No Place Like HOME

It is challenging enough to start one new business, never mind two, but Christina Van Blake was determined to double down on her commitment to meeting client needs. In the span of a few years, she opened HOME, her interior design and furnishings company, and across the street, house & HOME, a retail store featuring home décor and gifts. Both are located in Dover in the Pointe Place mixed-use development on Dover Point Road.

Creativity is in Van Blake’s blood as she is part of three generations of artists. She, her mother and grandmother are all talented decorative artists who have worked in a wide range of art media; Van Blake has been stenciling commercially since her teens. With her dad in the Air Force, she grew up traveling the world, and working on art projects in amazing locations.

After earning her bachelor of fine arts from the Savannah School of Art & Design, Van Blake was art director for a stencil company, then took her first foray into having her own business, creating Décor by Design, a firm specializing in creating faux finishes, stencils, murals, plasterwork, stippling and other special effects. After seven years, she moved to Ethan Allen, where she worked as an interior designer, managing all aspects of projects. This creative background ultimately led Van Blake to her destiny — two shops of her own vision designed to help people find their individual style and make their home their own.

In 2018, she opened HOME, a cozy, calm space furnished in an elegant palette of creams and browns and the perfect spot to showcase her unique and tasteful line of home furnishings. “HOME is a full-service, boutique interior-design firm,” she says. “At our studio, we help clients plan their spaces and give them access to décor and accessories available only to those in the trade. I travel the country, going to the best shows and markets, to bring back pieces that are well-made and distinctive. You won’t find pieces like we offer in your average furniture shop.”

Van Blake emphasizes that she is personally familiar with the furniture and accessories found at HOME. “I know who makes my furniture, and I have visited the factories,” she says. “I can personally attest to how it is made and the quality.”

Van Blake’s skill as a designer and artist is complemented by the talents of her team; she has two to three interior designers on staff, and all of them see home design with an artist’s eye. “We are thinking art and design 24/7,” she says. “Art is life to us, so we are always exploring, discovering and sharing cool things that we find. This is the kind of passion and expertise we bring to your project.”

Van Blake notes that often clients just need help seeing how things would work in their home. “They need help pulling the vision together, identifying the mood they want, and looking at how they will use the space.”

Van Blake’s clients became so passionate about her décor finds, that she opened shop number two, house & HOME, in 2021. With its dramatic black ceilings and vibrant accents, the mood is both edgy and fun. The shop is packed with stylish items and gift selections, including bowls, barware, lamps, gourmet foods, bath products, candles, beauty products and whimsical items like a tooth fairy mouse. “I personally select these items from global sources and guarantee that each one is creative, different and excellent quality,” Van Blake says. “Guests love the shop. We have people who come in each week just to see what’s new and enjoy the atmosphere.”

The two shops keep Van Blake busy, but she is not slowing down. Plans for a Portsmouth location are underway, and she hopes to open that venue later in 2024. “We want to help everyone create a space that says ‘home’ to them; whether it’s redoing a room or adding finishing touches, we have the solutions.”