Inside Salter House’s New Manhattan Shop, Cottagecore Is a Fever Dream From the Past

By Sydney Gore

Photography by Janna Tew

Long before Salter House became Brooklyn Heights’ prime destination for families seeking a more natural and sustainable lifestyle, founders Sandeep and Carson Salter were just a couple of twenty-something creatives paying their dues in the East Village. Three years after starting Picture Room, a gallery that showcases the work of contemporary artists along with rare prints and framed ephemera, the duo manifested their “expression of our domestic life” through Salter House in 2017. Now with two businesses—and a household of two daughters—to run, Sandeep and Carson have their sights set on Manhattan once more.

When the opportunity to return to the neighborhood with their family business in a storefront on the most iconic block presented itself, Carson and Sandeep couldn’t pass it up. “Having lived around the corner for such a long time, it literally is familiar; I know what it’s like here and there’s a little bit of a homecoming for that reason, which is nice,” Sandeep says.

Never afraid to get their hands dirty, the duo saw the transformation as a true family affair, which also involved Sandeep and Carson’s daughters, Eta and Lowe, who contributed many design ideas. The floors feature some of the icons and figurative “flash” on the ceramics and embroidery that are sold at the shop. “Sandeep’s painting work also brings in a little bit of Charleston—like the washed colors and loose brushwork,” adds Carson.

“I loved this cobalt, linear mosaic design, so the drawings and paintings I’ve done on the floor, the walls, and the furniture is taking lead from that, sort of coupling my designs that I do for ceramics and embroidery onto the physical space itself and using the color reference of the floor,” says Sandeep.

Dating back to the 1900s, the former tenement building has a series of past lives, from a headquarters for a revolutionary political group in the ’70s to the Russian music bar previously known as Anyway Cafe. “One of the things that we really loved when we cleaned up the space was this floor from when it had been a barber shop,” says Sandeep. “It’s lived so many lives, and when you spend time in here, you can feel that. It’s this charming cellar spot that’s been a storefront for 200 years and has seen so many things.”

During the demolition period, which took nearly three months to complete, they uncovered original cobalt and white metro hex tiles from the 1930s underneath low-quality layers of linoleum tile, glue, and cement. “Once we saw that, it changed our whole idea of what the space would look like, and we just went with that,” Sandeep recalls. “There was already history here; we didn’t really need to try to impose an aesthetic on it.” This discovery informed their vision for the 450-square-foot space, which initially took design cues from the brick, metal, and stone features of Kettle’s Yard, an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England. Carson refers to it as “a wonderful example of a house-as-exhibition space, and the creative practice of collecting,” noting that they gravitate toward spaces like this that “are so personal and private but also clearly reflecting a community style.”

The table that Carson designed with Gothic antique decorative cast-iron fence toppers features a metallic vase and ceramic salt box by Sophie Wilson for Salter House, beside a pair of Ceramiche Rampini egg cups and a set of pewter plates on top of a Chiarastella Cattana placemat.

Inside the fitting room, a prototype of Salter House’s signature corset hangs from one of their wood peg rails.

Sandeep and Carson are very upfront about their lack of interior design experience, but coming from the art and book worlds, the couple’s process of collaboration usually begins with conducting research. The founders spent an extensive amount of time pouring over public library images of what the storefront looked like through the decades. “There wasn’t a concept or a really defined reference that we were trying to impose upon the space,” she explains. “I think a lot of people would’ve dry-walled everything and been like, ‘Let’s start from white box and upholster it.’ Although I would love to be that daring, Carson and I just really responded to what was already here.”

Pulling inspiration from the brick and plaster barrel-vaulted ceilings, Sandeep and Carson leaned into cellar aesthetics but with a warmer approach by intuitively weaving in historic textiles from shops like Sharktooth that “were not going to speak too loudly.” Sandeep emphasizes that these high-quality older finishes are meant to acknowledge the character of the space, which further supports their plan of peeling everything back and preserving the history. “We haven’t tried to introduce any new materials, it’s been a very light restoration,” she notes. “We just wanted to get it back to how it looked originally and to be really clear about restoring it in that way.”

Another fun detail that shouldn’t be overlooked is the framed business cards, which feature businesses like Claes Oldenburg’s The Store (a 1961 retail theater and installation that existed on East 2nd Street), as well as the late Sara Penn’s iconic Knobkerry gallery and shop on East 7th Street. “The attitude that she brought to her work is a constant reminder of how to do things well,” adds Sandeep. Salter House’s sold-out Not Too Much plate hangs on the wall above a sink from WatermarkFixtures that was custom-painted by the artist Laura Chautin.

Above a clothing rack, a framed quote from a Ben Kinmont book reads “Sometimes a nicer sculpture is to be able to provide a living for your family.” Sandeep emphasizes that this really sets the tone for their entire approach to running the family business.

While the intimate space needed a lot of love on the inside, there are several places that were intentionally left with bare plaster and naked brick so the layers would be visible. “Everything else was about cleaning it up and making sure that we also left some materials a bit raw so that you could see the space,” Sandeep explains. “We acknowledged that we’d put something into the space, and leaving it a little bit unfinished and visible was important to our way of approaching the space. We’re not trying to cover it up, we just want to give it some attention.”

