Alabama Design Lovers: Shop Local At 3 Magical Birmingham Stops

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Explore these Birmingham design shops and showrooms where you’re sure to discover something for everyone on your list.

Open white cabinetry against dark blue walls holds colorful dried botanicals and home accessories

Overhead shot of 6 Lorna Murray hats beside an open photography book and sunglasses

A trestle table holds textural pots and mirrors beneath a lantern, centered between two charcoal floral artworks

LIFELYLES 

When the pandemic hit, Peyton Lyles dove headfirst into a design career, scooping up an industrial space at Mercantile on Morris in the heart of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Lifelyles—a spin on his family surname—opened in February, serving as a springboard for his design services while displaying a mix of muted jewel tones, exposed brick, dried botanicals and patinated antiques he collects on weekend road trips. Newer inventory includes Loloi Rugs and Surya floor coverings, D.V. Kap pillows, chic tomes, and prints by local artist Eric Poland. “We also stock our own private-label pantry goods sourced from a small orchard in North Georgia,” adds Lyles, who merchandises these within custom cabinets.

THE TRAVEL STUDIO 

After a couple years of contracted wanderlust, travel agents Anne Liles and Ragan Stone experienced a surge of requests from their globe-trotting clients. That intense interest spurred the duo to open a brick-and-mortar studio in Birmingham’s English Village in March. Elegantly appointed by designer Jeremy D. Clark—who paired an antique Parisian vitrine with Indian-esque draperies—the space corrals items inspired by or sourced from far-flung locales on Liles’ and Stone’s itineraries: from Bermuda and St. Barts to Australia and Italy. Look for Lorna Murray hats, Lola James Harper candles, Rue de Verneuil totes and Epos Milano sunglasses. Says Stone of the latter: “We were traveling through Italy meeting with hoteliers when we stumbled upon the brand in a local boutique on Lake Como.” For gifts, the owners suggest the ultra-versatile vanity cases by Paravel (for which they have the Alabama exclusive).

TROY RHONE GARDEN DESIGN 

To lauded landscape designer Troy Rhone, entering a garden should be an encounter. That was exactly the idea behind the veteran talent’s eponymous shop, which debuted late last year in the space previously occupied by Pam Evans’ Maison in Mountain Brook Village. Created to showcase Rhone’s point of view for potential clients and passersby, the back portion of the studio is dedicated to his design firm of 25 years. The front quarter, meanwhile, provides a dynamic retail floor for uncommonly elegant garden accoutrements: a 19th-century trestle table, faux bois seating and stone spheres from France; Italian and English terra-cotta pots; iron and hand-carved oak mirrors from Belgium. “I have a firm stance; if I would not put something into one of my gardens, it does not go in the shop,” reveals Rhone, who complements these textural wares with original art. Charcoal florals by Oakland artist Emily Farish hung through the summer; a large-format work by local talent Emily Morgan Brown arrives shortly.

LIFELYLES PHOTO: COURTESY LIFELYLES. THE TRAVEL STUDIO PHOTO: MARY MARGARET SMITH. TROY RHONE GARDEN DESIGN PHOTO: REBECCA WISE, REBECCA WISE PHOTOGRAPHY.