Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » denver design guide

the lovely jamie kopke at design klub kindly offered to create a denver design guide for d*s. i’d love to head out to colorado sometime next year so i’m thrilled to have a local’s guide. jamie divided the guide into home shops, gifts and decor, unique finds, coffee & tea and then three great neighborhood guides for colfax, broadway and downtown. i’m going to be adding custom google maps for each guide asap so stay tuned for that in the next few weeks. in the meantime, click here for the full denver guide (or click “read more” below). thanks to jamie for all of her hard work!

Modern Home

Composition: Although this shop is now located in Lakewood, it is definitely worth a visit. Composition has a great collection of modern goods for the home and office, carrying everything from Anne Black ceramics to Acme Made laptop bags.
Mod Livin’: Mod Livin’ is one of Denver’s design meccas. Their huge showroom has both vintage and modern furniture, as well as affordable accessories/gifts. Mod Livin’ carries all the major designers ranging from Alessi to Kartell and is Denver’s main source for Blu Dot furniture.
One Home: One Home is one of the main design destinations in town with a nice blend of mid-century classics and modern, contemporary lines from all the top name brands. One Home also carries local designers such as Michael McCoy and DoubleButter.
Studio Como: Located in the home of the former P Design Gallery, the newly created Studio Como offers high-end furniture and kitchen design services. You’ll find lines such as Moroso, Berloni and Cassini in this beautiful showroom.
Swank Space: This store covers a range of contemporary home furnishings, though not the cutting edge lines you’ll find at One Home, Mod Livin’ or Z Modern. Still, they have a wide selection of home accents, including some beautiful glass plates.
Urban Lifestyle: Located in downtown Denver, this shop carries a variety of modern accessories and gifts for the home.
Zeitgeist: Zeitgeist is another modern design must, carrying everything from Artenica to Vitra. This shop in the Golden Triangle also offers work from cutting edge designers like Droog, which cannot be found anywhere else in the city.

Gifts & Décor

Decade: Located on South Broadway, this charming boutique sells everything from retro furniture to shabby chic housewares and gifts.
5 Green Boxes: 5 Green Boxes is actually now two stores, located one block apart in Denver’s Old South Pearl shopping district. The “Little Store” is a womens’ boutique with clothing and jewelry, while the “Big Store” covers all forms of fun home furnishings and accessories.
Gallerie Rouge: This Cherry Creek shop specializes in vintage posters from around the world.
Meininger Art Supply: Denver’s main art supply store also has a great selection of gifts, including a wide range of Umbra products.
Pandora Jewelry: A Denver favorite for finding funky, affordable presents. Pandora has a huge selection of imported jewelry and eclectic handbags, housewares and books . Also good for those sassy, tongue-in-cheek gifts.
Polka Dot: The ultimate girlie gift-giving boutique, specializing in presents for women for every occasion.
Talulah Jones: Located in Uptown Denver, Talulah Jones is filled with wonderfully whimsical housewares and accessories. Lots of great gifts for children and babies too.
The Perfect Petal: This Highlands store is a combination flower shop and boutique. Inside you’ll find cute gifts for the home and garden.

Fashion & Accessories

Chielle: This inviting shop on Colfax has a little bit of everything - from cute clothes to housewares. The owners also carry items from local designers and regularly host fun community events, like Scrabble Night and Book Club.
Fabric Lab: The Fabric Lab is a one of a kind shop in Denver. Committed to promoting Colorado artists, the Fabric Lab offers locally made clothing and accessories from over 50 area designers. (Inside Scoop: In January the owners of the Fabric Lab are opening up a cereal/cupcake café next door that will also carry a variety of graphic design goods.)
Fancy Tiger: Even though this store is listed under fashion, Fancy Tiger offers so much more. This boutique carries everything from clothing and accessories to patterns and craft supplies. Best of all, Fancy Tiger has become DIY central for the local community, hosting regular craft nights and workshops.
Indy Ink: This clothing store and screen-printing shop may have more selection for guys, but it’s the place to go for graphic tees.
Swank: Swank is a women’s fashion boutique carrying the latest trends.
The 400: If designer sneakers are your thing - the 400 has the city’s best collection of unique and limited-edition kicks.

