Inside Tent
Darren Henault, founder of Tent, the new home décor shop in Amenia center, has spent much of his adult life in urban settings, creating luxurious, calming spaces for pressured city dwellers. Now, he believes that many of those same city dwellers, isolated for a year by Covid in their country homes, are ready for a new lifestyle with more of an emphasis on home and family time.
“When you are in the city, you are working and then you come home and you immediately go out to check out a new restaurant or a new show. It’s great fun but you are on the go all the time. They used to use their country homes for three months of the year but people are falling in love with their houses again, rediscovering them like slightly neglected spouses.”
And Henault is ready to help them freshen and redesign the homes they love. He has taken over an abandoned autobody shop at 4950 Route 22 and, with a virtual wave of a magic wand, has transformed it into a handsome retail space filled with elegant objets d’art, dinnerware, serving pieces, rugs and bespoke furniture.
Henault, who has been a noted interior designer for the last 30 years, explained the genesis of his new endeavor by saying that he was asked to create a retail outlet by the building’s owners. “They approached me and asked to me create a shop that was a little higher end,” he revealed. “I said, ‘I don’t want a store, I don’t want a store, I don’t want a store,’ and then I opened a store.”
Henault, his husband, and their daughters have been weekend—and now full-time—residents of Millbrook NY for the past 13 years. “No one goes through Millbrook unless they have a reason to,” he said. “But Amenia is right at a crossroads, everyone comes through this intersection. There is a huge amount of traffic and a lot of money in this area. The number of people who have moved here from the city is insane.”
He says he finds the retail business — which he never envisioned for himself — “so good for the ego. People are incredibly complimentary.”
“I know I am not affordable for everyone,” he said, but adds “I want people to come in. I don’t care if they don’t buy. I just want them to enjoy beautiful things.”
That said, not every item is out of reach for people of ordinary means. Stationery and library items, dinnerware, decorative ceramics, pillows, candlesticks, books and more can all be easily acquired for personal use or as gift items.
Henault said the shop serves a dual purpose. “People can buy items right off the floor or they can order a houseful of furniture—I have 25 different (fabric) room schemes for them to look at. If they want an Indian or Persian carpet, I have a whole warehouse to choose from. And, if they want, they can hire me as a designer.”
He has furniture that can be finished in any specialty fabric the client chooses that will be delivered in about seven weeks while case goods take from 12 to 16 weeks. Home décor gathered from around the world, such as large, sinuous terracotta gourds, handwoven items crafted by South Pacific artisans, leather-covered Ottoman trays, jewelry, travel accessories and the like fill the shop.
“For 25 years I have been going around the world finding cool things for clients,” he said.
During that time, he has established connections with firms such as US-based Rogers & Goffigan, one of the most respected designers and producers of high-quality home furnishing textiles in the world and Holland & Sherry, a 180-year-old firm that manufactures high-end textiles for both apparel—think Saville Row—and interior design, wallcoverings and trim, rugs and hardware.
He partnered with the historic Ferdinando Marinelli foundry in Florence to create a series of whimsical pieces of furniture by refashioning their bronze sculptures of natural subjects.
Henault cringed when asked to describe his style. “I hate that question,” he said. “I can do any style but I would have to say I am more traditional than modern, more tailored than not, very textural and I favor color, but very quiet color. People like all sorts of things but they want their homes to be comfortable. For me, decorating houses has always been more about the emotional and less about a clearly defined style.
“I love what I do because, on a daily basis, I come into contact with beautiful things and, most importantly, the inspiring people who design and create those extraordinary items,” he said.
His work has been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, House & Garden, New York Magazine and House Beautiful.
Tent is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11AM-7PM; 845-789-1837. Link to the website below.