had been torch-sealing the roof, a standard but risky practice. A combination of a very hot day and 100-year old wood allowed a spark to quickly slither up and down the walls like a snake looking for prey. “Our neighbors said they saw them trying to put out the fire with water bottles.”

Insurance was called, and once the fire was out, Julie and David were led through the house by a firefighter. There was water everywhere. And there was the smell: It instantly burned their nostrils and eyes. From that point on, fire itself took on a new meaning: “We were in Wisconsin a week later for my cousin’s wedding,” recalls Phillips, “and my dad made a big bonfire. David and I were just like, ‘Oh, my god.’”

As the fire trucks pulled away, the restoration services showed up. “They are like ambulance chasers. Five companies trying to talk to you after your house was just destroyed,” she says. At the recommendation of their insurance company, they selected ServPro. “They came in and started suctioning the water. This was two hours after the fire and we already had a crew there, putting in fans and a generator. It’s pretty amazing how quickly people mobilize.” Phillips managed to pack up clothes for her, David, and the girls. She did 25 loads of laundry over the next several days. They stayed with friends while looking for temporary housing. Each day, Julie and David would return to the house and see what they could take out and salvage. Then insurance came in and inventoried everything that had been lost.

As luck would have it, a home had been sitting empty nearby and within walking distance of school and Julie’s work. It was for sale, but they reached out and pleaded their case for a rental. The owner told Phillips he had lived through a house fire when his kids were little and agreed to a year-long lease. “It was a godsend,” says Phillips. “I’m not a religious person, but the universe was absolutely on our side.” They moved in that weekend with a few items, but by Monday, both Julie and David had Chloe’s stomach bug.

Insurance had sent them a generous lump sum to buy temporary furniture, clothing, and bedding, but since Phillips couldn’t leave the house, a friend took her credit card, went to Target, and bought blankets, pillows, sheets, and towels. “And we were lucky the house had kitchen stuff. We had a place to stay. People brought us stuff, took the kids. But the logistics are just time-consuming.”

But then what? Phillips’ knee-jerk reaction was to sell the house. “I want nothing to do with it,” she thought. But she owed it to her family to at least go through the motions of a renovation. Part of the house would need to be completely rebuilt, so they needed an architect to design the space. But Julie and David also realized this was the time to renovate rooms they had been talking about upgrading since they bought the house five years earlier. Insurance would pay for the fire-damaged portions—including the living room and family room—while the Phillipses would pay for the kitchen and a new master bedroom. They hired Ziger/Snead Architects that fall, and they, in turn, recommended Smithouse Construction.

Work started that January—five months after the fire. Every Friday, they would meet in the dining room of the damaged house with a temporary table and a space heater. “It was breakfast with the Phillipses,” says Michael Westrate, a designer at Ziger/Snead. The weekly get-togethers meant they were able to make decisions quickly, but also to “check in on everyone’s mental health,” he says. That was as important as choosing the right fixture. “Julie was very distressed, as one might imagine,” says Doug Bothner, a partner at the architecture firm. The damage was beyond what just the eyes could see. The fire had crawled through the house and affected a lot of the house’s structure. The goal was twofold: Justifying the amount of work that needed to be done through their insurance company and “turning this tragedy and pain into a real opportunity for change,” says Bothner.

“David and I don’t know house design,” admits Phillips. “I knew nothing about what my style was.” Her research included following Instagram accounts of favorite designers. Her criteria: lots of white, family-friendly but chic, and comfortable. Before the fire, the home had been overrun with toys. “When we redesigned, I wanted our first floor to be an adult floor,” she says. The family room, tucked away in the back of the house, has a comfy sectional for watching movies and is now home to two happy guinea pigs. “Our living room is more formal now,” says Phillips. “We never used to hang out in there. And now it’s the place we really love to be.” But the kitchen is another new favorite place. The old kitchen had last been renovated in the ’50s, but now is fully transformed, the true heart of the home with an oversized island the family eats at every night, white cabinets, gold hardware, and open shelving.

They moved back into the house almost a year after the fire—in August 2018—and lived for an additional month with some construction as crews finished the work. And then, one day, there was silence. The workers were gone. And it felt good. And the “fire house” just felt like home again.

“The fact that they could come home and actually feel like they are home and feel safe—I think that’s a huge part of the process,” says Bothner. Mostly, says Phillips, the entire experience is like childbirth. “Looking back, you say, ‘It wasn’t so bad. It’s fine.’” She sighs, “We’re so happy to be back.”

When Patrick Sutton first arrived in Baltimore, it was 1985 and he figured he’d give it a year. More than 30 years later, he says with a laugh, “I just never left, you know?”

Sutton grew up in New York. His father, Horace Sutton, was a fairly renowned travel writer with a big personality, and Sutton had a self-described fanciful and magical childhood as he traveled the globe with his parents. “I was afforded the ability to see the world’s most beautiful places and most storied locations,” he says. But that wasn’t his whole story. Sutton’s mom had schizophrenia. “It was not something you talked about.” And this very deep, dark secret shaped the future designer. “In order to survive, I had to become a very fast student of everybody else,” he says. “And so I became intent on watching everybody’s interaction with one another, and I became a de-facto expert on people’s non-verbal communication—just being observant. I also learned empathy. That came out of survival.” And it shaped his entire career. “I’m able to listen intently to what someone is saying and, quite frankly, what they’re not saying.”

After graduating from architecture school, Sutton had offers at firms in his hometown, but knowing what a huge shadow was cast by his father, Sutton looked elsewhere. He had an opportunity in D.C., but he didn’t have an instant connection to the city. One of the firms mentioned their Baltimore headquarters and, after a visit, Sutton was charmed. And “to be truthful, in 1985, Baltimore was not the bastion of design,” he says. “Nobody was really spending any money or investing in design the way it is now.”

His fingerprints are now all over the city, from the Sagamore Pendry Hotel to restaurant interiors—including Cinghiale, Tagliata, and Rye Street Tavern—to countless home renovations, and, most recently, a big, beautiful book aptly titled Storied Interiors. The book not only includes gorgeous photos but the inspirations behind the designs. Sutton studied architecture but felt “it wasn’t fulfilling because I wasn’t able to complete the story from beginning to end.” So he switched to interior design. Now at the pinnacle of his career, a book was just the next natural step, especially for the son of a storyteller—the book is dedicated to his father.

