'Shading' Light on Your Home

It's going on nearly two years since Bonnie Engelson and her husband Marc opened a Greenwich outpost of Just Shades.

The success of the business, and the desire of local residents and interior designers to decorate with colorful, whimiscal and all shades de rigeur, prompted the couple to find a more permanent location in Greenwich.

Last spring, the couple moved Just Shades into a storefront at 154 Prospect St., conveniently located at the railroad bridge, near the Field Point Road on-ramp of I-95.

The couple have owned Just Shades for eight years. "Marc was the manager for about six years before we bought the store" in SoHo in New York City, Bonnie says. The SoHo store has been in existence for more than 40 years.

"We had been thinking of expanding, and we have had so many designers tell us Greenwich would be a great place for our store, so we decided to check it out," Bonnie said. "We rented space for the first year and got our bearings. This past April (2013) we moved into our beautiful new space."

She added, "Things have been great since our move. Every day more and more people are finding us and everyone has been very welcoming."

According to Bonnie, "We have the largest selection of ready made lampshades in the North East. We feature an extensive selection of modern and traditional shades in a variety of styles, sizes and fabrics. We also can recover, reline or make a brand new custom shade." She estimates they have more than 6,000 shades in stock.

She adds, "We work with the trade, including designers, set designers and architects, and photographers. Our shades have been featured in many movies, Broadway shows, and TV shows."

When asked which movies and shows, Bonnie replied, "Our shades have been in the Sex and the City movies, Shutter Island, and in the Spiderman movie. We have been in many TV shows including the new Michael J. Fox show, Boardwalk Empire, and The Good Wife, to name a few."

And last fall, Just Shades expanded its offerings.

"In our Greenwich location we are now selling new and vintage lamps," Bonnie said.

The Prospect Street shop is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Telephone: 203-681-2757 or info@justshadesny.com. And if you happen to be in SoHo: 21 Spring St.; 212-966-2757.