This year we celebrate 20 of the best and brightest independent home décor retailers across the country. These are the stores — and store owners — you want to keep an eye on.
Welcome to Home Accents Today’s Class of 2024 Retail Stars. This year we celebrate 20 of the best and brightest independent home décor retailers across the country that excel in the areas of visual merchandising, social media, community outreach, in-store events and business-building. We tasked a small group of industry experts to advise us on which retailers were truly award-worthy, and then added a few of our own editorial picks.
A special thanks to Raelle Bell of the American Lighting Association, Laurie Burns of the GHTA, retail design consultant Linda Cahan, sales representative Russ Jones, Patrick Keiser of Heart on Main Street, Table magazine editor Keith Recker, designer Cheryl Kees Clendenon and journalist Warren Shoulberg for their help and insight.
Started by owners Justin and Cheri Lingafelt as a store devoted to selling extra stock sourced from High Point showrooms after furniture markets, Accent Prone in Kernersville, N.C. has evolved to include home décor pieces, apparel, jewelry and gifts.
With its eclectic, no-filler edit of new and vintage furniture, home décor and personal effects, Beam & Anchor in Portland, Ore. has become a destination for creative types in search of inspiration and interesting products.
Buck Mason operates 31 apparel stores across the United States, but this one in Pittsburgh, Penn., which opened last fall, is unique because it is the only one that carries home décor and furnishings. Photo courtesy of Buck Mason.
After four moves in 10 years, Charmed House Interiors has settled into its 35,000-square-foot three-story retail space in Kansas City, offering a mix of furniture, home décor, gifts and vintage items. Photo courtesy of Charmed House Interiors.
The brightly colored City Home shops in Portland, Ore. and southwest Washington State touch the senses with their velvet sofas and aromatic candles. They also specialize in hand-carved solid wood pieces. Photo courtesy of City Home.
About 18 months ago, Connecticut Lighting opened a 50,000-square-foot facility that encompasses the Hartford showroom, distribution center and restoration business, which offers vintage fixtures, lamp shades and repairs. The new showroom offers higher ceilings and more space to showcase product. Photo courtesy of Connecticut Lighting.
Designer Cristi Holcombe decided to open a retail store in Atlanta in early 2020. Christi Holcombe Interiorshas now expanded the product assortment to include candles and jewelry as well as home décor. Photo courtesy of CatMax Photography.
Jennifer Loveless and Dana Ender are best friends as well as the owners of Countryside ReFind, a vintage-inspired home décor shop in the heart of Baraboo, Wis. The 10,000-square-foot shop, which devotes about 7,000 square feet to retail over two floors, has evolved over time from a craft-oriented business in 2015 to a full-scale décor business offering new and vintage furniture, accessories, clothing, kitchenware, bedding and botanicals. Photo courtesy of Countryside ReFind.
Dixon Rye, owned and operated by interior designer Bradley Odom, is housed in the Westside Ironworks building in Atlanta’s Design District. Photo by Mail Azima.
Interior designer Laura Hodges, owner of Baltimore’s Domain, has won many accolades for her work. Photo courtesy of Domain.
On a customer’s path to finding the right solution, Dominion Lighting has positioned itself as “lighting sherpas,” guiding and inspiring customers while demystifying the buying process. Matt Rowan is vice president of residential lighting and marketing at Dominion, which has 3,000-square-foot and 2,000-square-foot showrooms in Arlington and Chantilly, Va., respectively. Photo from Dominion Lighting.
Husband and wife Keith and Ann Graber Miller said their store, named Found, in downtown Goshen, Ind., allows them to do something they both love while also giving them the chance to travel and support artisans around the globe. The store is focused on selling mid-century modern furniture and art as well as unique, hand-crafted, hand-woven items from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. They also use the retail store as a venue for local artisans to sell their creations. Photo courtesy of Found.
Retail Star Foundry42, in Port Jervis, N.Y., began as a coffee shop and expanded into a home décor store. Photo courtesy of Foundry42.
Kathy Adams Furniture & Interiors is a specialty furniture and accent boutique, in Plano, Texas. Being an active part of the local community is one of the store’s core values. Photo courtesy of Kathy Adams.
Designer Kathy Kuo started her business, Kathy Kuo Home, in New York City in 2012 with a mission that everyone should love where they live. Kuo said she has developed an eye for curating during her 20+ years in the industry by sourcing and designing luxury furniture and homewares. Photo courtesy of Kathy Kuo Home.
Minneapolis-based Patinagets high marks for its merchandising across its 8 locations. Photo courtesy of Patina.
After 12 years in the same location, retailer Rusted Chandelier, a home décor store outside of St. Louis that sells accents, gifts, candles and floral arrangements, is moving to a bigger location. This custom-made pink twig chandelier is one of the store’s centerpieces. Photo courtesy of Rusted Chandelier.
Terrain, a division of Urban Outfitters, operates 8 stores across the country, each with its own unique backstory. This is the store in Westport, Conn.
TheOxford Exchange in Tampa, Fla., offers a variety of tableware, candles, design and art books, pillows, blankets, decorative pieces and antiques in its assortment. Photo courtesy of Laurie Burns.
At The Pep Linein St. Charles, Ill., Shannon Peppeard has successfully combined her design studio and retail shop. “People say it looks like a home,” said Peppeard, who merchandises and styles items to make them appealing. “People may buy a coffee table, but they also want everything that is on it.” When she started, design was the majority of her business. But now the store and studio “work in tandem for selling merchandise. It’s a one-stop shop for home.” She does have separate staffs, however, four on the design side, and four at the store. Photo courtesy of The Pep Line.