Sutton says he was influenced by Under Armour chair Kevin Plank, for whom the designer has worked for more than a decade. Plank is also a teller of stories. “We see the world in a very similar way,” Sutton explains. “And he was always like, ‘What’s the story behind this?’ He in some ways helped me formalize the fact that I was writing narratives before I was doing projects.” And because of that, he knew his book had to be more than just a pretty coffee table book. It had to combine both his love of design and his need to tell its story.

It took some convincing to his book editor. “The reality is she’s right that the majority of people who buy coffee table books flip through the pictures. But that isn’t who I am, and that’s not the story I have to tell.” And each project tells a different narrative. Sutton’s ability to adapt and not pigeonhole himself in one style has been his biggest success.

“The approach towards storytelling in a residence versus a restaurant or hotel is about the attention span that you’re designing towards,” he says. “So, if it’s a residential project, you are creating an environment that has to be adaptive for a lifetime. When it’s a restaurant, I want it to capture attention for two hours, and if it’s a hotel, a couple of days.”

“I’ve had clients—and these are big clients, these are people who interviewed designers from Paris—and they said to me, ‘You know, it’s interesting. I looked at your work that you did, and none of it was anything that I wanted. However, all of it was very well done. And so what that told me is that if you can do this for each one of those clients, you can take what I want and deliver it for me.’”

As Sutton looks around his Federal Hill office, he says, “This city has afforded me the opportunity to shine.”

When George Schlossnagle and his wife, Pei Wu, embarked on the renovation of their Baltimore County historic landmark home, Mt. Welcome Retreat, one of the first steps was to pull up and replace the ground-level floors. Beneath them, they found original, rough-hewn logs from the home’s construction 218 years ago.

“It seemed criminal to cover them up,” says Schlossnagle.

But the window is more than just a conversation piece: It’s a metaphor for a renovation that blends authentic historic preservation with modern life.

Mt. Welcome Retreat, located in the western Baltimore County town of Granite, was built in 1800 by Alexander Walters, owner of the quarry that gives the area its name. In 1835, Walters gifted the house to his daughter on the occasion of her marriage, and she and her husband enlarged the house into what can still be seen today—a five-bay-wide, center-hall Federal-style home built into a shallow hillside.

By the time Schlossnagle and Wu bought the house in 2016, it included two one-story additions from the 1950s and 1970s, one on either side of the historic structure. The home’s interiors were dark and dated. But the couple saw what made the house special: original doors, hardware, center-hall chandelier, and a burled wood staircase. Huge 12-over-12 and 6-over-6 windows take in beautiful views of a pond and barn.

“The house had really good bones, and it’s a gorgeous property,” says Schlossnagle.

“We have always loved old homes and dreamed of renovating one,” adds Wu.

The 13-acre property afforded the couple and their two children, ages 11 and 14, a bucolic retreat for themselves and their menagerie of animals, which includes two llamas, four goats, several barn cats, and a clutch of chickens. Having recently seen another home in Granite renovated by Brennan + Company, the couple knew they wanted to use that team to bring their new home into the 21st century. Smithouse Construction helped execute the often tricky contracting.

“George and Pei love to spend time in the kitchen and were really big on connection, so the entire ground level needed to be open,” explains Lili Mundroff, project manager with Brennan + Company. “But from a historical perspective, it was important to retain the character you get from a sequence of rooms.”

“Baltimore County Landmark status is the most restrictive, with both interiors and exteriors requiring review and approval,” adds Brennan, who, as the chair of the Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Commission, brought invaluable expertise to the project.

Brennan says the commission prefers new structures be kept distinct from the historic, so the design removed the previous additions and replaced them with new, two-story additions separated from the house by “hyphens.”

“These little ‘hyphens,’ the offset pieces, differentiate the historic block of the house from the new work,” he explains. “And the materials needed to be subtly consistent with what might have been there.”

Wood siding was the approved material for the new additions, one of which adds a guest suite, exercise room, and laundry room, the other a master suite with a large kitchen below. The kitchen was non-negotiable for Wu.

“The kitchen had to be large and livable,” she says, “because I spend 80 percent of my waking hours there.”

The cobalt blue in the cabinetry is her favorite color, while the white subway tile backsplash is evocative of the time she and Schlossnagle lived in Westchester County, New York. A huge 5-by-10-foot island topped in soapstone is a perfect spot for both meal prep and homework, while the large bay window is the right size to frame a farm table.

The large kitchen provided space for a bar for Schlossnagle, who likes to mix drinks. Trees that fell on the property were milled and used to build it, as well as the benches in the mudroom. To give the floors a period, distressed look, the couple installed new, unfinished pine planks.

“We came in with the kids with hammers and chains [to make the floors look distressed] and let them tear it up for about an hour,” says Schlossnagle. Then they went through the laborious process of rubbing the floors down with iron acetate before scraping it away.

Wu and Schlossnagle not only maintained the original integrity of the historic home, they also burnished it by removing dated wallpaper and paneling. Their children have beautifully appointed bedrooms (though covered in all the stuff one would expect of a modern teen and tween) and share a modernized bathroom, the floor of which is inlaid with pennies collected by their daughter. However, the house needed better flow between the family spaces on the ground level, and an “open plan” rarely flies with historic committees.

“The big task was getting the steel beam in there to open up the historic kitchen to make it a bigger family room,” says Brennan.

The Landmark Commission approved the room’s opening and use of the massive beam, which is clad in wood inlay milled from the property’s trees.

“When we talked to [the Landmark Commission] they had seen renovated farmhouses where you lose the character of the house when you open everything up, so leaving some of the stone and using reclaimed wood from the site was part of the language of keeping in the historic character,” Mundroff says.

From the exterior, Mt. Welcome Retreat looks more in keeping with its period now than it did prior to its renovation. Inside, the interiors are sensitive to the home’s long history, but in no way period in their décor.

“Our kids are active—anything too classic or historic wouldn’t have worked for us,” says Wu. “We use every space in the house and consider it to be functional.”

