The Cozy Home is an out-of-the-ordinary consignment furniture and decor store that mixes standard pieces of quality with quirky retro items, vintage collectibles and antiques. The shop boasts antique wooden beams, which transform this space in the Lake Edge Shopping Center into a rustic barn. Everything on hand has been selected with a good eye; there aren't piles of chipped china or faded toys. When there's a surprise, it's the good kind.
Stock changes daily, but recent finds included a Fauvist-flavored oil painting of the Memorial Union's Terrace chairs, a mid-century plaster llama wall sculpture from Chicago's Harold Studios, a hand-crafted rustic timber and glass coffee table, a 1970s patchwork shag rug, and many quirky lamps and end tables. The staff also does home staging and provides decorating services.
The Cozy Home
4100 Monona Dr., Madison
608-630-8890
thecozyhomemadison.com
10 am-6 pm Mon.-Fri. 10 am-5 pm Sat.
Vault Interiors & Design in Schenk's Corners is in a former bank, and yes, you can wander into the old vault. But most of the stock is in the airy front room, where a few major pieces are showcased. Vault features interior design services; the storefront sells mostly fun accessories and wall art. Look for bright paintings of dogs on loan from the Janus Galleries, 2701 Monroe St., and large framed photos from Madison architectural photographer Mike Rebholz, including his vibrant portraits of ice-fishing shacks on Madison-area lakes (because surely you want something to remind you of the polar vortex throughout this coming summer).
Vault also carries a line of hand-poured, 60-hour burn candles named after Madison's venerable east-side neighborhoods (Schenk-Atwood smells of "bamboo, teak and black currant," while Tenney-Lapham is "pear and redwood"). Linens and kitchenware are from Fishs Eddy, including dog-walker dishtowels and clever spoon rests ("Rest in grease").
Vault Interiors & Design
2000 Atwood Ave., Madison
608-535-9556
vault-interiors.com
10 am-5 pm Tues.-Sat., noon-4 pm Sun.