by Michelle Boudin
Growing up, Meredith Dolhare was obsessed with color and design, to the point where she admits she may have gone a little overboard.
“Even as a kid, I’ve always had a sense of color and how to put things together. I was the kid that even my hair tie had to match my shoes. And that’s funny, because now that’s not the way I think about design. I don’t want anything to be matchy-matchy — I don’t even make two side tables look the same.”
The owner of Bespoke Interiors grew up surrounded by design. Her father and grandfather sold furniture for decades and eventually owned a furniture store in Tennessee, where she grew up. She remembers going through fabric swatches with her dad when she was just 6 years old and loving everything about them. That passion grew over time and morphed into Dolhare amassing a huge collection of rare pieces of furniture, accessories — even couture fashion.
“It’s been kind of a dream, always, to have a store like this. The things that are in the store are very special, sourced pieces from all over the world.”
Dolhare opened the furniture and design store on East Boulevard last year. Most of the items in her shop are one-of-a-kind, she says. In fact, much of the merchandise came straight out of her own closet or from one of the homes she designed for herself.
“When I was sourcing the pieces, I was flying things in from Denmark, from Vienna, Germany. I’ve got Chanel, Balmain — I mean, the works. I have some pillows made of vintage Hermes scarves. Those are some of my favorite things in the store.”
Another favorite item is a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair from the 1960s. “It’s completely refurbished, caramel-colored,” Dolhare says. “It came over from the Netherlands, and it’s very hard to find one in this condition.”
The chair is from an uptown condo Dolhare recently renovated. After living in the condo for a year, she decided it wasn’t a great fit for her lifestyle. Realizing she had a house full of unique furnishings, the idea for Bespoke Interiors began taking shape.
“I had all this amazing stuff that I had sourced. And what I was thinking, frankly, is that I know what it took me to get this stuff over here and to find — hours of research, hours of looking. The pieces are all period pieces — they’re not replicas — from 1940 to 1980.”
The mother of two also decided to empty her closets. She’d spent years on the gala circuit in Charlotte and has the dresses to prove it. Many are now for sale in the store, including the vintage Balenciaga dress Nicole Kidman wore to her wedding.
“You know, life changes, and I had all this stuff that’s maybe been worn once or used once. It’s a handbag, or a dress or shoes, and I just thought this would be a great way to do kind of a pop-up shop to get people in the door, get them excited about it. Then they’ll start looking at the furniture and the art and the accessories that are also here for sale.”
Among her offerings: labels including Oscar de la Renta, Alaïa, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Alexander McQueen.
“It’s literally a smorgasbord of high-end clothing and evening gowns. Clients ask me all the time, are you sure you want to sell it? And I’m like, don’t ask me again, because I don’t want to think about it!” SP
Bespoke Interiors is located at 1419-B East Boulevard and is open by appointment only.
