Eleish Van Breems Home, the eponymous Scandinavian home furnishings and antiques brand, will be continuing to spread their mantra of “bring good design to everyone” with the launch of their new shop in New Preston, Connecticut. Owners Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems, the champions of Scandinavian design, plan to transport you to a Nordic retreat that celebrates Scandinavian style and craftsmanship whilst embracing the sensibility and ease of living in the country.
No strangers to Litchfield County, Edie and Rhonda are delighted to return after a nearly thirty-year hiatus. “A dream come true and really coming full circle” is how Rhonda Eleish describes bringing Eleish Van Breems Home to its newest New Preston location. Rhonda and her best friend, Edie Van Breems, started their company twenty seven years ago in an 18th century house and barn down the road in Woodbury, CT. When the opportunity arose to open in the previous Dawn Hill Antiques 11 Main Street, Rhonda and Edie leapt at the chance, to be in what had originally been New Preston’s original post office and market in the 1900s located at base of the village across from a roaring waterfall.
As in their retail shops in Westport, CT and on Nantucket, you will find fine Gustavian and Rococo antiques as well as Scandinavian midcentury furniture masters rubbing shoulders with sustainable and sophisticated contemporary furniture made by Verellen, CaneLine and Thayer Coggin. Sofas and chairs upholstered in fine Belgian linens and performance fabrics, handcrafted walnut and ash lamps, tables and casegoods, rugs, lighting by Louis Poulsen and St Louis are invitingly arranged in the main rooms of the soothing and welcoming space. The Scandinavian fantasy continues as you pass into the DISH room, serving up Nordic tableware, linens, gifts and home goods in a nod to the building’s previous shop owner, Paulette Peden. In this inviting sun-drenched room you will find in full force Rhonda and Edie’s passion for good design and ease of lifestyle with Swedish and Finnish heritage brands such as Gustavsberg, Marimekko and Skutuna and newer product designers such as Denmark’s Hein Studio on full display.
Delighted to be back as there are so many personal and professional ties to the area, “it truly is like coming home,” states Rhonda Eleish.
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