When Debra Phillips first opened Scentimental Gardens in Geneva 21 years ago, there were few female landscape designers and even fewer places to find decorative garden items. Now the popular shop is as well known for Phillips’s cleverly repurposed vintage merchandise as for her garden expertise.
After years in the suburbs, she has opened her latest venture, SG Grand, in the burgeoning design district along Grand Avenue. She chose the spot because the home store Post 27 was already established across the street and the Merchandise Mart was nearby. “The energy is picking up,” she says.
Phillips selects everything in the curated shop, which she stocks mostly with vintage pieces, along with a smattering of new. And although it has fewer garden items than the suburban store, SG Grand embodies her style: Phillips’s taste tends toward the masculine and organic, and she mixes elements such as linen, leather, and wood in unconventional ways. Lamps created from rustic cypress stumps feature fine silk shades ($500–$550). A side table ($1,100) is formed out of a doweled cage that was originally used by French bakeries for baguettes. “There’s a lot of repurposing and reusing,” she says. Our favorite find: an outdoor piece ($900) by the Southern artist Richard Taylor that mimics the famous Barcelona stool—but in concrete. “It’s so rich and lifelike,” Phillips says. “Nobody can believe it’s concrete.”
THE BASICS
WHERE 1822 W. Grand Ave.; 312-226-6654, sggrand.com
HOURS Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
PARKING Ample unmetered street parking
EXTRAS Landscape design, interior design, and exterior design (to improve curb appeal)
Photography: Tate Gunnerson