Home Design Ide: Locust Valley: Antiques and Design Mini Mecca

On the back roads of the island's famed Gold Coast, just 45 minutes from Manhattan is the lovely little hamlet of Locust Valley where you will find store after store of fabulous antiques and interior designers. For a few years, antique dealers and posh designers have found there way out of the cramp quarters in the city to set up shop in this quaint and beautiful Gold Coast town. Two of the most recent additions to Locust Valley are designer Meg Braff's Antique and Design shop and 96 Forest, the brain child of Ellen Niven.

Meg Braff's shop is breathtaking. Her style is Palm Beach meets Park Avenue and her shop features one of kind pieces, beautiful art work and unique wallpaper by Phillip Graf (which is owned by Ms. Braff). Meg Braff has a way of blending old and new that is seamless and inspiring. It is a store that will make your heart pound if you love chinoiserie.

96 Forest features a rotating collection of wares from designers Jeff Lincoln, Elizabeth Ainslie and Sallie Giordano. This "umbrella" shop carries such items as a pillow collection by Quadrille, hand painted screens by artisan Ray Goins, a selection of fine art curated by Fred Bancroft and selected design books from Assouline and Rizzoli to form a compendium of antiques, modern designs, art and textiles from around the globe. The result is a series of shop-in-shops, each with a different aesthetic and assortment of furniture and decorative objects. The feel is truly eclectic and worth a trip. Shop owner Ellen Niven comments, "There's a lot of talent under one roof and that's so exciting ... and Locust Valley would surprise you with its offerings - within a two block radius there are 7 or 8 great antique and interior design shops, each with its own specialty and terrifically talented people behind them - its becoming a draw again and we see people driving over from Connecticut or out from New York to explore and enjoy - not just the shops, but the incredible architecture and history of the gold coast and the variety of beautiful houses in the area."