Unique Finds

Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast: This new shop, located in the Belmar Shopping District, specializes in Japanese pop culture - carrying toys, housewares, clothing and food.
Equipement de Vin: This Larimer Square shop carries everything for the wine aficionado, from glassware to barstools, it’s all here. Check out the Colorado Tasting Room for a sampling of select local wines.
Plastic Chapel: The Plastic Chapel is a designer vinyl toy store, which also hosts regular openings for local artists.
Savory Spice Shop: You can’t go into the Savory Spice Shop without buying something. This locally owned shop carries hundreds of freshly ground spices, hand-blended seasonings, extracts and sauces.
Tattered Cover: Denver’s beloved Tattered Cover is one of the largest independent bookstores in the United States. There are now three locations, including one in a historic downtown building and another in a renovated theater on Colfax Avenue. You’ll find every book imaginable and lots of cozy reading spots in this Denver institution.
The Livable Home: This store’s motto, “furniture for you and your human”, pretty much sums it up. The Livable Home carries a wide variety of contemporary, pet-friendly furniture and fabrics.

Coffee and Tea

Brown Palace: Have afternoon tea in one of Denver’s most historic settings, the beautiful Brown Place hotel. This traditional service includes a tasty selection of tea pastries and sandwiches, but it’s a bit on the pricey side so be prepared.
City O’ City: One of my favorite spots in town, City O’ City is the perfect blend of a coffee shop, bar and restaurant all in one. Great atmosphere and a nice menu filled with vegan/vegetarian dishes.
House of Commons: The House of Commons is modeled after an English tea room, serving over 30 varieties of tea along with a selection of sandwiches, salads and desserts. A full service afternoon tea is available too.
St. Mark’s Coffee House: This popular coffee shop by City Park is pretty much always busy, but the comfortable atmosphere and outdoor patio can’t be beat.
The Market: The Market is really about people watching above all else. Located in the heart of Larimer Square in downtown Denver, you can grab a cup of coffee or enjoy a sandwich/salad from the deli in this historic sidewalk café.

Cruisin’ Colfax

Colfax is the longest commercial thoroughfare in the United States and in recent years an influx of new shops, galleries and restaurants has moved into the neighborhood known as East Colfax. Start off your day at the complex which houses the Tattered Cover bookstore, Twist & Shout music shop and the newly opened Neighborhood Flix cinema and café. Grab some coffee at the Tattered Cover and wander the aisles in this renovated theatre turned bookstore.

Head east down Colfax and make sure to check out all the great locally owned shops such as the Plastic Chapel, Fabric Lab, Newspeak and Chielle. Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year and is also home to the largest system of public parks in the country. If you’re looking for a stroll through the great outdoors, you can walk two blocks north to City Park, Denver’s largest green space, which houses both the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science.

If you prefer to stick to the strip, grab lunch at Tommy’s Thai for delicious, cheap (under $10) thai food (although there are a lot of restaurants to chose from in this area). Further down Colfax you’ll find Mod Livin’, one of Denver’s favorite modern design stores. Finish your day by checking out a show at the Bluebird Theatre or an independent film at Neighborhood Flix.

Broadway Believer

Broadway, one of Denver’s main drags, houses everything from museums to the famous antique row. Start off near 13th where you can visit City O’ City for a one of Denver’s best cups of coffee. Head back down the hill and visit the Denver Museum of Art, with its new 146,000 sq. ft. addition by famed architect Daniel Libeskind. If you’re on a budget, you can check out the outdoor sculptures and walk through the postmodern central branch of the Denver Public Library, which was designed by Michael Graves and is located right next door.

Further down Broadway, you’ll find local shops such as Fancy Tiger, True Love shoes, Decade, Boss vintage clothing and Indy Ink. If antique hunting is your thing, you can head further south where you’ll find 18 blocks of antiques galore. Stop by the hipster hangout Sputnik for a snack (they have the best sweet potato fries in town) and finish off your day by catching a flick at the historic Mayan Theatre or some music at the Hi-Dive.

