An emporium for all

Today I had the chance to meet Jon Ames of a recently opened store in Waltham called Darby Road. This little shop is a welcome addition to a dying breed in home decor.  In the past few years we have lost a lot of the unique retail stores in our area to big box and main stream competition, and unfortunately if you are not working with a designer, you are forced to shop with the masses at the generics.  Not that you can't pull together a look or two from these types of places, but I find that the retail chains all follow each other on trends and individual tastes are hard to cater to. 

I miss the emporiums like In Home Furnishings that offer lots of product from different vendors all in one place.  I'm seeing some small stores pop up around town that are doing this on a smaller scale, but are mainly focused on the details of a space instead of the bigger purchases.  Darby Road offers not only custom, antique and imported furnishings, but an eclectic mix of vintage finds and home accessories.  John told me that some of their tables are repurposed from old houses and that just about anything in the shop can be reworked or refinished to meet your needs.  And, if you're not having any luck in their Main Street shop, they also have a 10,000 square foot warehouse annex just a block away.