If IKEA chairs, a bookshelf fashioned from cinderblocks, and some
threadbare discards from your late Aunt Hilda’s estate are no longer
working for you, then you might do well to pick the brain of Baltimore’s
interior design community. Whether it’s fabric, accessories, repurposed
industrial items, or antiques and art, they know where to find unique
items that will make your house a little more of a home—and, no, it
doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

We asked six veteran designers to take us shopping:

Michelle Miller

Michelle Miller Interiors
2645 Maryland Ave., Studio B
410-702-4993
michellemillerinteriors.com

Michelle Miller is best known for her homey modern interiors with
mid-century flair. One of her favorite places to prowl for unique pieces
is Orions Objects in Woodberry; she’s been an avid customer since the
shop was located on the Avenue in Hampden, and describes the finds there
as “pre-Mad Men—before mid-century modern really came onto the
scene.” The designer, who lives in Baltimore’s Ten Hills neighborhood,
says she rarely furnishes an entire room with vintage pieces, but will
incorporate something unique to add character. She found an oversized
blown-glass table lamp at a store in Pittsburgh and displayed it on her
website and her page on the website Houzz. “I got more calls about that
piece,” she says. “But it’s one-of-a-kind,” so several would-be
collectors were disappointed. Another source for mid-century pieces is
Home Anthology, a 5,000-square-foot store in Catonsville that carries
authentic mid-century items ranging from Eames fiberglass chairs to
lamps by Osten Kristiansson and Danish modern dining room sets. Miller
also likes to prowl Housewerks, a salvage outlet on Bayard Street in
South Baltimore. She recently picked up a pile of “greasy old industrial
gear parts,” cleaned and polished them, and has plans to suspend them
from the ceiling in her great room. Her own house, she says, “is a
little more traditional than what I do for clients.” But that doesn’t
keep her from introducing quirky touches. “Not everyone is up for
hanging gears from the ceiling.”

Michelle’s picks:

Orions Objects
1750 Union Ave., 410-585-9750
orionsobjects.com

Home Anthology
91 Mellor Ave., Catonsville
410-744-0042
homeanthology.com

Housewerks
1415 Bayard St., 410-685-8047
housewerksalvage.com

April Force Pardoe

AFP Interiors
410-782-0762, afpinteriors.com

April Force Pardoe doesn’t mind taking her clients shopping. She
recently worked on a Catonsville family room where, at the start of the
job, the only piece of furniture was a large red entertainment stand.
She and the clients went on a shopping spree to Shofer’s Furniture store
in Federal Hill, where they purchased a “gorgeous” leather sofa along
with some occasional chairs to complete the inviting space.

Pardoe also loves to prowl unusual places on her own, especially when
her clients are looking for vintage or shabby chic, or appreciate old
items put to new uses.

For example, she picked up a beat-up old china cabinet at the Habitat
for Humanity ReStore for clients in Owings Mills. The solid wood piece,
in two sections, cost $185. Pardoe then paid an artist $1,200 to repair
and paint it in a decorative blue finish. “The piece is amazing
quality, and it looks stunning in their dining room,” Pardoe says.

Then there’s The Barn Show in Gambrills, a gathering of antique and
vintage dealers that takes place three times a year, offering furniture
and accessories like pillows, mirrors, and tabletop items. Another of
Pardoe’s favorites is The Vintage Marketplace at Glenwood. Open just one
weekend a month, it’s packed with vintage and refurbished furniture,
artwork, and a range of accessories. Pardoe recently bought several
16-inch wooden wagon wheels at BB Home and spray-painted them a
high-gloss green to arrange on a wall in her sister’s home.

April’s picks:

Shofer’s Furniture
930 S. Charles St., 410-752-4212
shofers.com

The Barn Show
3250 Bottner Rd., Gambrills
thebarnshow.com

The Vintage Marketplace at Glenwood
2945 Rte. 97, Glenwood
thevintagemarketplace.net

Habitat for Humanity ReStore
505 Kane St., 410-633-0505;
8909 McGaw Ct., Columbia,
410-290-3700; and other locations.

Brad Weesner

Brad Weesner Design
3020 St. Paul St., 410-662-6300
bradweesnerdesign.com

Brad Weesner moved to Baltimore from the Washington suburbs and was
immediately charmed not only by the variety of places to shop here, but
by the quality of what he found.

McLain Wiesand, for one, has become a go-to source, he says. The Mt.
Vernon-based guild of artisans and designers, under the direction of
David Wiesand (see article, page 182), creates objects from wood, glass,
and stone in multiples, and also sells one-of-a-kind pieces in its
marketplace. Weesner has his eye on the Hawksmore Lantern, an iron
sconce with flourishes reminiscent of the 19th century. “I’m waiting for
my next hotel project to order it,” Weesner says.

The designer is best known in Baltimore for the interiors of new
buildings at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), including a
dormitory on North Avenue. But Weesner’s background is mostly working
with homeowners.

He recently completed a penthouse apartment project at the
Ritz-Carlton, commissioning Valley Craftsmen to do finishes for wall
panels and bookcases. The company, in Clipper Mill, specializes in
gilding, chinoiserie, and faux finishes, as well as meticulous murals.
“They did distressing that looks like old Swedish wood,” he says, “with a
little gold leafing along the cornices.”

Another of his favorites is Niermann Weeks, which makes luxe light
fixtures and furniture. It’s based in Millersville, but has showrooms in
New York. Joe Niermann began his career making chandeliers, but has set
a standard for finishes, says Weesner.

Finally, Weesner loves to frequent art galleries, and one of his
favorites is Troika in Easton, which represents Kevin Fitzgerald, a
MICA graduate whom the designer describes as his “favorite painter in
the whole world.” Weesner often finishes a room—like a living room in
neutral tones with a glittering crystal chandelier—with a calming
Fitzgerald land or seascape painting.

