Rue Magazine

“We visit the place that until a few months ago was the home of interior designer Heather Garrett. An apartment in an old building owned by the tobacco industry which the designer turned into a loft that radiates warmth and femininity. It is the result of a magnificent work of reinvention.

This building, considered historic according to the National Registry for Historic Places, used to work as a tobacco drying facility in Durham (United States of America) for brands as emblematic as Lucky Strike, until interior designer Heather Garrett gave it a second chance, turning it into a chic loft.

Nowadays the designer no longer lives in this wonderful home, but the result of her work keeps shining inside its four walls, making it very attractive for the new owners as well.

The loft worked as a residence for Garrett for some time, but also like an ”exhibition hall” or showroom in which she used to show her work along with some of her artist friends.

The illumination project, as well as the disposition of the spaces, or the choice of the furnishing had a clear objective: achieving a sole warm and cozy environment, and functional at the same time, in which both a personal and professional lives could be developed.

Heather Garrett arranged the bedroom in an independent space, the old attic in the building, so the room could grant more privacy. It is a small room free of large windows or high ceilings, as is the case in the rest of the house, so the designer had to use all her talent to make the most of it and get as much brightness as possible.

The final result could not be better, as she managed to recreate a feminine and cute atmosphere, making it very bohemian and chic.”

G. Costa
Translation by Laura Noguera

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With design evoking a southern gothic, country noir feel, designer Heather Garrett, and her husband, Rhys Botica, opened the downtown Durham Main Street Bar, Whiskey.  The North Carolina private club has a 1930’s style to it, a 27-foot, narrow wooden bar. Botica, the sole proprietor, started the bar with the intention to offer the largest selection of whiskeys in the state, and now has the largest selection in the South, at over 400 labels.  Botica and Garrett used antique gymnasium doors for wall panels and the 100-yr old building has its original tin ceiling and oak flooring. Live jazz is played on Thursday and Saturday nights.  The custom cocktail list is a research project on Pre-Prohibition Era Cocktails and they are served in vintage glasses. There is a second floor lounge, with its own private entrance, boasting another Art Deco bar, private humidors for its members to store their high-end cigars, antique rugs, and a small library.

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