The design showroom is the city's exclusive stockist for Farrow & Ball paint
Michael Mitchell is celebrating 15 years on King Street with a redesigned showroom that highlights his globally inspired aesthetic and hometown connections.
For 15 years, Michael Mitchell has curated an eclectic home design emporium filled with treasures sourced from around the world. In his showroom, one might spot a Murano glass lamp atop a wooden table hand-hewn in West Virginia, flanked by original art from upstate South Carolina. And, of course, it’s impossible to miss the display of Technicolor piggy banks clustered in the windows. The shop is inherently global, a place where layers of design tell rich visual stories. At the same time, it’s distinctly Charleston, thanks to the native son’s intentionally homegrown approach.
Throughout Mitchell’s years in this business—which include offering robust interior design services—his story has been one of evolution. The store’s footprint swelled five years ago when it relocated from down the street to its current address at 414 King. At more than 12,000 square feet, Michael Mitchell is the largest independent retailer on the peninsula, he notes. The upgrade made room for an impressive rug gallery (customers can find 4,500 in the store, not to mention 20,000 more in his warehouse) and a Farrow & Ball paint outlet (the city’s exclusive stockist).
Mitchell is proud to be among Charleston’s family merchants who can still be found on their shop floors. As he embarks on this next chapter, he’s committed to growing his brand in a way that carries through the close-knit culture of the town where he grew up, infused with uniquely personal touches—beginning with renaming the business to carry his own name.
Michael Mitchell’s 12,000-square-foot King Street showroom features 4,500 rugs and original art and is the city’s exclusive stockist for Farrow & Ball paint. The store will host a floral workshop for Easter this month.
A John’s Island native, Mitchell grew up close to the land and connected to the community. A love of design seeped in at a young age, which he credits to his mother’s impeccable taste and maternal grandmother’s drapery workroom, which she operated 300 yards from his family home. “I’ve been around this my whole life,” he says, recalling how his grandmother would scoop him up from kindergarten on Fridays and take him to lunch at Robertson’s Cafeteria in St. Andrews Shopping Center before making rounds at fabric stores, including By the Yard (today GDC).
For Mitchell, it served as an early education in the value of shopping local and forging strong community connections. Decades later, those lessons have become the bedrock of his business. “Relationships are important to me; the stores I grew up going to are important to me,” he says. That translates to opening his space for events with locals in mind: a Charleston Design Week panel, Farrow & Ball talks, and a floral workshop for Easter. It also means knowing the makers behind his wares and connecting with customers to select pieces that tell their story, be they enlisting his home design services or passing through the shop on a Saturday.
By the Numbers
■ Full-time staff: 11
■ Store square footage: 12,000
■ Estimated piggy banks sold: 70,000
■ Shipment containers received each year: 6 to 8
■ Brands carried in the store: 500
