The Flat’s new store in Sconset Square downtown offers furniture and home furnishings, vintage and new, in a range of styles. / Photo by Gary Webster
Merchandise on offer at The Flat is an eclectic mix of furniture, antiques, art, lighting and home decor.

By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — For the owner and staff of The Flat furniture and home furnishings business, opening a new shop in Sconset Square is like coming home.

The business, “set up like a well-appointed flat,” according to its website, started in 2106 on Railroad Place in Saugatuck. It moved to a larger space in East Norwalk in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, according to the Elena John, the shop’s manager. 

Designers came to the Norwalk studio, she said, “but not the walk-in traffic that we had previously,” and so the business has returned to Westport, its “hometown.”

The Flat, which opened its Westport retail store last Saturday, also has an East Norwalk studio, open by appointment. / Photo by Gary Webster

The Westport retail shop opened last Saturday, while the Norwalk location, a studio at 66 Fort Point St., is open by appointment.

“We’re really thrilled to be in Sconset Square,” John said.

The business, owned by Becky Goss, featured mid-century modern furniture when it first opened, but has expanded to include furnishings reflecting the style of different eras.

“She loves the mix” of styles, John said of the owner. “Having different time periods makes the home more interesting.”

An English sculpture of a fox gazes from the window of the store, and pieces of varying styles and time periods are arranged in tableaux around the shop. 

A sculpture of a fox by a British artist stands guard at The Flat’s new store. / Photo by Gary Webster

The Flat manager said much of the furniture is vintage, with the furnishings, lighting and housewares a mixture of vintage and new. Pieces are often moved between the business’s two locations. 

The Sconset Square space was formerly occupied by the Blossom and Stem florist shop, which moved to a larger shop on Post Road East. 

The Flat is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 203-557-6854. More information is available on the shop’s website and Instagram account. Merchandise is not sold online; customers are invited to visit the shop to see what The Flat has to offer. 

____________________________

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.

A mix of furniture and home decor is on offer at The Flat. / Contributed photo