Stylish new CT home decor shop is, ‘a little slice of heaven’ customer says
Lynne Einsel and Liz Marquis have the professional credentials for choosing unique antique, vintage, new furnishings and accessories, but most important, they both have that “eye” and “style” for putting pieces together to create a beautiful space, customers say.
The friends, who met through work seven years ago have opened a unique shop in Simsbury, The Weekend Home. Customers buy carefully selected decorative items, while getting advice from the women on how to display.
“It is tiny, but it’s a little slice of heaven,” customer and friend, Sallie Ann Jacobs said of the shop. “It’s a destination from anywhere in Hartford County and beyond if you’re looking for unique pieces for your home.”
Jacobs said she purchased a French antique dining room table from the shop and a “beautiful piece of art for $30.”
“They both have a very good eye for design,” Jacobs said of the business partners. “They have style. A great sense of what to buy.”
The cozy, 400-square-foot shop is located at 2 Railroad St. in downtown Simsbury. They call it “The Weekend Home” mostly because they’re only open on weekends, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m.
The inside is wood-paneled and the decor, all of it for sale, exudes warmth and style.
Customers often walk in and say, “Can you make my house look just like this?” the women said.
While the space is small, the inventory is always changing as the women have been collecting items for years from estate sales and through business in some pretty stylish places, including New York City and Nantucket.
They carry furniture, lamps, artwork, throw pillows, luxury home brands such as Tiffany & Co., Herend, and Matouk.
“This is such a charming area, with gorgeous homes. We are so happy to be a part of this community and help people create spaces that reflect their style,” Marquis said.
Customer Lisa Shapiro of Simsbury said Einsel and Marquis have “amazing” personal style in the way they dress, as well as in home decor. They also have “very warm and friendly personalities” that carry into the store, she said.
“I am not a confident home decorator and the shop literally educates me on how to marry my older pieces with a new fun or modern edge,” Shapiro said. “It shows how to make a warm, welcoming house. My favorite piece, that I did not buy, was an older wing-backed chair upholstered in a fun black and white print. It was definitely a show piece in any room.”
She’s purchased glassware from The Weekend Home and she loves that it’s one-of-a-kind and less expensive than a big box store.
Both Einsel and Marquis have backgrounds in luxury and design. They also have similar tastes and ideas.
Einsel, of Simsbury, owns Lynne Einsel & Associates, an interior design, home staging and move management business.
She is also former vice president and director of client services at Sotheby’s in New York City for over a decade, and managed elite decorating firms David Easton and Charlotte Moss.
Growing up, her family’s “hobby” was rearranging furniture, Einsel said, noting both her parents have “great taste, great ideas,” and are still re-arranging furniture at 93 years old.
Marquis, also of Simsbury, is a former fashion writer and media consultant for clients such as Hunter Boots, Harris Tweed, and Ted Baker.
Einsel, who in her business helps people downsize and make decisions about what to bring to new living quarters, said they rarely consider monetary value, mostly choosing “everything they love.”
An example of a pairing in the shop is a piece of Herend China and a linen napkin in a new oyster shell napkin ring.
“People who come in here get excited,” noting there are a lot of repeat customers because of the ever-changing inventory.
The women said it’s their “passion” to put items together and make something beautiful.
“It’s unique in that things offered in the shop aren’t available in other shops in the area,” Einsel said.
