Atlanta Shopping Archives

Last Friday I popped into the new Ballard Designs store here in Atlanta. The store recently moved to a new location and more than doubled their space.

For years, Ballard Designs has been a great design resource for accent furniture, decorative accessories, tabletop items and linens. Over the years I’d pop into their store to find accessories for a project or the perfect pillow to finish off a bedding assemble. The array of products makes it easy to find that perfect finishing touch.

Walking into their new store was absolutely breathtaking and was like seeing the page of the catalog come to life. The expanded store space has a bright and open feel that really shows off the products. There were beautiful at every turn and even the smallest design element like a coffee table book was styled as part of a beautiful lifestyle vignette. As I walked though the store I snapped lots of pictures of things that inspired me.

Ballard Designs | Atlanta

**Modern Mix is one of my all-time favorite design books. If you don’t have a Ballard Designs near you, you can pick up a copy here.

Twine in a bow!! Such a simple but chic decorative accent.

One of my favorite parts of the store was the outdoor living area which showcased Ballard’s outdoor furniture and decor. It’s so nice to be able to see these pieces in person and get a real feel for the scale, details and quality.

In addition to furniture and decor, the store also has wallpaper, fabric and drapery hardware for sale. And there is an on-site monogram station where you can have a Jute Tote bag personalized.

I know I’ll be making the trek to the Ballard Designs store more often and can’t wait to see the store all decked our during the holidays.

For those of you in the Atlanta area, here’s the new store location:

The Works at Chattahoochee
1235 Chattahoochee Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30318

I’ve lived in Atlanta for 15 years and just when I think I’ve discovered every vintage shop in the city I stumble across a new one.

A couple of weeks ago while the hubby and I were out driving I spotted a parking lot filled with outdoor furniture. The building looked like it was old and I had a feeling what was inside the building was vintage. I directed my driver to pull into the lot and a large sign reading Desperate Housewares greeted us. I could tell immediately that this little shop was a gem.

Desperate Housewares is quaint little shop which sells vintage, retro and contemporary decor and furniture, antiques, collectibles and of course housewares. In addition to retail sales, the shop also rents pieces for tv shows, films and prop use.

Walking through the store is like walking through a museum dedicated to retro and industrial design. There were lots of industrial office chairs, typewriters and misc. accessories. The collection of retro furniture is one of the best I’ve seen. Since I don’t shop retro often I found many of the prices on the larger items to be a bit high, but they are probably in line with the quality and age of the pieces.

This bench was amazing with a chunky brass base and I even liked the Chartreuse colored fabric.

I spotted this pair of cool retro bar stools that were in min condition.

If you love old chairs, Desperate Housewares had a great selection that could be totally transformed with a new upholstery job and paint.

If you’ve got vintage flamingos on your shopping list you’ll find some of those at this store too!

I love horses and this antique horse tricycle was just stunning but way out of my price range.

I considered purchasing a pair of these bamboo framed mirrors but left them for someone else.

The shop has a large selection of vintage oil paintings at good prices and with really nice chunky frames.

And their collection of vintage luggage and train cases is amazing. My mom had one of these vintage Train Cases and I loved it as a kid.

Desperate Housewares has lots of vintage accent furniture and this bamboo piece grabbed my attention. It would make a great nightstand.

And if you have a thing for lamps like I do, you will be in heaven in this shop. There were shelves upon shelves of vintage ceramic and metal styles.

While my personal design style is not retro, I definitely saw lots of pieces in this shop that could easily mix well with other styles.

If you’re looking for a new place to shop in Atlanta, definitely check out Desperate Housewares. The shop is located near Inman Park and the revitalized 4th Ward district.

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Desperate Housewares

241 Boulevard NE (at Freedom Parkway), Atlanta, GA 30312

www.desperatehousewaresATL.com