Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/165447
house & home Dillon and Company A Passion for Design, Timeless Good Taste On a recent Sunday afternoon, Gillian Dillon is moving through the largest of her three showrooms in Plymouth, greeting customers who are browsing through Dillon & Company. They're all looking for that perfect accent piece or focal point among the European-style furniture collection imported from England. By Maryellen Dever Photography by Susan Hagstrom For the untrained eye, it's easy to be astounded by the many styles and choices of beautiful furniture. There are dining tables and chairs, side tables, upholstered furniture, accent pieces, lamps, and chandeliers. Gillian's artful displays and casually elegant room settings, mixing antiques and reproductions with more contemporary items, enables customers to see possibilities they never would have imagined. Seeing different period pieces together serves as inspiration and gives insight into Gillian's interior design style. While Dillon & Company appears to be a furniture store, it's really, in Gillian's words, "more of a design shop with a sprinkling of European Antiques." The antiques in her shop are not the typical dark, heavy items one might normally associate with the word "antique," or for that matter, with the Downton Abbey-type English house. Dillon's shop has lighter, more casual pieces. "Everything is very European – not formal like an English manor, but more informal – we have many painted pieces. That's why they fit so well with more contemporary pieces." Gillian adds, "I like the fresh look the mix can bring to our customers' more modern décor." Design, Gillian reveals, is a "total passion" for her. What she does, most importantly, is get to know the customer and their lifestyle before beginning a design project. She will spend time taking them through her three shops, forming a sense of their style. She will then design rooms, from furniture, lamps, tables, to custom upholstery and draperies. Many of her clients will have furniture custom-designed by her and handcrafted by top artisans in England. She explains, "When you think of Dillon & Company, it's not an antique shop – we're a mix of all styles, from antique to modern." The clean lines of modern upholstered pieces and the warmth of fine reproductions are mixed with gorgeous one of a kind antiques from Europe in uniquely Dillon style. Gillian calls this mix of eras a "transitional" style, because her room designs may transition from one time period to another. This style is particularly popular with the Dillons' younger clients. The result is a home designed with an easy, current, contemporary vibe. 22 D 8 5 w