Decorating with a mixture of modern, vintage and eclectic furnishings offers an atmosphere of versatility and fun, said Tamara Dillard, 32, owner of Sophie's, a gift shop on North Market Street.
Her keen eye for interesting items is evident in her home and store. At Sophie's, every item in the 1,800-square-foot space is hand-picked by Ms. Dillard
"I love to go to market to buy things for the store," she said. "But I have to go by myself because I go crazy having such a good time digging around until I find the perfect things. Most people would lose patience with me."
Friendships with artisans and other business owners around the country reap rewards too.
"I have good relationships with people who help me find cool things," she said. "There's a husband/wife team who travel the world buying furniture, not necessarily expensive antiques but vintage pieces that need a little bit of doctoring. It's extremely cool and affordable."
She places a priority on regularly updating her inventory. "It keeps things fresh and interesting," she said.
Typically, customers can find an array of household furniture and decor, including unusual vases, regional pottery, linens, baskets, art, frames and crystal. That's in addition to gift items such as jewelry, purses and soundtracks.
Ms. Dillard said she stocks merchandise at several price points, but decorating doesn't have to cost a lot of money.
"You don't have to hang expensive art on your walls," she said. "You can hang baskets or other things. If you don't have a big budget, you can decorate using inexpensive objects."
Her fondness for versatility is evident in the displays, such as the mirror placed in the bottom of a sawed-off wooden whiskey barrel.
"I'm just attracted to unusual items, but they can work perfectly in creative settings," Ms. Dillard said. "It's really a good look to have something primitive in a fancy setting. You can mix the two."
Another customer favorite is a setting of six small, crystal wine glasses placed on a round tray.
"Instead of always using them for wine, you can make them into a centerpiece. Place small mounds of roses in each glass. Display on a tray or line the glasses on the table."
Her rule of decorating is that there's no rule of decorating, she said. A glass doesn't have to be used for drinking, and baskets don't have to be used for storage.
"Make decorating fun," she said. "Have a good time with it."
Feature writer Karen Nazor Hill covers fashion, design, home and gardening, pets, entertainment, human interest features and more. She also is an occasional news reporter and the Town Talk columnist. She previously worked for the Catholic newspaper Tennessee Register and was a reporter at the Chattanooga Free Press from 1985 to 1999, when the newspaper merged with the Chattanooga Times. She won a Society of Professional Journalists Golden Press third-place award in feature writing for ...
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