Merridian Home Furnishings owners Merry and Patrick Dougherty just returned from a long trip to China. A pleasure trip? Peace negotiations? No, they are looking for unique furniture and decor to sell in their stores. That’s a little different from many furniture store owners who order out of a catalog or online. Merry and Patrick actually go to the country to find the authentic items themselves.
The furniture that they curate and collect at Merridian is not the kind you assemble yourself. It’s not the kind you see in a catalog or at the mall. It’s not the kind that you see in half of your friends’ homes. These pieces are unique.
Antiques, restored furniture and repurposed furniture are all popular. But not many of us have the time, money, expertise or the tenacity to hunt these treasures down. Many of us don’t have the ability to restore a piece of beautiful furniture. Many of us don’t have the creative capacity to take an old object and repurpose it into a different functioning piece. Many of us don’t have the time or the ability to find good, used wood and then design furniture using that reclaimed wood.
Merridian can do all of those things for you.
Merridian Home Furnishings was born out of the couple’s desire to fill their own home with furniture that they loved, meant something to them and had a story. For 17 years, they have continued this desire and have created their own line of furniture that reflects it: The Vestige Collection.
The Vestige Collection includes many different types of furniture under one umbrella:
1. Antiques
Unique, one-of-a-kind pieces acquired on their worldwide travels, anywhere from China to India.
Old Buffet for $1,495.
Old Wooden Painted Wall Hanging for $865.
2. Reclaimed
This furniture is crafted from reclaimed and recycled woods. There might be new pieces added for structural support, but each board is unique.
Reclaimed Wood Diamond-Patterned Tabletop for $1,295.
Reclaimed Wooden Hutch for $1,890.
3. Repurposed
This furniture incorporates found materials, such as a wagon wheel or an iron grate, and uses them in new and creative ways.
Old Wooden Window with a Mirror for $245.
Old Door Curved Bar for $1,595.
4. Retouched
This furniture is just what it says: it has been helped or rebuilt to be brought back to life.
Old Half-Round Console Table for $995.
Old Wooden Trunk on Wheels for $675.
Now that you have access to these treasures, how do you incorporate them into your home decor? The fear may be that your house ends up looking like an Indiana Jones room of finds. However, these pieces will mix beautifully with your current furniture, which is most likely a collection of old, new and more modern pieces.
At Merridian, they create vignettes around their stores, mixing modern decor with Vestige Collection pieces. Here are some examples:
(These images from Adele Reding Photography)
Low Hand-Carved Bookcase (Some of these are reworked old pieces and some are newly built using old, hand-carved door posts, etc.)
Hand-Carved Screen Coffee Table. These hand-carved screens were reclaimed from windows, cabinets, tri-fold screens, etc. and made into coffee tables using old wood.
Reclaimed Wood & Metal Coffee Table. The wood is reclaimed, making these pieces one-of-a-kind; base is newly made.
Hand-Carved Wooden Naga Stool. Hand carved from one piece of wood by Naga tribe in India.
Old Leather Trunk
Reclaimed Wood & Glass Door Cabinet. Cabinet is newly built using reclaimed wood.
Merridian has two locations, one in Louisville and one in Nashville.
- Louisville location: 4660 Shelbyville Road, next to the Whole Foods, Toys R Us and LA Fitness on Shelbyville Road and Bowling Boulevard.
- Nashville location: 2909 Sidco Drive, on the corner of Thompson Lane and Sidco Dr., in the heart of Nashville’s design district. (They are no longer located on Franklin Pike).
Visit their website (you can order online): www.merridian.com.