By Natalie Trimble
The way a velvety upholstered armchair feels as you walk past it, the delicacy of heirloom place settings, the subtleness of a lamp that’s as much art as it is ambiance, and the warmth of terra cotta tiles under your toes. You have to experience decor in person before you decide to bring it into your home.
With current trends leaning cozy this year — earthy, natural colors, rich, layered textures, and mixed woods and metals — Fort Worth is lucky to have a handful of locally owned gems where you can wander for both inspiration and guidance as you consider changes for your home.
West Vickery Boulevard’s Semmelmann Interiors, led by Susan Semmelmann, has a signature style: organic glamour inspired by her passion for hospitality. The firm’s services include interior design, construction detailing, renovations and new builds and commercial design. For truly custom, cozy textiles, you can work with their in-house artists to dream up and produce your own bedding and drapes.
If you’ve never been inside PS The Letter, you may not know how much they offer beyond their namesake custom stationery. Their two-story showroom on Hulen Street highlights home goods — dinnerware, flatware, crystal, linens — and a wide range of accent pieces to spruce up any space. From college-branded gear and accessories to luxury goods, like MacKenzie-Childs ceramics, it’s a great stop for all-occasion gifts, too.
To find storied pieces and conversation starters, it helps to look secondhand. While you might stumble upon a vintage find at an estate sale, your odds are much better at Cacti & Crescent. This boutique on Camp Bowie curates vintage pieces from Fort Worth and New Orleans alongside current works from artisans in both cities. Think antique French lamps, ceramics, and furniture. Cacti & Crescent’s offerings also include new barware, home fragrances, throw pillows and Italian linens.
Although their website has stunning photos from the kitchens, bathrooms, patios and wet bars of past clients, Bottega Design Gallery’s west Fort Worth showroom just off I-30 features an even wider selection of tiles for inspiration. Among their many unique options are artisan, hand-poured concrete, porcelain, stone, waterjet and wooden tiles. In-house design services mean you don’t have to navigate decisions around tiles and patterns alone.
Whether you’ve got small refreshes in mind or a whole-home overhaul, look local first for heritage place settings, artistic title, one-of-a-kind treasures and design help to tie it all together.