“You can love the history of the home and love what makes the home unique without trying to imitate it,” adds Schlossnagle. “Sometimes trying to be hyper in-period can come across a little fake.”

Brennan says this idea is reflective of the zeitgeist in historic preservation.

“There’s a new attitude that the great old houses are just that, but they are also containers that you live differently in now,” he says. “You respect the old building, but then you insert things into it to make it come alive.”

The historic fan-shaped transom window over Mt. Welcome Retreat’s front door has its original glass with its etched names and dates—believed to mark the nuptials of the home’s previous tenants. In their way, Wu and Schlossnagle have written themselves into the home’s history, too.

A retail store lasting for 20 years is no small feat. For Nick Johnson, owner of décor and furniture company Su Casa, the key to thriving has been support from the Baltimore community—through unpredictable weather, new locations, and everything in between.

After a long period of personal and product-driven growth, the team at Su Casa has no immediate plans for expansion and is focusing efforts on its current locations in Fells Point, Ellicott City, Bethany Beach, and Ocean View, Delaware. Collaborating with local artisans like Max’s Candles, Oak & Iron Designs, and Charlie Barton, Johnson places huge emphasis on the importance of small businesses supporting and sustaining each other.

We sat down with Johnson to chat about the history, evolution, and future of the interior design company.

What was the initial inspiration behind Su Casa?
Back then, we had this model all centered around the Big Iguana. It was basically a hippie store, lots of clothes, jewelry, accessories, and then we started doing candles, candle holders, and art—that sort of thing. Our model was to open a new store based on the parts that are doing really well. We wanted to sell more artwork and accessories and small pieces of furniture than would fit into this little hippie store. So, we created Su Casa. I would have never thought 20 years ago that we would end up with four stores, two warehouses, and this customer service model. We just wanted to sell more mirrors and glassware. Then, whoops it became serious.

How has the community in Baltimore treated you over the past 20 years?
We’ve loved it. I think part of it is our focus on the customer. We’ve never been the typical furniture store. It’s never about having Fourth of July or Memorial Day sales. We don’t do any of those things. Our customers have been super supportive, they come back to us over and over. We built policies around taking care of the customer first and the business second. We’ve moved with people and, when you take care of the people, they then support you and do whatever they can to help you out.

The flood in Ellicott City is the perfect example. The second time around was a lot harder for us than the first time, except that we knew what the challenges were and what we would have to do to overcome them. But in the end, we got an incredible amount of support, so we feel we’ve built a much better business the third time around because of the support we received.

What did you have to do for the Ellicott City location after the flooding occurred?
The first time around, we had to do a lot of actual construction because it had never happened to that store before. In the rebuilding, we did things like half-jokingly put in a waterproof floor and we’re like, “Oh, if it ever happens again, the floor’s going to be great. Because it will never happen again.”

And then it happened again. We were truly all set to leave Ellicott City because we had inches of mud covering the entire first floor. And we didn’t know if we could go through this again. We literally, in three days, took every piece of inventory, floor to ceiling, walls, everything, out. Then, the landlord said, “The store looks great, when are you going to reopen?” The store looked terrible. But as it turns out, he understood the importance of businesses coming back and so he jumped into action, cleaned out the store for us, made it happen, and then everybody that supported us financially and emotionally made it so we could come back.

Just like you expanded into furniture, do you plan on expanding the business into anything else in the future?
I would leave that up to my wife. If there’s one person who is more driven than me, it’s her. She has four different businesses right now and she keeps expanding. I love what we do. Other people are like, “You work seven days a week?” But at the same time, I love being at work. I don’t have any crazy ideas of how to pull a concept out of this store and create its own concept right now. But that being said, we have a history of doing that. So, who knows?

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?
Work hard. Ultimately, some of the areas where we’ve had challenges I’ve overcome it by plowing into it and putting in the hours. I worry that a lot of people these days who start businesses don’t understand that you can overcome a lot just by putting more of yourself into that business. You can overcome being short on cash. You can overcome being short on staff. You can overcome losing the identity of your business, by being your business.

What has Baltimore meant to you?
The city is a great place. It has a lot of challenges right now. But I always end up remembering how fortunate we are to be in this area with things like Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Under Armour. They drive a lot of the economy here and being in the city is a part of that. Because I don’t think you get that elsewhere. You don’t have these main drivers in employment and in an economy in every region. So, the city has been great for that—people shouldn’t take that for granted.

Why did you choose to incorporate local artisans?
That has been the most fundamental change for us in the last five years. Some of the things I’m most proud of are the people who started off making things in their garage who wanted to sell it. There are a few stories like that I really love where it’s people who end up aligning what they do with what we do. It becomes a symbiotic relationship where we feed their business, they feed our business, and their business grows into other people’s stores.

Do you have any goals for the next 20 years?
We eventually want to open more stores. We’ve really embraced this idea of being a part of a community and I think that’s the hardest thing to replicate. We don’t want to lose focus on how important a business is to a neighborhood. You can’t just open a new store and suddenly be a part of that. We look at areas where we know we have some influence or we have some support from customers or staff. We’d love to expand into Annapolis or go back up to Towson. But longer term, it’s growth, being mindful of the impact we have, and how we can support and help the communities we are in.

Are you doing anything to celebrate the anniversary?
We hope to throw some sort of party. But being in four different locations, it’s tough figuring out how to handle that logistically. But we will continue to do sales and things throughout the year, where we reinforce the fact that we’ve been around a long time and we hope to be around a lot longer.

You know what they say: “April showers bring May flowers!” Whether we’re looking to restock our garden or beautify our window sill, this time of year has us feeling green. And you bet we’re heading to the closest garden centers to stock up on new plants. We sat down with Hilton Carter, go-to plant expert and author of Wild at Home, to make sure we’re set up for success this spring.

Lighting

According to Carter, the most critical aspect of being a plant parent is understanding the sunlight in your space. Always start with a little research. Your green thumb will depend on how much sunlight your specific type of plant needs, so note the level of light your room is able to let in and find the best plant for that amount.

Commitment

How much TLC can you devote to your plants? Plant neglect can be detrimental depending on the types of flora. Carter’s advice is to think of it like this: Are you a cat person or a dog person? More low-maintenance plants, such as succulents and snake plants, are more resilient than others, like ferns and air plants.

