shopping in savannah
Peridot, Photo By Justin Bernhaut
- Savannah Shops
- Not until you set foot among the beautiful squares and magnolia trees do you fully comprehend the magic of this old Southern city, which is made for walking. Many of its fine antiques shops can be found in former homes. Rita Konig goes snooping.
- Alex Raskin Antiques
- 441 Bull Street
(912) 232-8205 Wandering in this shop, in the historic district's largest house, is like being allowed to roam in a home that is in a state of perfect decay. The scale is amazing—glorious drippy chandeliers and wonderful old wallpaper on high-ceilinged walls. It is the place that gives the truest sense of Savannah at its most romantic and eerie. There are rooms full of cupboards and dressers, and our visit yielded a pair of stone sphinxes, a charming set of wicker furniture and a vintage French poster of a singer called Sylvie. Most things we wanted were sadly out of our budget, but we still wouldn't skip this venue, if only for inspiration.
- Arcanum
- 422 Whitaker Street
(912) 236-6000 Owned by Sim Harvey, a SCAD-educated native, this old house started as an antiques shop and has evolved to incorporate contemporary decorative accessories and furniture, plus a design service upstairs. Harvey has lovely taste, and for the finishing details in a house there is a lot here to find. In true Southern style, there are plenty of cocktail tables, either by British designer Julian Chichester in his signature eglomise, or what Sim calls martini tables—those handy little pieces that you can pull up when you need somewhere to set your glass.
- Architectural Elements
- 400 Whitaker Street
(912) 844-1320 In the same structure as Peridot, owner John Buter has been dealing in salvage for the past 23 years. His travels have taken him everywhere from Egypt to Eastern Europe to Kentucky, and his inventory reflects the broad geographic mix. This is a good place to scout metal railings for the outdoors, Chinese ceramic balusters, cast-iron deer heads or charming faux-bois vases.
- Argyll & Jasper
- 9 East Gordon Street
(912) 429-6765 Mimi Cay's smart, parlor-floor shop of European antiques consists mainly of European furniture and unusual decorative accessories. (My absolute favorite was a 1940s dollhouse-size, papier-mâché château.) Cay also has generous collections of silver, teapots, cloches, plus wood biscuit barrels the size of cookie jars.
- Jere's Antiques
- 9 North Jefferson Street
(912) 236-2815 A crazy old warehouse right by the river, where you're greeted by rows and rows of Victorian furniture, from grandfather clocks and mahogany wardrobes to dressers in scrubbed oak. Come with an open mind: There are many things that might be greatly improved with a pot of paint or reupholstery.
- La Paperie
- 409 Whitaker Street
(912) 443-9349 We always love a paper shop! At this enchanting spot, ebonized shelves are lined with every sort of note card, journal and pad. There are little-known letterpress companies like Night Owl Paper Goods and Snow and Graham of Chicago, as well as loads of samples for custom stationery. And the selection of wrapping paper is amazing, from handmade sheets by Midori to printed rolls by Cavallini.
- One Fish Two Fish
- 401 Whitaker Street
(912) 447-4600 This is the first place to hit on Whitaker. Owned by the delightful Jennifer Beaufait Grayson, it proffers everything from contemporary slipcovered sofas and Swedish-style painted dressers to Côté Bastide soaps. There's also estate-sale furniture, lamps and even some jewelry—we got a fantastic clover-shaped cocktail ring made from a mineral called green adventurine.
- Peridot
- 400 Whitaker Street
(912) 596-1117 Across the street from One Fish Two Fish is Kevin Johnson's antiques shop—in an abandoned gas station. However, the look inside is Old South by way of 19th-century France. Johnson carries some very pretty pieces at reasonable prices, like a 190s Italian chest of drawers and a cool gold clock for $95.
- ShopSCAD
- 340 Bull Street
(912) 525-5180 SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) is largely responsible for the restoration of downtown, which fell into economic decline between the 1950s and '70s, with many landmarks razed as a result. The school now owns more than 60 historic buildings, which it has refurbished and incorporated into the college campus. The store sells works by SCAD students, alumni and faculty from the varied art departments: jewelry, paintings, furniture, felt animals, lighting fixtures, photography and more. We bought a chic little ceramic vase and admired an enamel pin that looked like an Izod crocodile.
- The Paris Market & Brocante
- 36 West Broughton Street
(912) 232-1500 Like a general store, there's a corner bar providing coffee, lemonade and cupcakes to the weary shopper; toward the back is a long table stacked with every coffee-table book you could want. Also on display are Santa Maria Novella soaps and colognes, retro pressed-glass pots for salt—plus salt lumps that look like rose quartz, packaged with a tiny grater. Downstairs are vintage leather chairs and French advertising signs hailing from the Paris flea market.
