Luscious Home proves there is no excuse for lackluster home décor
By Kristina Sauerwein
Photography by Frank Di Piazza
Does your home lack character? This Wildwood boutique offers quirky, unique and elegant accessories such as a Buddha-head statue, bronze finials, candle sconces, pottery and lamps.
Bare walls? Luscious Home carries dozens of in-store and catalog selections of framed and unframed artwork, from oil paintings to giclée prints to metal art and mixed-media pieces, as well as hand-carved wooden panels and custom mirrors.
Neutral furniture? The store can bust the boring with throw pillows and blankets in textures such as tasseled silks and chenille, in colors that vary from Tuscan gold to Chinese red. Or just scrap the old furniture for Luscious Home’s plush chairs and ottomans, which can be custom upholstered.
“We have an eclectic mix of things,” said Kimberly Weitekamp, the owner who hand-selects items from 130 vendors.
Variety was one of Weitekamp’s priorities when she opened the home store in August 2005. A former New Yorker with two decades of retail experience, she envisioned a place suited for all tastes, whether one prefers traditional, contemporary, ethnic or country décor—or a mix of it all. For those in need of assistance, the shop also has interior designer Kim Schuster on staff.
She wanted to expand people’s ideas about decorating. “For example, I think every style of room should have a little bit of Asian in it,” Weitekamp said. “It provides the unexpected. It adds secrets. It’s fun. It’s a conversation piece.”
Weitekamp also wanted a store where customers could relax (just listen to Michael Bublé in the background … plus, free gift wrapping) and socialize (wine tastings on selected Saturdays). She plans to offer the space for special events and viewings of local artists.
Although the boutique is young, Weitekamp said she already has repeat customers, including about 30 local designers who rely on her ever-changing merchandise and reasonable prices.
Consider: natural soy wax candles scented in sweet olive blossom or almond biscotti, $18 each; a giclée of red poppies in a field, $280; a red bejeweled business card holder, $25.50; an Arthur Court aluminum salad set, $69; and a leopard-print table runner, $98.
Bigger purchase items include a green and taupe silk aubusson pillow with down feather inserts, $396; an 8-foot-wide Georgia pine hutch, $3,500; a London bookcase, $1,290; and a floor sample of a red oversized chair and matching ottoman, $754 and $444, respectively.
No excuses for boring.