Water

There isn’t one simple, golden rule for watering. “It can vary,” Carter says. “It all depends on the type of plant and the size of the plant.” Small plants in bright light will dry up quickly and demand more frequent watering while larger plants in cool, shaded areas may take longer to dry out. A general tip is to wait until the top two inches of soil is completely dry before watering again.

Environment

While some plants are marketed as homebodies, you should always aim to keep them in as close to a natural environment as possible. Tropical plants need more light, water, and humidity. While cacti need cooler temperatures and drier air.

Potting

Always re-pot plants from the plastic garden center containers with fresh soil. Carter says to be mindful of the type of potting material. Terracotta clay pots are great for plants that like drier soil as the clay pulls out excess moisture. Plastic is ideal for plants that like their soil a little damper since the water will settle and take longer to dry out.

Bugs

A common side effect of keeping house plants are pesky bugs. Carter’s one fix is to stay on top of your plant, always checking for when a bug pops up, then wash it down with dish soap and a little rubbing alcohol. This should be repeated every few weeks or every time you water, depending on the severity of the outbreak.

Beginner Plants

Hilton recommends snake plants, ZZ plants, ponytail palms, or peace lilies for first-time plant parents. These are easier to keep and a bit more low-maintenance.

Where to Shop

There are many great local plant shops in Baltimore, but a more limited budget could steer you towards great plants at hardware store garden centers or local nurseries. Carter’s favorite spot is Valley View Farms in Cockeysville.

Let your closet truly blossom this season as we move away from predictable pastels and toward more neutral tones. Combining classic florals with bold snakeskin prints and subtle gold accents, this trend welcomes growth with a new spin on spring fashion.

Ruby Shoo amaris russet shoe ($90) at Ma Petite Shoe. Summer wallet ($12.95) at Doubledutch. Jasmin Precieux hand cream ($17) at Curiosity. Sascha Macrame bucket tote ($56) at Trohv. Floral socks ($17) at Ma Petite Shoe. Lovoda ponytail holder ($8.95) at Doubledutch. Rifle Paper Co. x Corkcicle tumbler ($33) at Becket Hitch. Yochi bee pearl bracelet ($75) at Sassanova. Loup Simone Jean ($150) at Hunting Ground. Astoria snake boots ($90) at South Moon Under. Jangles 3 angles cement planter ($35) at Doubledutch. Rifle Paper Co. recipe box ($38) at Becket Hitch. Rails kate shirt blush butterflies ($198) at Sassanova. Chronicle Books Terrarium ($24.95) at Brightside Boutique. Succulent garden metal catchall ($12) at Su Casa.

TRANSPLANT: I’m from New York, but I’ve been in Baltimore for 19 years. My husband is from here. We bought this three-story house when we graduated from college.

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? We live in the Penn North neighborhood. There’s a lot of revitalization going on near Coppin State University. It’s an interesting time to live in the city.

THE START OF A CAREER: Interior design was sort of a hobby for me—I went to school for public relations and advertising. I would do stuff around the house like paint and redecorate. Friends would ask, “Have you ever thought about doing this for a living?” I started taking on projects from family members.

PERSONAL STYLE: I like classic lines and pops of color. But I also like vintage pieces. They tell a story—having a vintage piece in every room is important. It’s one-of-a-kind, it has a history, and it’s always a conversation starter.

THE PLAN: This room is a crazy story. It was actually my master bedroom. We live in an older home built in the 1920s. Storage space is almost nonexistent. No room has a closet. We used an armoire or would jerry-rig storage. But I realized, in the bedroom, you just sleep. So we moved into the guest room.

DESIGN WITHIN REACH: Our old bedroom is now my dressing room and office. I work in there. Plus that’s where I keep all my clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I love that the shoes are visible and almost become pieces of art.

THE FIRST PIECE: The sofa came from Ryan’s Relics in White Marsh on Belair Road. It was such a bold color, I thought, “This is going to be the piece. We’ll just design around it.”

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: The cabinetry is from Ikea. I used bookcases, even though they’re not meant for shoes. But the shelving is adjustable, so it can be made taller for boots or shorter for flats.

OVER THE YEARS: I’ve had this room for about 10 years. I like the traditional style of cabinetry, that the rug is modern, the sofa is vintage, and I love how all those pieces can work together. I’m just grateful we have a space that allows it.

When it comes to interior design and home furnishings, Charm City was, for a long time, a pretty conservative town, its aesthetic rooted in 300 years of European tradition. But you won’t find much of what the antique dealers call “brown furniture” at Design Distillery’s newish Federal Hill space.

Instead, there’s a live-edge dining table shorn from the trunk of an acacia tree, and owner Karen Graveline’s current favorite, a black homage to the Windsor chair with a curved spindle back, molded from plastic. Then there are bar stools, bedside tables, and tufted sofas with clean lines and slender legs, all in an array of colors from turquoise and cocoa to beige.

What you won’t find here is the stuff your parents are pushing on you: the carved mahogany sideboards, bedroom sets in turned walnut, or the dining-room table with extra leaves—which speaks to the current dictum, “Your kids don’t want your brown furniture.”

With designs inspired by 20th-century icons Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Florence Knoll, the showroom houses staged vignettes showing clean, airy living spaces with soft shag rugs and arched matte-black floor lamps.

“Our roots are in modernism,” says Graveline, who recently rebranded the business she started as Home on the Harbor in 2002. “It’s really about design that is functional, simple, and sustainable.”

Graveline, who grew up in a modern house in Montgomery County, learned to love design from her architect father. The family attended Orioles games in the city, and, as they made their way through Baltimore neighborhoods to Memorial Stadium, Graveline loved seeing people sitting on their stoops and decided she wanted to live here. Graveline studied interior design at University of Maryland but became a graphic designer. When she and her engineer husband, Stanley, bought a rowhouse near Riverside Park, she says, “That’s when I got interested in furniture again.”

She would buy mid-century modern castoffs from auctions and estate sales to fix up and sell at the Antique Center at Federal Hill. Then, when she and Stanley saw a store (with an apartment upstairs) for rent in the neighborhood, they decided to give retail a go, opening Home on the Harbor in 2002 with a unique niche—smaller, modern pieces made to scale.

