Catalog Scout: A sofa from Anthropologie? Yes, please

I try to highlight mostly local shops in this section, but there’s one national retailer, Anthropologie, that has a magnetic pull when I gather items for photo shoots. Its small selection of globally sourced, household items has always had a colorful, bohemian feel like you’d find in a Paris flea market.

Anthropologie is known mostly for its clothing. That’s changing, though, with its expanded decor line and new catalog. Its list of categories now includes furniture, bed linens, dinnerware, one-of-a-kind art, outdoor and garden decor, hardware and storage.

Even though my tastes run toward the eclectic at times, some of its new merchandise — including tree-limb chandeliers covered with bushy faux greenery and high-priced macrame wall hangings — seem too esoteric.

Nevertheless, every category has something that will add a touch of whimsy and hipness to many an abode.

For example: the white stoneware Gum Blossom finials ($28 a pair) and the iron and leather Equestrian Handles ($18-$22); the Dhurrie sofa, ($1,998) with cotton wool upholstery, a distressed mango wood frame and webbed seat construction; one-of-a-kind cotton, over-dyed Kantha throws ($98); and Old Havana dinnerware ($12-$18), which comes in three colors, though the moss is the most interesting.

This story was originally published September 26, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Catalog Scout: A sofa from Anthropologie? Yes, please."