Asia Eidson
In the Fairmount neighborhood in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, deep in its sea of bungalows and a few blocks from any other retailers or eateries, is an antique shop that’s become a go-to resource for home renovators and DIY interior decorators searching for one-of-a-kind furnishings, fixtures, knickknacks, and cast-iron bathtubs (yes, bathtubs). The Old Home Supply, which occupies all four corners of the intersection at West Jefferson and College avenues, opened 25 years ago and is filled to the brim with decorative gems. Shopping here is a veritable scavenger hunt for home décor treasures.
And a scavenger hunt is precisely what we went on when we met up with the interior decorator, author, blogger, former HGTV star, influencer, and Fairmount resident Grace Mitchell at this jewel of an antique store.
Asia Eidson
Though she’s been an active blogger since 2012 (check out her site astoriedstyle.com) — which led to gaining interior design clients, which led to hosting her own HGTV show, “One of a Kind” — Mitchell recently took her writing to the world of the printed press and released a handsome and very comprehensive book, Storied Style. In the book, Mitchell reveals her process and philosophy behind home design, incredible stories of her clients, and even some of her own personal anecdotes. It’s a book that’s all at once personal, reflective, and approachable. And pages filled with her interior design work are jaw-dropping. Whether one calls her tastes eclectic, farmhouse, boho or midcentury modern, it ultimately creates an atmosphere that’s personal, warm, inviting, and, most importantly, tells the stories of her clients.
“It’s a real getting-into-someone’s-brain for me when I’m working with a client,” Mitchell says. “I’m trying to figure out what you love, what your history is, how that affects how your home looks, and how it should feel.”
And Old Home Supply serves as a perfect place to gather pieces of that story.
At this store made up of multiple warehouses, like a homing device, Mitchell is able to lock in on something hidden within what one might call clutter to discover a singular and exceptional item. And she sees potential in almost everything. A stained-glass window with a missing section or a wooden door with a crescent moon carved out of it. The throughline: They have character, and you won’t find them anywhere else.
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“My career started because people were trying to copy photos of spaces they thought they liked but wound up hating and didn’t know why,” Mitchell says. “Or they had hired someone who put a lot of pretty things in their house, but none of it really felt like home to them.”
With Mitchell’s Seven Questions, which you can find in her book, she’s able to get to the meat of the matter and create spaces that, well, feel like home. Believe it or not, it might be a feeling some have never felt about a space. And as we look for a remedy to such a problem, on this day, Old Home Supply is a great place to start.
“Everything old is much better quality. When you buy old, it’s something that could last a lifetime.”
Three of Grace Mitchell's 7 Questions to ask yourself
Asia Eidson
Question 2 (of Mitchell’s 7 Questions)
Q: What places are filled with special memories for you?
Question 4 (of Mitchell’s 7 Questions)
Q: Do you have any interesting family history?
Question 6 (of Mitchell’s 7 Questions)
Q: What do you not like?
“When someone comes over to your house, it should be more than pretty. It should be memorable.”
