BEST TRADITIONAL FURNITURE | Mecox
One of the coffee table books that grace this Knox-area home furnishings store is titled More Is More. How apropos. The Southampton-based retailer is anything but white-washed sedate, jam-packed with one-of-a-kind antiques and furnishings ranging in style from Hollywood Regency to French to Americana. Queen Anne settees sit next to a chunky faux bois concrete chair. Lucite bar carts and pony-hide tub chairs mix and mingle. Mecox doesn’t shy away from color. Tangerine, moss green, and aqua accessories catch the eye at every turn. It’s an exciting mix of the unexpected and a far cry from your typical furniture store.
READERS’ PICK: WEIR’S FURNITURE
BEST OUTDOOR FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES | JANUS et Cie
Let’s say you want to create the best backyard ever. Visualize a fabric cabana in limelight. Now concentrate on a sophisticated array of woven and boxwood chaise lounges, bar stools, and quinta teak tables. Last, envision the drive to JANUS et Cie for all this and more. The only foreseeable problem? Kicking people out of that perfect backyard.
READERS’ PICK: JACKSON’S HOME & GARDEN
The shop at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is spacious and well-organized, and it has the usual offerings: prints and posters of works on display; postcards; gorgeous, art-filled books. But it’s the unexpected items that make this place great. Peruse 37-pence stamp throw pillows, balloon dog sculptures, children’s books, and more.
READERS’ PICK: DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART
Let’s say your 3-year-old rides her tricycle down your neighbor’s stairs, smashing a hole in the wall. Further, let’s say this happens the day before they put their house on the market. You could do worse than call Southern Painting. They take the drama out of the aforementioned scene by fixing the wall, from drywall to topcoat.
READERS’ PICK: SOUTHERN PAINTING
Do we like that owner Elisabeth White has great prices? Sure. But the $75 hourly rate seems almost beside the point when you see all the fresh outfits White puts together. She also reorganizes purses, jewelry, shoes, and clothing for maximal viewing. Bonus: White has fresh, fashion-forward taste. So you feel good when she gives you an honest opinion about stuff that needs to go.
READERS’ PICK: THE CONTAINER STORE
BEST HARDWARE | F. Is for Frank
Painfully tasteful Venetian bronze knobs are so last year. What your cabinet needs is something fresh. Perhaps a pewter octopus. Shoshannah Frank and Casey Melton’s sense of whimsy is evident in their knobs, pulls, and handles. Dinosaur knobs are perfect for a boy’s room, while floral pulls will delight your little girl. The woodgrain series puts a hip, modern spin on the great outdoors.
READERS’ PICK: ELLIOT’S HARDWARE