But in a country of giant rooms and giant furniture, they had some ’splainin’ to do. “Back then,” she says, “people didn’t know what to make of us. So I said, ‘It fits in rowhouses.’” That, she says, became the hook: “furniture that fits.”

A couple of years later, she opened a second store in Mt. Washington, then relocated to a repurposed industrial space in 2010, and doubled the store’s size to 9,500 square feet in 2016, while also renaming the business.

When she’s choosing furniture for the store, Graveline has an important requirement: “I have to picture it in a Baltimore home.” While, at one time, that simply meant a sofa had to fit through the narrow door of a Federal Hill rowhouse, she has refined the notion over the years. “Baltimore wants proven design,” she says, but nothing too fussy. “Baltimore tends to be informal.”

Crème de la Crème
Walls of lavish linens, kitchen accessories, and ornate conversation pieces await you in this Mediterranean-inspired home store. 207 N Market St., 240-651-1714.

Tiara Day
Unleash your inner Marie Antoinette in this ultra-femme, ultra-French boutique full of apparel, accessories, gifts, and jewels. 153 N Market St., 301-694-4911.

En Masse Luxe
Part florist, part gift shop, this self-care mecca carries swanky bath and beauty products, as well as gifts and accessories. 141 N Market St., 240-379-7100.

Velvet Lounge
You’re guaranteed to find something you have to have in this women’s contemporary boutique filled with popular brands such as Free People, Hudson, Wildfox, and Rebecca Minkoff. 203 N Market St., 301-695-5700.

The Muse
The Muse makes it easy to support artists locally and beyond with its carefully curated selection of handmade goods. 19 N Market St., 301-663-3632.

Curious Iguana
This independent bookstore is chock-full of newly released titles and globally diverse works. 12 N Market St., 301-695-2500.

Cafe Nola
With a vast selection of coffees and teas, this cozy café will fulfill all of your caffeine needs. You won’t want to miss out on their signature lattes—try the delectable coconut and vanilla creation they call “Hot Betty White.” 4 E Patrick St., 301-694-6652.

Dancing Bear Toys + Gifts
Children and adults alike will get a kick out of this shop full of battery-free toys and games. 15 E Patrick St., 301-631-9300.

Relish Decor
If Anthropologie’s home selection had a little Frederick baby, this store would be it. It’s loaded with pretty little things for your kitchen, table, or bar. 38 E Patrick St., 301-698-7360.

Venus on the Half Shell
Expertly curated, beautifully merchandised, and full of one-of-a-kind apparel and accessories, Venus on the Half Shell is vintage heaven. 101 E Patrick St., 301-662-6213.

Anam Cara Apothecary
The sign outside of Anam Cara Apothecary reads, “When science meets magic,” and that is exactly what you’ll find when you enter this bright shop with modern fixtures, an array of essential oils and herbal blends, holistic services, and one very friendly feline. 113 E Patrick St., 240-527-1627.

Maven Beauty Bar
Owned by a former cosmetic buyer for Nordstrom, this trendy beauty bar will make you feel like you just stepped off the streets of New York. Get your brows threaded, enjoy a makeup tutorial, and browse the great selection of organic skincare and beauty products, all in one trip. 118 E Patrick St., 240-578-4192.

Styling by Lauren Bell. Balloon arch by The Sentimental Fools. Green plastic popcorn bowl ($39.95/set of 3) at Williams-Sonoma. White cake stand ($59.95) at Williams-Sonoma. Glass snack containers ($64) at Becket Hitch. Playing-card coasters ($8.80) at Becket Hitch. Blue glass bowl ($8) at Su Casa. Dinosaur bottle opener ($42) at Trohv. Red tin container ($32) at Becket Hitch. Gold flag banner ($28) at Becket Hitch. Infuser tap-kit mason jar ($38/set) at Becket Hitch. Coca-Cola Hecho en Mexico ($6.49/6pk) at Target. Gold paper straws ($3) at Target. Chair Shot: Jazz-Age gold deco plates ($62/set of 4) at Becket Hitch. Saturday accent table ($175) at Su Casa. Dinosaur bottle opener ($42) at Trohv. Brass bowl ($38) at Becket Hitch. Indigo cloth napkin ($19.95/set of 4) at Trohv. Chair, stylist’s own. See page 192 for Where to Buy.

Remember Home on the Harbor? Well, now the Key Highway home of interior design goals is bigger and better than ever before. After undergoing a rebrand and redesign in 2016, Design Distillery was born. The new expanded space features even more modern design inspiration, curated vignettes, and a free Skee-Ball machine. We talked with owner, Karen Graveline and her design dream team—Seth Kaiser, Pearl Laaveg, and Erin Friedel—about the new and improved store, current trends, and guilty pleasures.

If you could describe Design Distillery in one sentence what would it be?

Karen Graveline: It’s the place you come to find a piece that you connect with and can live with.

What does Design Distillery specialize in?

KG: So our collection is based on the idea of modernism. Clean, simple, and classic designs and we really try to offer items for an urban space, whether it’s a big loft or a tiny row home, we have things that fit.

Why did you change your name?

KG: Home on the Harbor was established 15 years ago and it was a much different store during a much different time. We were selling mainly vintage and we were in a very small space, so when we were able to expand our space, we thought it was a good time to rebrand and really choose a name that fits us better for what we do now. Design Distillery still captures what Home on the Harbor started, which is finding really good designs and distilling it down to the best that is out there and staying really curated.

What do you think sets Design Distillery apart from other businesses?

KG: It’s a fun atmosphere—we are trying to keep furniture shopping fun. I also think it’s about the way we help people. We are more so a coach and want them to really be a part of the design process and make the design their own. And we have Skee-Ball.

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Erin Friedel: We could move things without lifting them.

Seth Kaiser: Telepathy. The ability to move furniture with your mind—Jean Gray style. That would make floor sets so much easier.

Pearl Laaveg: I’d fly. I know that’s not original but how fun.

SK: As long as it has a good costume change, I don’t really care what the super power is.

Who is your interior design hero?

KG: A source we go to a lot is Dwell magazine. It’s just very inspirational. But I think more of our heroes are furniture designers like Patricia Urquiola. We think she is amazing and there’s not too many women at that level so she is kind of my design hero.

