Design Destination: Yates & Kennedy, Provincetown, Massachusetts

Our favorite rooms are those with character. Strong character. Created by people who love to be surrounded by things that speak to who they are and what they think; spaces that hold pieces that don’t “match,” that come from different periods or reflect more than one style. Rooms with character would best be described as eclectic, if that word had not suffered from overuse. Often densely layered, cross-cultural and conveying a passion for collecting and arranging, rooms with character encourage lingering because there’s so much to see.

Yates & Kennedy definitely shares the sensibility of rooms like these. In less than 500 square feet, owner Mitch Yates has created areas throughout the shop that teem with personality. The five-year-old shop is chock-a-block full. Antelope horns lean against agate bookends, watermark pillows rest next to small oil paintings, and claw-foot candlesticks, magnifying glasses and a jewel-encrusted crown share table space. A variety of vintage wallpapers—save for a new black-and-white graphic paper by British fashion designer Julien Macdonald—serves as backdrops to the diverse assortment. Yates has even created a space for a great assortment of espadrilles and hand screened T-shirts by his best friend, John Kennedy (no relationship to the thirty-fifth president.)

The shop, like a room with character, is spirited and charming. When you visit, plan to spend some time there; you never know what you’ll uncover.