Visit Lawless Design Shoppe

Interior designer Hannah Oravec, seen here with her rescue dog, Kona, opened Lawless Design Shoppe this spring. The shop’s namesake, Oravec’s grandfather Robert Lawless Cushman, is pictured in the portrait behind her.

A nineteenth-century oil painting hangs above a Scandinavian chest of drawers from the 1960s/70s.

The shop showcases antiques and vintage pieces against chocolate-colored walls. The ceiling, painted the same moody hue, is studded with light fixtures featuring hand-painted ceramic toile shades from England.

A Henning Kjaernulf sideboard from Denmark features a scalloped apron and raised-panel molding.

Shelves display small items like blankets by Bronte Moon and throw pillows from Twenty Third by Deanne and Seak, an MIT-based startup promoting Southeast Asian artists.

Oravec has a soft spot for pastoral artwork like the vintage wild horse tapestry seen here.

When interior designer Hannah Oravec won a New England Home 5 Under 40 Award in 2022, her corresponding rug design was inspired by her beloved cattle dog/Australian shepherd, Kona. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s Kona who frequently greets clients meandering into Lawless Design Shoppe, Oravec’s first foray into the world of retail. The showroom, located adjacent to Oravec’s design studio in Duxbury, Massachusetts, opened its doors at the end of May.

“Originally, we were just looking for office space,” says Oravec. “But when this unit became available, in a complex we’d been interested in for a while, I thought about my inventory of vintage furniture that needed a home. And I’d wanted a shop for many years, so here we are.”

Vintage tables, chairs, consoles, sofas, and even light fixtures figure prominently in the vibey space that Oravec painted in shades of dark brown. One of the first elements many people notice are the flush-mount light fixtures with their ceramic blue-and-white toile shades. “Everyone loves those,” admits Oravec. The lighting corresponds with the collection of porcelain plates displayed behind the counter.

That’s also where Oravec showcases a prized drawing of her grandfather, Robert Lawless Cushman, the namesake for the shop and studio. (In another nod to her family, a midcentury metal sign in the same alcove references Oravec’s maiden name, Cushman.) Nearby, a pair of French tapestry chairs from the 1800s, their original upholstery threadbare in some spots, prompt conversations about whose derrieres they may have accommodated over the past two centuries.

In addition to the vintage furniture, rugs, and artwork, Lawless Design sells new paintings, throw pillows, ceramics, blankets, and dinnerware from makers both near and far, like Bronte Moon in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, Utah’s Heddle & Lamm, and Australia’s Eli.C Studio.

Oravec says clients, designers, and even those who wander in from the nearby coffee shop—lured by Kona, no doubt—are excited to see vintage in a part of the state that doesn’t have a plethora of antique shops. As for Oravec, who considers sustainability and wellness central to her design ethos, she’s found a new creative outlet.

“I’ve had so much fun sourcing for the shop—there are absolutely no restraints,” she says. “It’s invigorating.”

Lawless Design Shoppe, Duxbury, Mass., lawlessdesignshoppe.com