SK: One of my favorite blogs that I continue to return to is desiretoinspire.net, they run the gamut on styles but they always have really refined photography that is really modern but original.

What is your favorite item currently in store?

KG: It’s on its way! The velvet womb chair by Knoll. It’s a classic design, I have one in my house, and I love it. We are getting it in this teal velvet.

EF: I would say the Saarinen dining table because it’s so iconic and you could put it in any kind of home and make it work.

PL: I sat on the Eilerson Plano sofa recently and I wanted to move in. Like, I actually got busted by a customer as I was saying, ‘I want to live here.’

SK: I was going to say the same thing! That sofa is awesome. It’s different than a lot of things on the market. It’s really been drawing people in and is insanely comfortable.

What is your favorite home decor trend right now?

SK: Dark, saturated walls. I’m still really vibing on the really dark charcoal walls and then pops of pink and a really light or bleached oak wood. Those things combined create something really beautiful for me right now.

KG: I’m always drawn to the Scandinavian aesthetic, the light wood hues and soft colors. Old spaces with more modern furniture.

What’s the most embarrassing trend that you used to love?

KG: It was, I guess, the early 2000s, and I liked the chocolate brown and avocado or lime green. There was also the orange and chocolate thing and I think I bought a bunch of orange at that time. So that’s one thing I don’t want to see right now.

SK: I used to like the really heavy industrial stuff when I got into this industry and that’s definitely faded. But it’s all going to come back and get us, right?

What is your guilty pleasure?

PL: Glitter!

SK: Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

KG: Chocolate.

EF: That’s mine, too!

Sometimes, the kitchen tells you when it’s time to remodel. For the Sturgill family, who moved into their Westminster home 15 years ago and raised three kids (who have since flown the nest) there, the kitchen all but screamed  it.

“The floors were worn, the cabinets started breaking,” says Tracie Sturgill. “I said to my husband, ‘When the third thing breaks, we’re redoing the kitchen.’ And then the fourth thing broke,” she recalls with a laugh.

Perched on a stool along the 10-foot-long island that grounds the newly remodeled space, Sturgill says the biggest change—besides aesthetics—has been functionality.

“I just wanted to be able to flow and use the space that we had,” Sturgill says. “We were not using the prior space well.” Before the remodel, a desk area between the front door and the kitchen had become a “dumping ground,” while the too-small dining room adjacent to the kitchen sat unused. Tearing down walls opened up the space for entertaining, and repurposing a 13-by-13-foot section of the attached three-car garage allowed for the addition of a walk-in pantry and a spacious laundry room.

 Since the family was looking for more than a cosmetic update, they turned to professionals to help them maximize the space during each stage of the remodel—from laying out the new floorplan to custom cabinetry and woodworking. With the help of Melissa Clark at Bluehouse Architecture, Tracie and husband Lee—well-known in the area as the owner of 54-year-old accounting firm Sturgill & Associates—transformed three distinct rooms into an open space that flows naturally into the rest of their home. 

Sliding barn doors—custom made with reclaimed materials—give the family the ability to close off the bedrooms and basement from the living area, helping to define the space while hosting guests. “I love the barn doors,” says Sturgill, who picked out the planks of wood used to build them at The Barnyard Boys, a salvage yard in Pennsylvania. “I think they are a piece of art.” 

The kitchen cabinetry—painted matte black with a rub-through for a rustic touch—is the handiwork of Laverne Herr of Elite Wood Classics. “I always knew I was going to use Laverne,” says Sturgill. “I never even considered another option.”

After completing the architectural plans, Sturgill spent the first three months of 2016 meeting with Herr to review the custom details—from paint colors and the rub-through technique to trim work and cabinet layout. “It’s quite the process. He really wants to see you and get to know you,” she recalls. 

Sturgill says the process gave her valuable insight when selecting features—especially when it came to distinguishing gimmicks from good design. “He was good at listening to my ideas, but he did say ‘no’ to a couple of things,” she says. Instead of a mixer lift (an increasingly popular feature that that raises the appliance from within a bottom cabinet to counter height), Herr suggested a countertop utility cabinet, which provides space to store several of the most-used kitchen appliances out of sight without any fancy hardware that tends to wear out. 

Another great tip? Only using the trendy cupped drawer pulls on the top row of drawers, and a more traditional, open handle design on the bottom. “If we had used them on all the drawers, you’d have to go down to reach from below, making it more awkward to pull them open. That was an awesome tip,” Sturgill says. 

Katie Heyman, a designer with Owings Brothers Contracting, brought the many elements of the remodel together into a cohesive design. Painting the surrounding walls in soft gray and beige tones helped balance the darkness of the cabinets. A white ceramic backsplash, a refreshed version of the now-ubiquitous subway tiles with a hand-crafted look and less noticeable grouting, helps to reflect the light—a critical component in a design where one window was removed and another shortened to increase cabinet space. 

With the help of Bill Russell, the on-site project manager for Owings Brothers Contracting, construction was completed in three months over the late summer and early fall of 2016—just in time for the Sturgill family to host Thanksgiving.

“Every holiday this whole [island] just gets loaded up,” says Sturgill, gliding her hand across the countertop. “Before, I was like, ‘We’ll meet you for dinner out.’ But now I actually say, ‘You want to meet at my house?’ It brings pride back to our home, and we feel good about having people come over again.”

Listen up, parents-to-be—gray is the new pink or blue. When it comes to decorating the nursery, more and more families are opting for soft, neutral tones over the bright, themed, gender-specific designs of the past.

But that’s not the only change going on in the world of baby-room design. We checked in with some of the metro area’s top interior designers to find out what’s hot and what’s not, and they offered lots of advice on things to consider before you buy that big bag of garish stick-on wall giraffes.

For starters, the décor tastes of grown-ups are being taken a little more seriously.

“A lot of my clients request a nursery that isn’t too juvenile,” says Elizabeth Lawson, a Baltimore-based interior designer who works with clients across the country. “They want the room to grow with their child. They also want a nursery with a gender-neutral color scheme, because, later on, the room may be used for a second child.”

