Welcoming, comfortable, organized, tasteful, on-trend and distinctive. These are the words we might aspire to hear about our personal homes, and they are also fitting adjectives for one of Memphis’ newest interior design resources, HOUSE by Rhea Crenshaw.
The browsing experience at HOUSE is, as the name suggests, much like taking a casual tour of a friend’s home. Don’t let the impressive, elegant exterior of this shop fool you into thinking it’s hands-off and stuffy. In fact, like you would expect from a gracious hostess, if anyone in your party is shopping against their will or has a short attention span (your husband, perhaps), they just might hand him a drink and turn on ESPN!
Two large rooms are divided into seating areas, much like the open, airy floor plan of a contemporary residence. There is also a bedroom design section with plush beds adorned in linens from Rhea’s Blue Moon Bedding collection, which is now located inside HOUSE. Upstairs is the interior design office area.
When describing the interior design process, Rhea says, “You must live and breathe inside a project to come to know it, and inspiration will follow: a color jumps out, a piece of fabric or something found in a book seizes imagination, textures and finishes are whispered from an antique … If you listen, everything speaks.” In keeping with her design philosophy, she and her design assistants, Miller Crenshaw and Rebecca Lybrand, listened closely as HOUSE developed, and the result is an interior design source that whispers inspiration in a comfortable arrangement of one-of-a-kind furnishings, accessories, art and a complete custom bedding corner.
There are international and regional influences throughout the HOUSE showroom, as Rhea travels extensively to fill her clients’ needs. In addition to local resources, some of her favorite places to travel for HOUSE finds are Atlanta and Nashville in the United States and Paris flea markets in Europe.
Rebecca describes the aesthetic mission of HOUSE as “organic and earthy, juxtaposed with clean, sleek finds. There are moody, rich textures throughout the space. With our brick floor in the entry, planked walls, wooden beams and hardwood floors, customers enjoy a feeling of being at home.”
HOUSE was born out of the longstanding fervor and skill for design that Rhea has ushered into some of Memphis’ most notable homes, as well as stunning vacation homes throughout the Southeast. She is known for managing design projects that are collaborative and progressive, often working with like-minded clients who share her passion for design.
Beginning with the opening of Blue Moon Bedding in 2010, Rhea has been welcoming other designers, clients and DIY customers alike into a collaborative, contextual design setting, and with HOUSE, this concept remains at the core of their plan.
HOUSE staff members are interested in establishing a dialogue with their customers, as well as other interior designers, to explore creative design solutions. The role of HOUSE is to provide an engaging inventory, upbeat perspective and new ideas in an elegant, house-like setting.
HOUSE is not a gift store, per se, but Miller, who is Rhea’s daughter, says she is especially excited about their inventory of house-themed options at gift-y price points, perfect for the decorator types on your list.
The interior design community in Memphis continues to move forward with innovative thinkers like Rhea and her associates. The mission of HOUSE has taken cues from today’s hurried, casual lifestyles to develop a shopping concept that is easy, fresh, comfortable and welcoming.
Thank you, Rhea, Miller and Rebecca, for a tour of HOUSE. Congratulations on opening this exquisite shop last week! Stop by during shop hours: weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays until 5:30 p.m., and in the fall, they will open on Saturdays, too.
Location: HOUSE by Rhea Crenshaw located at 632 South Perkins Road, Memphis, TN, 38117
Today’s photos were taken by the talented Julie Wage Ross.
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