I would like to feature of few of my favorite local haunts on Here's Looking at Me, Kid, and thought of no better place to start than with Room Service. Just west of downtown Cleveland you will find this charming shop and its beautifully merchandised inventory of pretty homegoods, smart gifts, and fashionable apparel. And if you are lucky, you will get to meet the fabulous Danielle Deboe, who started it all.

When Danielle returned to her home of Cleveland Ohio to fulfill the dream of opening her own boutique, she quickly discovered the reality of the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention." She already had natural creative talent and a trained eye acquired from her time as a visual merchandiser for Anthropologie. But flying solo, she was faced with the challenging task of creating unique displays for her store, Room Service, without the cushy Anthropologie budget. Visiting her engaging boutique today, it's hard to imagine how difficult it was to develop a small open space into an eclectic, yet organized, feast for the shopper's eye.

Some tricks Danielle used in her boutique are easily adaptable when setting up your new space or when rethinking your current pad's decor.

The long, narrow retail space is broken up by four panels (two on each side wall) which serve to visually separate the open space and also to act as an anchor for the displays Danielle placed so skillfully on the vertical planes. Without these simple backdrops, the walls would easily look too cluttered.

Save cash by digging through scrapyards, junk stores, and even sidewalks. Most of the shelves on the walls at Room Service were created using reclaimed wood and scrap steel. Danielle even repurposed an unsalvageable dresser she found for free on the sidewalk by removing the drawers which she used as display cases on the wall and to corral merchandise on shelves. With a little creatively, you can look at thrift store and sidewalk finds in a new light. "If it's a vessel of some kind, it can be used in a hundred different ways," Danielle says.

When creating vignettes, variety is key. Vary heights on table displays by using cases, pedestals, or by stacking books.  For wall vignettes, Danielle staggers wall hangings and achieves variety and balance by countering large display pieces with multiple small items on the other side.

Danielle Deboe's shop, Room Service, moved last week from the Gordon Square arts district to a larger venue in Ohio City, Cleveland. She stocks the ever-changing boutique with unique, well designed objects at an affordable price-point for your home and wardrobe. Be sure to check out Room Service's website, blog, flickr, and Danielle's Apartment Therapy kitchen feature!

images: me, 2nd photo from Roomservice's flickr

I'm so excited that Akron's next (second ever!) Crafty Mart is this Sunday! I really enjoyed the show last November, and hope to find something handmade to wrap up for Mom's day in a week. Also, Akron's May Art Walk is on Saturday, so Phil and I will be out and about visiting friends and enjoying the city. So many fun things to do! If you're local, be sure to head out. And do say hello!

(photos from my last Crafty Mart post)

Recently my local lovin' town was ranked one of the most miserable places to live in the United States. What?! Ever since the news rocked Northeast Ohio, I've been contemplating doing a photo series on Akron (Cleveland and Canton too- they also got the slap around by Forbes) and the places that make it so great in my own eyes. In the meantime, I was browsing Flickr to see what other local photographers have to say about our city.

For credits, head here to my Akron flickr gallery.