A project Lawson recently completed for a family expecting a baby girl, for example, opted for cool-toned blueish-gray walls rather than pink. Layered rugs over the hardwood floor add warmth and texture, while a white dresser’s gold-bar drawer pulls give the room a grown-up, luxe touch. 

Absent are the typical baby animals or ABCs art—instead, a framed photo print of a dusty pink handkerchief on a sandy beach complements the room’s soft color palette. 

“We’re also designing with a lot of wood tones and natural materials,” Lawson adds, pointing to the wicker baskets used for storage, unstained natural wood crib, and watercolor bedding.

While it’s a good idea to let a favorite print or accent color inspire your design, Lawson points out one reason parents should avoid anything too “theme-y.” “Grandparents and other family members have the tendency to get carried away, and you’ll be seeing elephants and ducks for years to come,” she says with a laugh.

Nurseries are also adopting a cleaner, less busy look, following in the footsteps of popular interior-design trends, such as minimalist decor and mid-century modern furniture. “The hottest trend right now is eclectic minimalism, and by that I mean nurseries that don’t follow a formula and are relatively sparse compared to nurseries of five years ago,” says Mary Bauer, founder and president of Bratt Decor, a Baltimore-based company that makes designer children’s furniture. “Parents today are breaking old rules of full matching suites of furniture with one voice. We are seeing ornate cribs with modern dressers and custom bedding. Black and white nurseries are a thing right now, too.”

The grown-ups can also win this one: Creating a room that will outlive its initial raison d’être can mean adopting furniture styles and color palettes found in the kitchen and adult living areas.

While two white models of Bratt Decor’s classic-looking iron cribs are its best sellers, Bauer says she’s seeing a rise in black, too. But regardless of the color or style, parents most value furniture that grows with their child. 

“Always choose a crib that will transition into a toddler bed, daybed, or full bed,” Bauer advises. “All of our designs can be used indefinitely.”

The concept extends beyond the crib. “When designing, we think a lot about how the nursery will grow with the child, because they grow quickly,” Lawson says. “Rather than using a changing table that is strictly a changing table, I always recommend using a dresser and placing a changing pad on top.”

It’s a concept Ashley Barbalato took to heart when putting together the nursery for her now 14-month-old son, Julien, in the Riverside rowhome she and her husband recently remodeled.

“I wanted to be able to reuse many of the pieces in the future and have things that would grow with my son,” she recalls. “I love monochromatic schemes that allow for a lot of flexibility with accessories. I tried to keep things timeless and simple, but still playful.” 

While Barbalato stuck to the neutral tones across the walls and furniture, she infused the space with pops of texture and personality with a few fun pieces, including a fluffy “rocking sheep”—a Nordic take on the traditional rocking horse—made from natural carved wood and soft cream-colored fur. In the center of the ceiling hangs a fanciful light in the shape of a gold crown that looks as though it was plucked from the head of Max in Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are.

“Once my son outgrew the infant stage, I wanted to have as little of a transition as possible into the toddler stage,” Barbalato adds. “I didn’t want to spend more money on things like artwork, bedding and storage. Instead, I chose pieces that I knew would keep up with my child’s interests and growth.”

Finally, Mom and Dad can be a little self-indulgent: As a new parent, you’ll be spending countless—sometimes stressful—hours in this space, so Lawson recommends a tranquil design where you can relax. “Simplicity is key,” Lawson adds. “Parenting is stressful and exhausting and the nursery should be a calming refuge at all times.”

With that in mind, parents shouldn’t skimp on aspects of the room that will make the space enjoyable for them, too. “It needs to be comfortable for both parents and baby,” says Lawson. “A comfortable chair or glider is a must.”

Barbalato agrees. “Keep your baby’s room clean and simple. It will create a calm space for you and your little one. Accessorize for play and imagination. Lastly, remember this is a space that you will spend a lot of time in, too. How do you want to feel in the space? What would you like to see? Moms are allowed to be selfish sometimes, too!”

The Nursery Checklist

Our panel of designers also offered some useful advice on planning the space.  

Don’t Rush
“My clients usually want to get started designing their nursery right away, because they’re excited,” Lawson says. “But the first thing new parents should consider when designing is functionality and making sure they have the appropriate furniture pieces.”

Most expectant moms do the bulk of nursery prep in the second trimester, according to a reader survey by The Bump, a website for first-time millennial parents. Cribs and other furniture can take 10 or more weeks to be delivered, so experts recommend parents make selecting and ordering it a priority.

Customize
Nursery checklists are a great place to get started—just be sure to customize them to your family’s needs. As rowhome residents, for example, the Barbalato family learned to select pieces that served multiple functions in order to maximize the tight space. “I’ve actually learned that less is more when it comes to my child’s room,” she says. “When I was first designing and furnishing it, I felt like I had to have everything on ‘The Baby List,’ but that’s not the case.” 

Think about the space
With space at a premium, Barbalato says she reevaluated larger pieces that some books and websites cited as must-haves. “Do we really need something like a huge ottoman to accompany our glider? I learned that we don’t. Instead, we have an oversized floor pouf that worked great during those sleepless nights and is now serving as an awesome climbing gym for my son.”

It’s all in the details
When creating your own checklist, think about your specific needs. Will the baby’s room be hit with a strong afternoon sun? Blackout curtains are a must, then, for making mid-day naps easier. Live on a busy street? Consider a sound machine to cancel out outside noises that could keep baby up. Flexible lighting options—like a soft lamp and night light in addition to the overhead light—can help you adapt the brightness for the room’s many uses, from playtime to middle-of-the-night diaper changes and feedings.

1. Pacific Connections tissue box cover ($105) at Antique Exchange. 2. Fire red tea kettle ($48) at Su Casa. 3. Mongolian lamb stool ($399) at West Elm. 4. Orange storage container ($8.75) at Trohv. 5. Middle Kingdom small vase ($12) at Antique Exchange. 6. Lime toothbrush holder ($18) at Su Casa. 7. Tufted pedestal swivel chair ($899) at West Elm. 8. Amanda Adams felt cactus ($56) at Trohv. 9. Leaves of Grass ($16.99) and Meehan’s Bartender Manual ($40) at Trohv. 10. Surya Coast table lamp ($160) at Su Casa. 11. Blue mosaic picture frame ($42) at Trohv. 12. Middle Kingdom Lotus Root vase ($38) at Antique Exchange.

