Your home is your sanctuary, your refuge from the world. It’s where you wake up and start each day, and where you relax and wind down again at the end of it.
As homeowners, we take pride in seeking out items and pieces that will embellish our homes so that we’re provided with the maximum amount of comfort and enjoyment. But whether we’re new homeowners and looking for furnish from scratch, or we’re looking to give certain rooms a refresh, there’s always a question of where to go searching for those perfect pieces.
To help give you a head start, we’ve collated a list of favourite go-tos from some of our Stilhavn Realtors® that come backed with their own personal recommendations…
VANCOUVER SPECIAL
Vancouver Special promotes the idea that “good design can be accessible, affordable, of high quality and bring pleasure to daily life”.
Located on Main Street in Mount Pleasant, and open every day, here you can find a store that carefully hand-picks contemporary furniture, sofas, household accessories and art – and even books about art! Something one might expect when the owner comes from an architectural background.
A family-owned business with a deep involvement in the Vancouver design community, there are over 30 brands to peruse either in-store or online. From your lighting to your carpets and everything in-between (think butter dishes to book ends), and for your indoors to your outdoors, make sure to add Vancouver Special to your list of must-sees when decorating your home.
LEXI & LAKE
For those that live in the Okanagan or are heading that way for a visit, make sure to stop in and see the team at Lexi & Lake Home Furnishing Studio in Lower Mission.
Offering a “bespoke approach to furniture, design and décor”, we hear the owner is just fabulous, and that you’ll find everything you need from furnishings to modern accessories.
With unique pieces that can really set a room apart or give it that new look you were searching for, the team have even helped provide some furniture and décor for our Stilhavn Okanagan office – swing by to see us and take a peek!
TIMELESS CLASSICS
Not the store name (although it’s mostly likely one somewhere!), there are incredible pre-loved finds all around our local communities that hold lifetimes of history and a story to tell.
Thrift stores and antique stores are great options for finding a piece (or pieces) that are completely unique and can often be found at a steal!
A great spot to go furniture thrifting, you will always find something special at Attic Treasures on Commercial Drive for “quality, mid-century” goodies. Want to keep searching? Stop by Refind on Main Street, which we’ve been told is an absolute gem of a spot for unique collections, along with fabulous staff.
If you’re in Kelowna or planning a visit, visit Home Again in Lower Mission, a fantastic décor consignment store where you can find great retro and antique items.
BACCI’S
For 37 years, Bacci’s has been “committed to curating responsibly sourced collections from Antwerp to Zambia”, and you as the consumer get to enjoy their finds – from contemporary dishes and tableware, and linens through to creative and unique gifts for friends and family.
With over 50 brands to choose from, including the latest in designer women’s clothing, handmade homewares and accessories, you’ll find just the piece to fit the season or your wardrobe!
THESTYLEWELL
Make a call into thestylewell next time you’re in North Vancouver. Created to “inspire and delight those who appreciate all things beautiful”, thestylewell is your go-to for creating a life, as they put it, ‘well styled’.
Situated in the village of Edgemont, pop by to find unique and timeless decorative accessories and home textiles that offer “value, substance and quality”.
Owned and curated by an experienced interior designer, their vision for the thestylewell is to provide hand-selected items that create meaningful moments in your home, either for yourself, as pieces to simply be admired, or items that can be shared.
TRIMS
If you’ve planned a visit to thestylewell you’ll find Trims also located on the North Shore in Edgemont Village, which you could stop by also.
A family-owned and operated business, Trims offers many beautiful options to decorate your home with floral arrangements, greenery, and indoor plants, in an artificial way.
With selections that change as the seasons do, here you’ll find longer-lasting pieces that require less care. And without the need for watering! Perfect for residential or commercial use (and a fantastic choice when staging a home!), find an incredibly realistic fiddle-leaf fig, palm tree, and stem flowers for vases as well as outdoor options such as boxwoods, dracaenas, and succulents.
No matter the season, be it summer-time or Christmas, Trims has a selection to transform the décor in your home, deck the halls for the festive season, or even create everlasting custom wedding bouquets.
ANNA’S INTERIORS
Head further north to Squamish and find Anna’s Interiors. Another family-owned and operated business, Anna’s has been furnishing and decorating homes in the Sea to Sky corridor for over 25 years.
Offering a majority of Canadian-made pieces as well as options for custom orders, you’ll find something for your living room, dining room, bedroom, office or bathroom.
Anna’s Interiors is also Squamish’s best-kept secret for quality B.C.-made mattresses at the most competitive prices so make sure you check out these options when you visit. And if you’re looking to design a new space, they even have an in-house designer on hand to help!
THE VALLEY LIVING
A recent addition to the home décor scene in Squamish, The Valley Living offers locally made pieces, that are sustainably sourced and are inspired by nature.
With items that incorporate natural materials found around us, such as clay, wood, linen and metals, their collection is “meant to make you feel at home in nature”.
From décor to furniture, bedding to lifestyle, you can even find the sweetest nursery items either online or in-store also.
Everything you find has an ‘earthy’ tone and feel, not only connecting to nature but to local communities and businesses also. With handmade or small business goods making up the foundation of their assortment, The Valley Living strive to best represent local artists and designers, while also offering consignment and wholesale opportunities.
3 SINGING BIRDS
When in Whistler, make sure to stop in at 3 Singing Birds in Market Place.
Here you’ll find an assembly of independent, mindful companies that share beautiful products, with an ethical and sustainable philosophy.
For your home find ceramics and tablewares, textiles and sleepwear as well as a selection of culinary and eco-friendly items.
Discovering unique artists and design companies bring 3 Singing Birds joy, and when it comes to curating brands, they look to those who “dedicate their lives to their creativity, hand-making or small-batch producing”. They are, as they put it, searching for beauty that takes their breath away.
122 West
122 West, also located in Whistler (Creekside Village to be exact), prides themselves on carefully curating a selection of home decor, furniture, arts and gifts – all while serving their customers with passionate and helpful staff.
While nestled at the base of Whistler Mountain, their signature style is ‘Mountain Modern’, reflective of their surroundings.
Providing the perfect bedding, custom furniture (or items picked for the shop floor), outdoor pieces, rugs, art and gorgeous decorative pieces, 122 West is certainly a stop to add to your list when you’re in the Sea to Sky – and with white glove delivery available within the Sea to Sky and greater Vancouver area, why wouldn’t you!
With so much inspiration around to influence design ideas, colour palettes, and décor pieces, it’s hard not to impulse buy when you head out on your shopping mission. One idea is to set a budget for a particular project you’re planning, or one for each room if you’re a new homeowner looking to bring each of its spaces to life.
Perhaps plan out a colour scheme that might work with pieces you already have (for example, what are the cabinets like in your kitchen, or the bath and sink area in your bathroom?), and why not make a list of items you’d like to splurge a little more on (for example a large indoor area rug), as well as pieces that you could find pre-loved (such as lamps, dressers or curtains)
Your home is where you’re going to carve out lasting memories with loved ones so we understand that choosing pieces will be personal. Enjoy the process and enjoy finding items for your home that will tick just the right boxes to match your vision!
