Explore each of these distinct – and distinctly Houstonian – furniture, design, lifestyle and home good stores and galleries to experience the original styles, international influences, local hospitality and show-stopping creativity that makes our city great.
Other Texans may think of major international names, brands and galleries when they roll into town to shop for furniture, home goods and lifestyle wares. But when it comes to the home, the Bayou City’s real trump card is the vast array of unique furniture and design stores that were home-grown right here in Houston. Big and small, these special places mix popular modern styles, timeless antiques, international treasures, original art and witty designs.
We pulled together a list of our favorite local design, furniture and homes goods stores in Houston. Though each has its own unique size, style and flavor, they’re all pure Houston. Each one is unique and a worthy destination to explore unto itself.
- Native Citizen | Montrose – Tucked away in a crisp modern building on Dunlavy and Fairview, this Montrose showroom and art gallery focuses Mid-Century Modern with a reclaimed style and feel. Uniquely re-purposed furniture, accessories, art and lighting are curated from objects found around the country and sometimes around the world. Abstract artist Edgar Medina shares space with the showroom. So in addition to seeing his works displayed within the gallery, you may also spy the artist himself at work creating or installing his latest piece.
- Kuhl-Lindcome | Upper Kirby – Founded by noted interior designer Pam Kuhl-Linscomb and her husband Ray, this design and lifestyle store is actually a full-blown campus that spans three blocks and even more buildings. Kuhl-Linscomb is the perfect metaphor for modern Houston. Inside it’s many doors you’ll find a diverse, stylish and eclectic mix of products, both old and new, which have been carefully gathered from all over the world. The proprietors will tell you that within their walls they have more nationally and internationally known design and lifestyle products than any other store in Houston. When one quick look around takes at least an hour, that becomes easy to believe. Imaginatively organized into era- and genre-bending displays, you’ll find furniture for every purpose, linens, accessories, rugs, lighting, art, antiques, jewelry and fashion and more.
- Gallery Furniture | North Houston & Galleria – A true Houston original, Gallery Furniture and its proprietor Mattress Mack hold a special place in the heart of Houstonians. Gallery Furniture offers both higher end and value-priced furniture and has become famous for famous for delivering all furniture on the same day of that it’s bought. A warm and jovial atmosphere pervades the stores; weekend visitors have even come to expect treats like chocolate cake, coffee, fresh-squeezed lemonade, warm cookies and cold ice cream when they arrive. A special smaller store near the Galleria extended Mack’s warm and energetic attention to service into Uptown when it opened in 2009.
- High Fashion Home | Midtown – Occupying an entire city block in Midtown, and two if you count the sister store High Fashion Fabrics across the street, this four-story, 125,000-square foot store offers a mix of unusual, popular and modern furnishing and home design options. Expect to find perfectly created vignettes of many different design styles and flavors, along with some mash-ups and collections showcasing a diverse array of furniture, fabrics, gifts and accessories. Oh and options. There are a lot of options.
- Balinskas Imports | North Houston / Independence Heights – Husband and wife team Ray and Lourdes Balinskas have amassed an enchanting and ever-changing collection of great doors, columns, trunks, carvings, furnishings and architectural antiques from around the world. An art conservator and art historian by trade respectively, the Balinskas hand choose these treasures themselves, sourcing them on buying trips to India, Mexico, Afghanistan, Indonesia, China and other countries. Their warm, friendly and exotic studio is tucked away on a quiet street in Independence Heights, surrounded by lush tropical plants.
- Cool Stuff & Reeves Antiques | Montrose – With two separately branded locations in Montrose, Reeves and Cool Stuff both cultivate a unique collection of fine art, antiques, Mid-Century Modern furniture, lighting and other fun pieces showcasing 20th Century design. Like many of Houston’s lifestyle showrooms and galleries, pieces are sourced both locally and from around the country and quantities are small, so their galleries and collections change frequently.
Did we miss one of your favorite Houston home design and furniture stores? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo credit: 365 Things to Do in Houston / Home Goods Stores Houston