COLOR GUARD: I think in general I tend to gravitate toward color. If you were to look at the rest of our house you would see it’s a pretty wide color palette. 

SHORT STORY: We get a lot of compliments on the picture hanging in the dining room and I wish I had a better story for it. My husband always tells me we need to make up interesting stories for things that we don’t have good stories for. The reality of that picture is that it was on clearance at CB2, but he likes to tell people that it is our aunt and uncle and then people always do a double take and are like, “Wait, really?” 

TABLE TALK: We’ve had the table since 2004. It’s a Heywood-Wakefield table and I found it while browsing eBay. That mid-century modern trend was just coming into vogue with the popularity of Mad Men and all of that stuff, but I was really drawn to the clean lines and natural materials. 

SPECIAL MEASURES: There is a guy in Hagerstown who owns a place called Strictly Hey-Wake and all he does is refinish Heywood-Wakefield furniture. He does a really beautiful job and he refinished our dining room table for us, as well as another record cabinet and king-sized bed. 

TRIAL AND ERROR: I picked the chairs up on sale at Anthropologie for like $40 apiece, which was a great find. However, it’s one of those lessons in buying furniture online before actually seeing it. The way the chairs are built, the center of gravity is slightly off, so if you lean forward a little bit you end up on the floor. My chairs always come with a warning. 

AHEAD OF ITS TIME: The clock on the wall is by an Italian designer and we picked it up from a shop in Philly years ago. It was one of those things we were drawn to immediately but we didn’t really have a place to put it. When we finally finished the kitchen we found a spot where we think it worked well. 

GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT: I find lighting really hard to wrap my head around, and I just really love light fixtures. The pendants over the bar and the sconces over the stove are from Schoolhouse Electric, and the dining room fixture is from Rejuvenation. 

OPEN HOUSE: The kitchen was originally closed off and there was a doorway on the left where the clock is now. With our kids getting a little bit older, it was important for us to renovate the kitchen because we wanted to open it up and get as much use out of it as possible. I think the only downside is that we used to use the dining room table a lot more and now, because we have that bar area, we don’t as much. 

Rose gold is the soft, glowing obsession that just won’t go away. From tech gadgets and office supplies to clothing, accessories, and even hair dye, this hue will continue to add warmth to our day-to-day lives for months to come.

Whether it’s to highlight the color of a certain season or just based on your mood, throw pillows are an easy way to add a pop of color, texture, and personality to any room.

Top row, left to right: Cloud9 Design ivory-and-blue ombré pillow ($265) at Nouveau Home and Interior Design. Scenic landscape pillow ($39) at West Elm. Modern print pillow ($240) at The House Downtown. Middle row, left to right: Flower textured pillow ($124) at Nouveau Home and Interior Design. Silk ikat pillow ($42) at Wishbone Reserve. Ikat composition crewel pillow ($49) at West Elm. Bottom row, left to right: Neutral leopard pillow ($275) at The House Downtown. Custom pillow ($45) at Su Casa. Turkish kilim pillow ($42) at Wishbone Reserve.

Printed and punny mugs have taken over the shelves of our favorite boutiques and gift shops. If these don’t make you want to purge your overcrowded kitchen cabinet, nothing will.

Clockwise from top left: Where the Wild Things Are mug ($9.99) at The Sound Garden. Ban.do BFF mug ($14) at Brightside Boutique. “Too Legit to Quit” coffee mug ($18) at Becket Hitch. Jac Vanek Personally Victimized mug ($19) at Brightside Boutique. Seltzer Goods cacti mug ($16) at Brightside Boutique. “Just Add Coffee” mug ($14) at Brightside Boutique. Rainbow mug ($9.99) at The Sound Garden. Laura Zindel raven mug ($45) at Mud and Metal.

THE CITY THAT READS: Originally this plot of land in Jonestown was six rowhouses. When the city was looking to build another library they ended up choosing this spot. This was Branch 11 of Enoch Pratt Free Library, built about 100 years ago. 

GRUNT WORK: I used to work IT for Fannie Mae so I’ve always kind of been around real estate. Now I just manage my own real estate. I’ve spent a lot of years peeling wallpaper while everyone else was at the music festival. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s paying off.  

BLANK SLATE: I just fell in love with this property—I’ve owned it for three years. When I bought this place, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. It was a distressed property and had been vandalized at one point and someone had cut out all of the copper piping. 

SHELF LIFE: There are no windows on the first floor of this building because, when it was a library, the walls were lined with bookcases, and what is now the kitchen was a lecture room. 

MELTING POT: A century ago, this neighborhood was mostly Eastern European immigrants. In fact, the third oldest synagogue in the country is in this land block. Most of the books in this library weren’t in English—they were in German, and Polish. 

OLD SCHOOL: I was told that after it was a library, it was an overflow elementary school that they used for years. I still have people who walk by and tell me stories about when they went to school here. 

MIX AND MATCH: I’m very eclectic. I like new stuff, I like old stuff, and I am really attracted to Asian-inspired things and primitive work. 

SEA WORLD: The antique globes hanging in the living room are from different places. The white one is from Norway and the others are Korean and Japanese. Before they had Styrofoam, buoys were made out of glass and wrapped in rope, so those are just old fishing buoys. They used to get caught in the current and would wash up onshore along the beaches in Washington and Oregon. 

PIER PRESSURE: The painting above the couch is by a local artist and is of the Moran tugboats, which used to be based where the new Sagamore Pendry Hotel is now. 

SUN DIAL: It’s a neat property because every corner of this place is a little different. The sun comes in the different windows throughout the day. My dogs—Banjo and Kazooie—love being here. They’ll spend the day moving around to wherever the sun is coming in. 

SKY HIGH: My favorite part is being upstairs in the top section during the sunrise because you can see several of the Baltimore steeples and the sky is pink at that time. Sunset is also pretty with the backdrop of downtown. 

EASY BREEZY: The top room I had as my bedroom, but occasionally I switch it out. Right now it is a sitting room because I wanted it to be something everyone could enjoy. It gets so much sun that it basically heats itself. And all of the windows open so you get a great breeze.