Shop these Long Island home décor stores that target your personal style
Shop Bohemian style pieces and accessories at LIDO in Greenport. Credit: Randee Daddona
Fall is coming — a season of change — and spending lots of time at home has made many of us want to alter the look of our houses or apartments.
Suddenly that once-favorite accent chair doesn’t quite do it for us anymore after staring at it for months and months, or we wonder what we could have been thinking when we chose bold black and white wallpaper for a living room accent wall.
"With COVID, everyone’s redoing their houses these days," says Heidi Kelso, owner of LIDO, a lifestyle brand with a Greenport store that carries Bohemian and coastal style furniture and accessories. ’"
So, if you’re looking to just edit out some old pieces, or going for a complete redo of your space, we’ve found some Long Island shops for on-trend Bohemian, coastal, farmhouse, modern, and contemporary furnishings.
Here’s a look at what some of these stores have to offer at various price points, and tips for what you’ll need to achieve these styles:
THE STYLE: BOHEMIAN/COASTAL
LIDO owner Heidi Kelso, poses inside her shop in Greenport on Aug. 10. Her shop carries Bohemian furniture and decor accessories. Credit: Randee Daddona
The Bohemian style has roots in the ‘60s and ‘70s and is inspired by free spirits who led unconventional lives such as constant travelers, writers and actors. In its most original form, it’s for anyone who wants to create an eye-catching but relaxed, hippie vibe by allowing patterns, textures and intense colors to happily coexist. You’ve seen the look in movies and television shows such as "Meet the Fockers," "Mama Mia," and "Friends," and it can easily be achieved.
Think items culled from around the world and slightly worn things that would make a place look comfy and cozy — chaise lounges, lots of throw pillows, area rugs, velvets, wicker, rattan, candles and plants everywhere.
But there are also newer, tamer versions of décor for those who want to give a nod to Bohemian style but don’t want to go all out with saturated colors and all things shabby chic. The look has been re-imagined through the use of more earth tones and paler hues as well as white and cream to give a still relaxed but more sophisticated and beach-inspired feel to a space.
Coastal décor can make it look like it’s summer at the beach year-round in a house, making it hugely popular in homes in the Hamptons.
WHERE TO SHOP: LIDO
Bohemian style pieces and accessories at LIDO in Greenport. Credit: Randee Daddona
If you want an old-school Bohemian look with lots of colorful visuals, some of your best bets are Urban Outfitters, H&M Home, World Market and Target. If you’re shopping for a more modern and refined Boho style that can fit neatly into coastal décor, you’ll want to make a trip to LIDO.
Owner Heidi Kelso, an NYC-based media executive, opened LIDO in 2012 to indulge her passion for Boho furnishings following a very successful try with a pop-up shop.
At LIDO you’ll find one-of-a kind furniture and accessories from exotic locales such as Morocco and Bali at a variety of prices ranging from marble lotus candle holders for $45 to furniture that can go up to about $2,000. Look for conversation pieces in the forms of benches, consoles, mirrors, tables, sideboards and armoires.
INFO: 132 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-2350, lidoworld.com
THE STYLE: FARMHOUSE
Sophisticated modern farmhouse furnishings inspired by designer and TV host Joanna Gaines can be found at Red Barn Boutique in Bellport. Credit: Jessica Gomes
Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip, made things you’d find down on the farm upscale and the new must-haves with their HGTV series, "Fixer Upper."
Imagine things you’d find in almost any traditional farmhouse going back centuries, and you’re there in figuring out what you should buy to create this warm and inviting look.
The farmhouse style is white tones, wood elements and colors found outdoors such as greens, sky blue and sunny yellow. It’s Mason jars, wood kitchen countertops and flooring, white cabinets, bead boarding, apron sinks, oak and maple dining tables, open shelving, steel or iron fixtures and finishes and brick accent walls.
Nothing has to match and antiques and knickknacks can be mixed with unexpected furnishings in today’s farmhouse style. A modern chair might be placed next to a vintage sofa and a weathered end table filled with framed photographs.
WHERE TO SHOP: RED BARN BOUTIQUE
Owners Jessica Fauci and Shea Rosario know a thing or two about farmhouse style. Red Barn Boutique was started in a barn.
