Scents
Fremont feels French at Essenza, a glass-bottle-lined boudoir where sweet fig infusers mix with the amber overtones of powerful Parisian perfumes and water-lily-infused hand soaps wrapped in fleur-de-lis-patterned paper from Boston. Chic shopkeepers help you explore what you want in an aroma, then waltz you around the store until you ascertain which scent suits you best. Essenza, 615 N 35th St, Fremont, 206-547-4895; www.essenzaseattle.com
Surf Shop
Catching a Washington wave became way easier when the bright boarder mecca Cheka-Looka Surf Shop opened 10 years ago in Fremont. In true laid-back So Cal–surfer spirit, Huntington Beach transplant Jeff Abandonato minds his store with one eye on YouTube—“Dude, you just gotta check this out!”—and the other on your new XCel wet suit and custom-made, classic long board. Cheka-Looka Surf Shop, 3507 Evanston Ave N, Fremont, 206-726-7878
Pottery
Pragmatic Seattleites understand pottery’s sturdy, earthy appeal, and at Laguna Vintage Pottery practical meets precious. From the graceful contours of an Eva Zeisel dinner set to the vibrant, iconic hues of Fiesta mixing bowls (the real deal, of course, not reissues), owner Michael Lindsey carries retro lines with an Americana aesthetic and functional history. Laguna Vintage Pottery, 116 S Washington St, Pioneer Square, 206-682-6162; www.laguna
pottery.com
Dishes
Though Igor Klimenkoff left Moscow more than 20 years ago, at recently opened Far 4, his family-run porcelain shop, you can feel the owner’s nostalgia for the finery of his native land. Shown alongside exquisite Meissen pieces and contemporary European and Japanese art and tableware, his own line of Moscow-made hand-painted plates and funny yet fragile figurines respectfully references the past with a stylish, modern air. Far 4, 1020 First Ave, Downtown, 206-621-8831; www.far4.net
Interiror Design
San Francisco–based Limn has designed its spacious showroom to feel like your dream home—although many of the European, postmodern pieces feel like they belong in your wildest dream home. Art certainly meets design when a snowball-like light pendant dangles over a walnut dinner table, which in turn rests on a psychedelic—print rug. Limn, 629 Western Ave, Pioneer Square, 206-696-7077; www.limn.com
Decor
Thanks to the careful yet fanciful eye of Liberty Hanson and her shop Liberty 123, Kirkland’s Park Lane has the flair of European decadence and the charm of a weekend cabin. Witness the baroque crystal chandelier, eighteenth-century German bed, and comfy linen cushions upholstered in Georgia. “You can tell that that’s an antique of the future,” says Hanson of the daybed. If she says so, it must be true. Liberty 123, 123 Park Ln, Kirkland, 425-822-1232; www.liberty123.com
Vintage Decor
Kirk Albert collects gene markers of industry, history, and culture from as far away as Tennessee and as nearby as Seattle’s south-end junk shops while always being “persnickety about silhouette and shapes and finishes.” His art-object emporium Great Stuff Vintage is right at home in arty, industrial Georgetown; a massive metal and neon sign spells out “Star,” but it’s Albert’s reworked lighting pieces that really shine. Great Stuff Vintage, 5517 Airport Way S, Georgetown, 206-931-6208; www.greatstuffseattle.com
Mall
Wandering through the sprawling 27,000-square-foot Pacific Galleries in SoDo takes one from cases of elegant, engraved silverware to a stall packed with gypsy fabrics, stained-glass windows from old Seattle landmarks, and mod modern decor. And then tucked into the rear of the building: a large carved, covered European bed from the 1850s and immense wardrobes suitable for lions and witches. Pacific Galleries, 241 S Lander St, SoDo, 206-292-3999; www.pacgal.com
