By Paul Miller
Interior Designer
Read Time: 4 Minutes
Long after the painters have folded up their cloths and the delivery trucks rolled on to the next project, the joyful practice of making a home magical carries on. Especially in the last couple of years, I have been returning to the simple rituals that comforted me when I created my first nest: lighting candles, burning incense, hunting little treasures, and caring for plants.
I’ll always have fond memories of setting up my first apartment over a downtown pub; in the foyer, an old family console table was swathed in a Polynesian sarong and decorated with candles, feathers, and, yes, a painted deer skull. It was the ‘90s. The Cranberries was my go-to music and combat boots my footwear staple. Not to linger on memory lane, these reminiscences illustrate that the simple pleasures, the comforts honestly our own, are key elements to making spaces that support and stick with us. In gratitude, I’m writing to highlight a few makers and small businesses, local and regional, where you can find some of the petits bonheurs that I find so meaningful in my own home.
Candles
They can be messy and finicky, but those moody, flickering shadows are worth it. Besides, there is a candle for everyone. If your nose is sensitive, you can buy unscented. If you like a low-fuss approach, tea candles are about as simple as it gets. Remember that with candles, there are some simple practices to make the most of your experience, like trimming the wicks between burnings to keep the flame low and steady.
Photo: Chappelle Candle Company
I have been enjoying the sculptural beauty of Chapelle Candle Company’s artisan candles. Founder and pourer Amira Chappelle Brooks has a fantastic sense of color and form - and is passionate about the science of good candle-making. Her candles have the subtlest fragrance - lightly vanilla and yet waxen - exactly what a classic candle should smell like. For in-person browsers like myself, her shop located in downtown Frederick, Maryland is a cozy destination spot, but you can also shop their website from the comfort of home.
Quirk
Even yours truly has a collection of magnets and memorabilia on the side of his fridge. I like a clean, curated aesthetic as much as any other designer, but what separates a warm home from a chilly show house is humor and history. There are so many artists out there creating the little, expressive details that make a house more fun, what I call quirk, but a solid source in the Winchester, Virginia area is Tin Top Art and Handmade.
Photos: Tin Top Art and Handmade
Adding little, hand-crafted elements to your home imbues it with a breath of fresh air. The subject matter can be bracing social commentary, breezy nostalgia, or simply an image that captures your fancy for no apparent reason. It was my pleasure on a recent house call to a dignified old house to see that my new client gets it: the living and dining rooms embody relaxed elegance, but in the kitchen a burning love of Elvis is on display in full rockabilly glory.
Incense
If you don’t like incense, you may not have experienced White Cloud from Handworks Gallery in downtown Winchester, Virginia. I am the person on the road trip who gets a headache from your hand cream, making me both a questionable travel mate and a pretty picky critic when it comes to incense. These Japanese incense sticks have no synthetic oils or fragrances, are never tested on animals, and leave behind the gentlest smoky, spicy, and clean scent in your home. A perfectly blended fragrance can truly transform your home vibes. In truth, my preferred scent may not be yours, but the gallery offers dozens of mixes, so the sky’s the limit.
House Plants
Not those plants, these plants. I’m referring to the unique collection of living greens that you can find at Big Lush Plants and Flowers in Frederick, Maryland. This curated collection offers the unexpected and distinctive forms, colors, and personalities you don’t see everywhere. The team behind this venture has serious chops in botanical arts and their shop offers an ever-changing collection of vintage accents to help round out the personality of your spaces.
Photo: Big Lush Plants and Flowers
If you’re like me, you’ve had a rocky past with plants, but just as I no longer sport combat boots, times have changed and there are now a host of tech-driven ways to take good care of your rooted friends. For instance, there are electronic readers to tell you the moisture level in the soil of your plants and apps that can diagnose their malaise from a photo of the leaves. I have not personally test-driven one yet, so am not endorsing a specific product, but I have watched as a close friend has upped her plant skills with a little help from tech. In truth, your plant seller can provide you with solid advice on the best care, too, and there is much to be said for maintaining relationships with good purveyors.
Wind Chimes
One of my greatest pleasures when I’m relaxing at home is hearing melodies from wind chimes as a breeze stirs the garden, but many chimes make such a low sound that they cannot be heard indoors. Last year while browsing for essential oils at Mountain Mystic Trading Company in Front Royal, Virginia, I finally found the wind chimes that had been alluding me: big, beautiful pipes that make a vibrant tone. Shenandoah Melodies is a Virginia-based maker drawing sound inspiration from nature, such as the music of our beautiful rivers and woods.
I really could go on and on about the little things that I think make a home more magical, inspiring, comforting. The truth is, as I alluded to at the top, that while my role in your project will eventually draw to a close - at least for a time - the crafting of your soulful home is the happy work of a lifetime. You will fall in and out of love with some of the treasures you bring home, but as your collection evolves, it stays the same in one respect: it reflects you and the journey you’re on.