East Patchogue resident Rosario had a red barn on her property where her sister, Keri, would make custom furniture and signs. First came an online business, then pop-up parties, then a brick-and-mortar store was opened in 2020 when Rosario and Fauci saw the growing popularity of farmhouse style.
Furniture is carried in the store and custom pieces are still handmade, but it’s a larger selection of smaller items that make the shop a place for finding things that can give a stylish farmhouse personality. Among them are whimsical signs, distressed butterfly and moth wall prints, and a honeycomb bottle rack.
Some fun and colorful cast iron dog tail hooks that come in red, green, orange and teal are just $9.50 each, a set of four batter bowl-shaped measuring cups is $19, and a distressed wooden bicycle for hanging on the wall is about $25.
INFO: 146 S. Country Rd., Bellport, 631-803-0671, redbarnboutiqueny.com
THE STYLE: MIDCENTURY MODERN
Thea Morales, owner of Rosie's Vintage, stands inside her vintage themed antique shop in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
This timeless, casual and slightly whimsical style took over the interior design world big time again through the hit television show, "Mad Men," and the trend has shown little sign of slowing down. Millennials in particular are seeing this décor from the mid-1900s as something new, interesting and different.
Characterized by minimalist silhouettes and refined lines, midcentury furnishings were first made popular through the creations of designers such as George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Isamu Noguchi, and its sleek pieces can easily compliment many design styles because of its simplicity reminiscent of Scandinavian décor.
Furniture and accessories are largely made of light brown to golden woods such as teak — and upholstered pieces are commonly free of pattern. But lots of bright color and patterns can be found in midcentury modern lighting, throw pillows, rugs and abstract wall art that may feature playful designs and shapes such as starbursts, line drawings, half-circles and diamonds.
WHERE TO SHOP: ROSIE’S VINTAGE
Walk into any West Elm these days and you’ll find wall-to-wall midcentury modern pieces from bar carts, coffee tables and bookcases to sofas, chairs and dressers. If you're not looking for something "new," try Rosie’s vintage.
Owner Thea Morales of Huntington opened the shop in 2016 and loves anything having to do with the 1940s through 1960s — her favorite decades. "It seems like the midcentury has a pull on me," she says.
In addition to shopping at Rosie’s to give your midcentury modern room an authentic quality, it’s fun to browse the store just to get ideas about what should go in that type of space.
A must-see is the selection of vintage Don Draper-worthy barware including drinking glasses and ice buckets with gold designs that are like pieces of art. They range anywhere from $5 a glass to up to $100 for an 8-piece Culver set.
INFO: 101 Woodbury Road, Huntington, 631-549-9100, rosiesvintagestore.com
THE STYLE: MODERN/CONTEMPORARY
Designer Keith Baltimore's Port Washington design center offers elegant contemporary and modern furnishings. Credit: Baltimore Design Center
The difference between modern and contemporary styles can be confusing since they have overlapping elements such as a simple and clean look that make them appear very similar.
Modern design refers to the early to mid-20th century and the peak of the modern art movement when there was a shift away from decorating homes in the Art Deco style to a simpler look with new textures and colors that became characteristic of ‘50s and ‘60s design.
Contemporary doesn’t refer to a specific period — it’s more fluid because it reflects what’s current in décor at this very moment. It gets its inspiration mostly from Modernism, minimalist style, and the future and takes on different forms as trends evolve, while modern furnishings remain inspired by the past, with the most popular modern design period being the midcentury modern era.
In terms of color, warm and natural neutrals can be commonly found in modern spaces in contrast to a more bold, stark look as in black and white that can define a contemporary room.
WHERE TO SHOP: THE BALTIMORE DESIGN CENTER
This is interior designer Keith Baltimore’s design center. He’s been featured in decorating magazines and has a retail showroom filled with modern and contemporary furnishings. They can be a bit pricey — but in these décor categories in particular, you usually get what you pay for.
You’ll find accessories starting at around $50 but be prepared to spend about $1,500 for a coffee table and up to $3,500 for a sofa.
Another place to shop for modern and contemporary décor is Modani Furniture in the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, but again, you’ll have to have some wiggle room in your budget.
INFO: 35 Main St., Port Washington, 516-944-2400, baltimoredesigncenter.com
