Step into Roost Urban Country Design on Front Street in Salem and you’ll feel as if you’ve come home. With its warm color, exposed brick, and hip mix of industrial textures, Roost is the hottest new home furnishing/accessory/gift store in a growing retail sector of historic downtown that some are calling “the mini-garment district.” Whether searching for original art, furniture, bath products, or jewelry, you will find that a minimalist mindset meets the eclectically stylish at Roost. Not quite Pottery Barn, not quite Restoration Hardware, Roost’s greatest asset is perhaps what it isn’t.
The brains behind Roost is husband-and-wife team Jamie Metsch and Kate Leavy. He’s the builder and she’s the decorator. Having migrated from Asheville, North Carolina, where they designed and renovated old bungalow homes, the pair settled in Salem last year. “We were excited to share what we learned in Asheville with consumers on the North Shore,” says Leavy. “We wanted a small city, and Salem offered the perfect environment.”
The selection of home and personal accessories is broad, yet unique. Of the store’s offerings, Metsch says, “It’s like a restaurant where the menu evolves. We’re approaching retail the same way—we want people to have something they won’t see elsewhere.
Roost’s owners have created a buzz since opening last November by selling affordable items like chalkboard paint, as well as sharing tips with their customers on how to make the items they purchase their own. “We wanted to establish working relationships with our neighbors and customers,” says Leavy. The results are clear, and the warmth of the store is contagious, so much so that regular customers are often referred to as “Roostafarians.”
Some of Roost’s best sellers under $10 include Saipua soaps in saltwater or white grapefruit, felt wine racks that store flat when empty, wool-felt animals, ceramic cups, wire baskets in three sizes, and tea light holders with rice paper.
40 Front St., Salem, 978-744-4663, roostsalem.com.