Set on a prime stretch of downtown Westport, Connecticut, 177 Main St. is a building with a soul—and a remarkable one at that. The circa-1775 colonial saltbox, originally a sea captain’s trading post, became home to the Remarkable Book Shop in the 1960s, drawing the likes of Edward Gorey, Erica Jong, and Paul Newman. To the town, it was a cultural mecca; to Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems, the duo behind pioneering Scandinavian design retailer Eleish Van Breems Home (and lifelong Westport residents), it was a childhood sanctuary and center of their universe.
When the bookstore closed its doors in 1995 and fell into disrepair, the women were crestfallen. “We drove by every day for 15 years, and it broke our hearts to see the period details disregarded and neglected. We always fantasized about maybe one day [opening our own shop there],” recalls Eleish. When the building became available for purchase, she and Van Breems leapt at the opportunity. “The chance to restore it felt like a dream project,” Eleish says. “Bringing it back and creating something for the community has been a true labor of love.” And what labor it’s been: After two full years of careful restoration, hearts have been mended, souls revived, and the Eleish Van Breems flagship store has a handsome new home.
“We enlarged the windows so it feels like you’re walking into a glass box, framed by these amazing hand-hewn chestnut beams from the 1700s that have so much organic texture and history,” says Eleish. She and Van Breems found the trio of antique brass antler tables in Paris.
Neil Landino Jr.The first thing you notice when you step inside: the exposed beams, made of hand-hewn chestnut. Full of character, they are original to the building and frame the main showroom with gorgeous period patina. “We took everything down to the studs to see what we were working with, and preserved every bit we could,” says Eleish. “Symmetry is very important to Scandinavian design, so we also added a beam we unearthed in the basement to make the layout uniform.” Up above the beams, exotic palm-frond pendant lights can be glimpsed as if through a copse of tree trunks. “Sunshine, air, and plant life are so important in Scandinavia, so we wanted something that would feel connected to the outdoors,” she adds.
Slender, sculptural Niels Otto Møller chairs upholstered in Textile Nippon, a vibrant 1940s Josef Frank pattern for Svenskt Tenn, exemplify the Eleish Van Breems aesthetic.
Neil Landino Jr.
Handmade walnut and brass shelving follows the lines of the architecture for an elegant custom fit that feels more like home than retail space.
There are, of course, Scandinavian antiques on offer too—after all, that’s how Eleish Van Breems made its name. Arranged on warm walnut-and-brass shelving crafted by the Pennsylvania-based company Amuneal, the displays offer a case study in making ages-old pieces like 17th-century Swedish treenware look just right next to the modern silhouettes of Georg Jensen stainless steel. “It’s always the mix,” explains Eleish, noting that it’s natural in places like Stockholm to see homes decorated with an elegant, eclectic collection of inherited antiques and newly acquired pieces.
Upstairs, every surface—including the window recesses—is covered in Josef Frank’s Eldblomman wallpaper pattern for Svenskt Tenn, creating a whimsical skylit aerie with views out to the Saugatuck River. The sunny space features curvy Verellen furniture set atop blonde oak flooring, which keeps everything light and airy.
Neil Landino Jr.“Everything has to look great, be sustainable, and have a sense of the hand and craftsmanship.”
Rhonda Eleish
The space that leads out to the garden has the collected-over-time feeling of a living room. An early 19th-century Gustavian case clock with its original paint looks at home with modern dinnerware from Augarten and Agneta Livijn.
Neil Landino Jr.Of course, it helps that every detail is exquisite and carefully considered, from the architectural bronze window frames, stairs, and doors by Astec Bronze (finished in a honey color, in a nod to the Eleish Van Breems bee logo) and French oak floors by The Hudson Company to the waxed plaster walls and the vitrine-like checkout island, which floats at the center of the store like a jewel box, topped with a softly glowing slab of Calacatta Borghini Extra marble by Marmi Natural Stone.
Upstairs, a skylighted aerie devoted to Verellen furniture is papered in an iconic Josef Frank floral designed for beloved Swedish design house Svenskt Tenn. A trip downstairs, meanwhile, reveals an homage to both the old Remarkable Book Shop and the Swedish tradition of fika—or afternoon coffee break: There’s a library of vintage and new design tomes arranged on lacquered cardamom-colored shelves and a coffee bar furnished with cups custom made in Stockholm by Livijn and done up in bubblegum stripes, a nod to the old bookstore’s pink-clad exterior.
Lifelong friends-turned-business-partners Edie Van Breems (left) and Rhonda Eleish.
STEPHANE KOSSMANNThe wonders continue outside, with spaces specifically designed to gather the community, in the spirit of the shop where Eleish and Van Breems spent their youth. Tables spill out onto the sidewalk, while a patio and garden with seating has been made magical with a stone wall crafted with rocks sourced from Van Breems’s 18th-century farmhouse nearby. “We wanted something with lichen and age, something that looked like it had lived and seen a few centuries,” says Eleish.
And then there’s the enchanting garden gate, crafted in the 1930s by French ironmaster Edgar Brandt. It makes a memorable entrance to a space that unfolds with history and meaning—and yes, with soul.
Visit the new Eleish Van Breems Home store at 177 Main Street in Westport, Connecticut.