Downtown Detours

Start off at the House of Commons for a cup of tea and walk along Platte St. visiting local stores like the Savory Spice Shop, Phoebe’s Past and Presents and Sanctuary Home. Just around the corner on 15th you’ll find the popular women’s boutique Mona Lucero’s. Head east on 15th and check out Denver’s amazing new Museum of Contemporary Art, which will hopefully become the first Gold LEED certified contemporary art museum in the country.

As you enter downtown you can visit the LoDo location of the famed independent bookstore, the Tattered Cover at 16th and Wynkoop. Hop on the free 16th St. Mall shuttle and get off at Larimer St. for more shopping or travel further east to California St. and visit one of Denver’s lesser-known treasures, the Dikeou Collection. Housed in a downtown office building, this private collection of Devon and Pany Dikeou features cutting edge contemporary art from around the world (and best of all admission is free, open W- F only). Finish off the day people watching at The Market café or head over to 17th for a drink at one of Denver’s best bars, the legendary Cruise Room, located in the historic Oxford Hotel.

Written by Jamie Kopke of DesignKlub

Hi! I was born and bred in Denver–getting married there this summer. It’s so good to see my hometown getting so hip! Just some fun facts and other suggestions: The Market coffee shop was where Jack Kerouac and crew used to hang when they were in Denver–so it’s also a little piece of history. An awesome music venue, cafe and neighborhood meeting spot is the Mercury Cafe, located near Five Points (20th and California, i think). They serve all organic, mostly local food and have poetry slams, ballroom dancing lessons, knitting clubs, etc, etc.

Ahhh! It’s about time our city gets props. There’s also all the great antique stores down South Broadway. If you are ever interested in putting together a Denver only Design/fashion blog let me know. I’m down.

As a Denverite, I’d like to add the Tea Box to the Coffee and Tea list. This little tea shop in Cherry Creek has hands-down the best selection of tea I’ve seen in Denver. Great job on the guide — lots of my favorites, and a few I’ll be sure to check out!

One of the first places I hit up when I moved to Denver was Kaladi Bros. coffee on Evans. They seriously have amazing baristas and the best coffee in town in my opinion. I also second the Mercury Cafe! They have really yummy vegan pie.

Great job Jamie. This is wonderful.

I would add Side Effects to the gifts & decor, as well as the broadway sections. It a great gift shop that has everything from rare amazonian pitcher plants to an instore coffeshop and flowershop.

see some of their cool gifts here:
http://www.sideeffectsflowers.com/gifts.html

Great list. Some of my favorites are here. I’m a frequent poster on Lonely Planet too and will refer it - I always recommend 13th Ave and the South Broadway drag.

I recently dined at the new Watercourse Foods veggie restaurant on 17th Ave. (Same folks as City O City) Great place and good eats.

All the best - james…

Thank you so much for this guide. We moved from Chicago to Denver six months ago and have been looking all over for THE places to go to see great design. One thing that Denver is lacking: a good paper store. Once you’ve had The Paper Source, nothing compares.

I think you did a wonderful job with putting this list together — some of these gems I’m checking out over the weekend!

@ Seymour — totally agree with the lack of a great paper store. We do have Archivers, The Watermark, Xpedx, and a few others I know I’m leaving off… but nothing compares to The Paper Source!

Actually, if you are willing to travel a little there is a wonderful paper store in Boulder called Two Hands Paperie. It is locally owned and has a range of beautiful papers from around the world. Check it out!

Great to see so many great places mentioned, and people adding to the list in the comments. Somebody already mentioned the Tea Box, so I’ll add Aviano Coffee to the list. Once you have their latte, you’re totally spoiled! We blogged about them here http://thisweekindenver.com/food-wine/aviano-coffee/

I would also add in True Love shoes on Broadway just down from the Mayan theatre. They have hip affordable shoes, jewelery and bags. I’m glad someone added Watercourse, because they have fabulous food. I would also add Bump and Grind Sunday drag queen brunch on 17th.

Denver’s furniture stores are really coming about. I stopped into Zeitgeist and Mod Livin’, both very cool stores for a modern furniture lover. I also found a local custom furniture maker called Capsize Design that makes anything you want with whatever you want. Wonderful guys!!!

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