Home Store Showcases Functional Art

Taylor McKenzie Covert has really made a little house a Home in Historic Norcross. 

She said her lifelong dream was to open a retail store that showcases artistic items that people can use everyday—and she’s made the dream a reality at the historic house at 138 Holcomb Bridge Rd, formerly 138 Cemetery St.

The shop, called Home, features “practical pieces that should be adored,” hand-selected by McKenzie Covert from up-and-coming artists around the country. 

McKenzie Covert already opened the doors to new home décor shop on Dec. 10, 2011—with a surprising amount of foot traffic so far, she says—and she’ll host a grand opening celebration on Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. that includes guests Jeh Vinson and Ethan Sawyer of Sawyer Vinson Art Build, furniture artists from Alabama who she’s selected to provide furniture pieces for the shop.

The owner says that, in this economic climate, people should be spending their dollars on things that are original and beautiful—as well as functional. The pottery is oven safe; the gorgeous fabrics are machine washable. 

Taylor McKenzie has worked in retail since she was in high school and has always surrounded herself with artistic types. She moved to the Atlanta area about four years ago because her husband, an electrician, got a job here.  Having grown up in the historic part of Montgomery, Norcross called out to the young family when they decided to put down roots.

She said she always drove past the little cottage on Cemetery Street—now Holcomb Bridge Road—then one day she saw it was for rent. “I saw it and said, ‘Now this is fate,’” said Taylor McKenzie.  She has a 7-month-old and other children who come to work with her, set up in their own little play pin. She even has a kitchen in the old house where she can even cook her family lunch.

The transition to business owner was not the least bit difficult, she says, just a natural answer to how she could spend time with her kids and also pursue her creative passion. “Everything fell into place—I never wanted to be in the corporate world,” said Taylor McKenzie.

Local historian and Patch contributor Sally Toole will start her strolls, History Walks of Norcross, from the stoop of the historic bungalow, which is next door to the .