Brad’s picks:

McLain Wiesand
1013 Cathedral St., 410-539-4440
mclainwiesand.com

Valley Craftsmen
3535 Clipper Mill Rd., 410-366-7077
valleycraftsmen.com

Niermann Weeks
760 Generals Hwy., Millersville
410-923-0123
niermannweeks.com

Troika Gallery
9 S. Harrison St., Easton
410-770-9190
troikagallery.com

Jay Jenkins

Jenkins Baer Associates
24 W. Chase St., 410-727-4100
jenkinsbaer.com

Jay Jenkins shops at design markets in New York, Atlanta, and High
Point, NC, at least five times a year, helping his firm, Jenkins Baer
Associates, maintain a large inventory. “We have everything from napkin
rings to upholstered furniture,” he says. “So when we’re done with a
project—there’s no more shopping—we’re done.” Even so, one of Jenkins’s
favorite aspects of design is helping clients choose art. “Don’t buy art
because it matches your carpet,” he advises. “If it speaks to you,
incorporate it into your life.” At the same time, he cautions, “don’t
get overexcited. Think about it for a day; otherwise it could turn into
an expensive whim.”

For those in the early stages of collecting art, Jenkins recommends
going to local gallery openings as well as student and faculty shows at
MICA. And there’s the biennial Baltimore Museum of Art print sale, an
event Jenkins calls “a gift to Baltimore.” Buying art works on paper, he
says, “is the best way to get into collecting on the ground level.”
More advanced collectors can find an array of works by artists ranging
from Jim Dine and Andy Warhol to Renoir and Picasso through Renaissance
Fine Arts in Pikesville. Lately, Jenkins has been working on a Manhattan
pied-à-terre for a Baltimore client. The art on the walls is
exclusively photographs. “Photography is becoming extremely popular and
gaining respect in the marketplace,” he says.

Jay’s picks:

MICA, student and faculty art shows
mica.edu

The Baltimore Museum of Art
artbma.org

Renaissance Fine Arts
1848 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville
410-484-9640
merrittgallery-renaissancefinearts.com

Kim Eastburn

Kimberly A. Eastburn Interiors
410-329-5285, kaeinteriors@aol.com

Kim Eastburn never met a consignment shop she didn’t like. “The first
thing I do when I go to a city is find the really good antiques and
resale stores,” Eastburn says. “If I’m in Charleston or Denver or
Boston, I’ll make notes that so-and-so had great antique chandeliers, or
great art, or rugs.”

One such discovery was Golden & Associates Antiques, a shop in
Charleston where she discovered 19th-century French light fixtures. A
few months later, a client who owns a grand historic house in Baltimore
showed her photos of a chandelier he intended to buy. “They just weren’t
right, so I said, ‘Let me show you a better option,’ and called
Golden.” Within a couple of hours, the shop had sent photos of
chandeliers it had in inventory, and Eastburn’s client purchased three.

Eastburn says she used to buy one-of-a-kind items like rugs, lamps,
and tables, knowing that she’d eventually find just the right match with
a client. “I ended up with a ridiculous amount of inventory.” Now her
approach is a little different: “I laser-point in on what I want and
have a little Rolodex in my head, so I know whom to call to get exactly
what I want.”

Kim’s picks:

O’Malley Antiques
1501 Sulgrave Ave., 410-466-0606
omalleyantiques.com

The Kellogg Collection
6241 Falls Rd., 410-296-4378
kelloggcollection.com

Golden & Associates Antiques
206 King St., Charleston, SC
843-723-4886
goldenassociatesantiques.com

Anne Markstein

Anne Markstein Interiors
19925 Bollinger Rd., Millers
410-343-1330
annemarksteininteriors.com

Anne Markstein does most of her shopping from her home office in
Millers in northeast Carroll County. She cruises the websites of
favorite vendors searching for the right mix of fabrics, furniture, and
finishes to create peaceful interiors that don’t look overly decorated
or perfectly matched. But she doesn’t consider it shopping online.
“These are businesses I know well,” she says. “I’ve been working with
them for years, so I know exactly what I’m getting.”

She tries to minimize surprises, but occasionally things don’t go
according to plan. For example, she once ordered a glass-topped coffee
table with a silver-leaf base for a client. The metal base’s finish
started to wear off within a few months. After several months of
correspondence—in which the furniture vendor accused the client of
mistreating the table—Markstein was able to recoup a small amount to
have the table refinished. But to do it right cost much more. “It was a
win for everyone but me,” she says. “I had to eat the cost.” Needless to
say, she hasn’t dealt with that company again, and the experience
reinforced her resolve to only buy from vendors she knows well.

Some of Markstein’s favorite vendors are Arteriors Home for lamps,
Design Materials for jute and sisal floor coverings, and Surya and
Jaipur for colorful woven rugs. Markstein also browses the American
Craft Council Show in Baltimore each February. “The quality is
beautiful, and it’s all handmade,” she says.

She also shops at the Maryland Design Center in Owings Mills. The
center, started by Peyton Home, a local company that manufactures
furniture in Indonesia, represents several lines of fabric and furniture
and is generally only open to the trade—though designers can bring
clients by appointment.

Anne’s picks:

Arteriors Home
arteriorshome.com

Design Materials
dmikc.com

Surya
surya.com

Jaipur
jaipurrugs.com

American Craft Council show
Baltimore Convention Center,
Feb. 21-23, 2014; craftcouncil.org

The Maryland Design Center
11409 Cronhill Dr., Ste. G
Owings Mills, 410-998-9424
peytonhomeonline.com.