Taylor Raquet, owner of the new Beckon Home store on Patterson Avenue (Photo by Ash Daniel)
From furnishing her own home to helping friends source and select furnishings, Taylor Raquet has always had a knack for interior design. Now she owns and operates Beckon Home, a retail store and interior design studio located at 5762-B Patterson Ave. in the Near West End. Raquet’s store joins Gild and Ash and Relics to Rhinestones in what has become a shopping hot spot, with The Shops at 5807 right across the street.
Formerly in fundraising and retail women’s apparel, Raquet, a mother of 6-year-old twins, was seeking a new chapter. With encouragement from friends and family, her idea of opening a retail store became a reality in September 2018 with Beckon Home’s opening. She recalls how her sister-in-law, a small business attorney, was one of her biggest proponents. “She asked me, ‘If you did this, what would you call it?’ ” For three weeks, it was all Raquet could think about. When she landed on the name “Beckon Home,” she knew it was right. Not only does she want people to feel beckoned to the store, she says, “It’s how I want people to feel in their own homes.”
The cheerful, bright store features furniture and lighting from lines such as Highland House, Society Social, Selamat and Moss Studio. You’ll also find a mix of art, from original abstracts to affordable framed prints, as well as home accessories and an assortment of gifts including scent diffusers, design books, and ceramics from Dana Gibson and Jill Rosenwald.
Raquet also offers design services, something she expected to “grow over time,” but it caught on from day one. “I think it can be intimidating to start a relationship with an interior designer,” she says, noting that it can be hard to get to know designers’ styles simply from online images or word of mouth. The store, however, offers an easy introduction to her aesthetic — though she’ll tell you that her clients’ style “doesn’t have to be my style.” Her specialty is mixing new pieces with old. “That’s where you get character, layering and mixing in family pieces,” she says. “This is how you make your home yours — not like anyone else’s.”
