Welcome to the Neighborhood Serena & Lily!

April 29, 2016

Text by Stacy Kunstel

As a stylist, I’m always inspired by the Serena & Lily catalog when it arrives in my mailbox. The blue and white theme, the textured rugs and patterned sheets, the array of pillows and pieces that you would give anything to have on your next photoshoot.
As a stylist I also know how much work it is to create that look, so my mind was reeling walking into the perfectly styled, three-dimensional world that is the new Serena & Lily store in downtown Westport, Connecticut. Located in the historic 1889 Kemper-Gunn house, rooms have been retained to make it feel like you’re walking through your most stylish friend’s home. Tables filled with books on fashion and art sit between low chairs in front of the fireplace, original art (much of it by co-founder Serena Dugan herself) hangs on the walls, bookshelves are filled with just-right objects.

On a recent visit, I find co-founder Serena up on a ladder making last minute touch-ups to a wall behind the newly installed check-out counter. I’m startled that among all these helpful staff members she’s the one doing the task of last-minute painting, but she seems so in her element, that it would be rude to ask. Actually, Serena started her career as a decorative painter and has the ability to see every tiny imperfection that most of us likely miss.

Spread out over three floors are linens and glassware in the kitchen and breakfast room, hundreds of fabric samples and rugs in the design area, sheets and headboard styles in the bedroom, and an attic reminiscent of what we all wish our summer camp looked like—beds layered in colorful linens, puff chairs and pennants hanging from the rafters.
If you’re near Westport through this weekend, there will be all sorts of treats from fresh gelato to face painting for the kids and free pastries from local bakeries at the store. You might as well just make yourself at home!