Laura Chautin, a friend of the family, hand-painted a porcelain sink in the back corner of the store with a countryside landscape. “It’s really a reference to our life outside of the city, in the country as well, which is where Laura and I kind of first became friends,” says Sandeep. The couple also designed a central table that integrates Gothic antique decorative cast-iron fence toppers, which Carson describes as “wonderfully dark.” But it’s the bows that will likely stand out, from the silky blue bows painted on the walls to the bow-tied curtains in the fitting room and the brass bows that Sandeep has been collecting for years, like the one on the top of the door frame at the entrance.

“There’s something quite magical about that shift in material and the way that it translates from one material to the next,” she says. “I love bows. I love the shape of them, it’s something that I draw a lot and just seems to come out. It’s iconically feminine, but also utilitarian.… I’m down for wherever bows want to take me.”

“I have so many different types of bow drawings and so many different applications. We have the [Salter House] bow, we have this little bow that’s on the ceramics, and then we have another bow that we’re about to do on some shoes,” says Sandeep. “It’s a form that is familiar to everybody and that has been used as a decorative motif forever, for centuries. I think designers are constantly reiterating on that and always have. It’s funny, waves of bow-ness. Right now, we’re going through a wave of big bows. Where is the bow going to take us next?”

Sandeep sits in front of a collage of sketches and other sources of inspiration that decorate the white brick wall.

Meanwhile, the green exterior is meant to match the apartments next door while also nodding to the neighborhood’s community gardens. (They also planted English ivy on the patio with hopes that the vines will grow.) “This is what the building uses, and we wanted [Salter House] to feel that it really belonged, and for the whole façade of the building, the record store, the door to the apartments, and for our space to feel cohesive,” explains Sandeep. “It’s really important to us that this space was not radically changed, that it really stayed itself and felt like it had always been. I feel like we’ve achieved that and been respectful to the space that has always been like this, and tried to uncover some things that were maybe lost over the years.”

A brass inlay of the Salter House icon, which was adapted from an illustration alongside the W.B. Yeats poem “The Lover Tells of the Rose in His Heart,” is cemented at the doorstep like a landmark. (Carson and Sandeep got the idea from the leftover brass pieces on the façade that had to be taken down during construction—rest assured that this detail was replaced with a big brass bow.) A tribute to the women behind Cuala Press, the publishing press run by sisters Elizabeth and Lily Yeats during the early 1900s, the interactive centerpiece adds a delicate touch to the entry. “Their studio was severely underrecognized because it was run by females, and has always been a source of inspiration,” Sandeep adds.

Sandeep and Carson Salter pose for a portrait in the front doorway. “It has been great to be back here, to reconnect with the other local shop owners, the community gardens, galleries and the general wildness. It’s good to be back,” he says.

“It’s very unique and special and has a delicate touch,” Sandeep says about the brass inlay of the Salter House logo icon. “She kind of brings it home.”

Located at 34 East 2nd Street, Salter House joins a line of established local businesses that are independently owned and operated, such as Pageant Prints, John Derian, Il Buco, and the Cookbook Shop. (There are a few pieces on display from some of these stores mixed in with the decor.) “I’m excited about being in the city and having access to everything, and for people to be able to find us,” Sandeep says. “We’ve got such a wonderful community in Brooklyn Heights, but I wanted to make sure that we also had a little spot in the city that was central enough that people could really stumble upon it in a way that they don’t over in Brooklyn Heights.… It’s a different scene over here, and it’s so nice to be part of that.”

By Zoë Sessums

By Sara Barragán del Rey

By Audrey Lee

Salter House’s new location will primarily function as an atelier and more of a studio footprint for the brand, especially now that Sandeep is closer to the Garment District, for production with their network of manufacturers, workers, and artists. “We spend our time thinking about different types of production—from distributed domestic-scale handcraft to specialized ateliers and local factories—to understand where the craft and design work is best done,” Carson explains. “We are looking at the old networked cottage industries, or communally-minded manufacturers like the Oneida Community, the Shakers, or Wiener Werkstätte (if only we can avoid founding a cult). They spring from a specific place or group, develop an identifiable style, and—as a result—are at a scale that tends to be more sensitive to collective and environmental sustainability.”

A wider shot of the store.

Similar to Carson and Sandeep’s real life at home, their family business will continue to focus on the “small things,” which they define as “doing good work, building on personal connections, creating good spaces, and exploring new decorative and wearable products.” While larger companies that dominate the home-ware market are forced to strategize around “global impact, target demographics, and shifting macro trends,” Salter House is more concerned about making a small impact within their creative community. “From our work, we do hope to create conversations about more sustainable lifestyles and alternative perspectives on domestic objects and culture,” adds Carson.

As for Salter House’s cottagecore affiliations, Sandeep is ready for people to “stop pigeonholing natural materials” as a strictly country aesthetic. Even though she does think it’s “morphing into something a little bit more elegant,” she believes the micro-trend is finally past its prime. “You can live in the city and have a completely contemporary lifestyle but also embrace natural materials and comfortable clothes, or be referencing historic motifs and aesthetics,” Sandeep argues. “I’m happy that cottagecore as a label has become so mainstream that it’s not an important reference anymore because it’s so token, but I will always defer to the aesthetics of natural homesteading and these sort of eco-conscious lifestyles. So I think in that way, Salter House will always have one foot in the countryside.”