Fifty-Two Weekends: Shopping
Time Out
Bargains and beaches await in the Watch Hill section of Westerly, Rhode Island, from Labor Day until mid-October, when many places shut down for the winter. The historic Ocean House Hotel is closed for renovations, so accommodations are limited; best is the Watch Hill Inn (401-348-6300, www.watchhillinn.com, from $125). But the crowds at softsand beaches and end-of-sea-son-sales are smaller, too, so look for designer bikinis, sandals, and beach-house decor like candlesticks covered in shells. Other attractions include the Flying Horse Carousel (open weekends only from Labor Day to Columbus Day, then closed until spring) and the Olympia Tea Room (401-348-8211, www.olympiatearoom.com, from $60 for two). Have the clams and sausage.
Connecticut Secret
Whether your TV habits tend toward Design on a Dime or Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the shops, galleries, and flea market of Woodbury, Connecticut, cover the bases. The town is famous for its Colonial architecture, and its 30-plus antiques dealers make it a popular stop for tourists. But shop with the locals instead. After perusing Provencal tables and Quebecois cupboards selling for full price, go hunting for a deal at Woodbury Antiques & Flea Market (203-263-2841, woodburyfleamarket.com), open Saturdays from mid-March to mid-December. Get in the mood by staying in the antiques-filled Curtis House Inn (203-263-2101, from $79), built in 1754. - Patricia Harris and David Lyon
3 Day Getaway: Designs on Canada
Toronto feels like home even to people who have never been here. Maybe it's the eclectic architecture, ranging from soaring gold-glass skyscrapers to leaf-and-brick Victorian neighborhoods with names like Cabbagetown. Maybe it's the ethnic diversity of the city, which makes all visitors feel very much at home. Or maybe it's the movies: So many have been filmed here, thanks in large part to Toronto's ability to resemble nearly anyplace on Earth, that the city feels eerily familiar.
But the news in Toronto is in furniture design. A weekend of wandering both established and emerging studios and shops reveals a design city poised to rival New York, Milan, or Cologne, Germany - but with friendly Canadian prices.
The newest area is the Distillery District, which opened in 2003 in the shell of a Victorian industrial complex on Mill Street. The area was reborn as an inviting pedestrian-only village, filled with shops selling art, new furniture, and antiques. Fluid Living (416-850-4266, fluidliving.com) sells the work of several designers, including modern minimalist Roy Banse, who is also the store's owner. His cubes of sandblasted-glass made into floor lamps sell for about $750, and his stainless-steel-topped hardwood desk/dining table combo costs about $2,100.
The Queen Street West neighborhood was settled two decades ago by bohos in search of cheap rents. It has evolved into another pedestrian-friendly design district. Stylegarage (416-534-4343, stylegarage.com) designs and sells sleek seating, tables, beds, and shelves - note the deconstructed, wall-mounted "fruit stand" (about $150) - but will also build custom items in stainless steel, leather, and fir. Du Verre (416-593-4784) sells furnishings that are an antidote for too much gleaming modernism: handcrafted chairs, tables, and armoires imported from India, Indonesia, and China. Wouldn't a vintage noodle cabinet (about $760) look good next to your Barcelona chair?
Stay at the Drake Hotel Toronto, also on Queen Street West (416-531-5042, thedrakehotel.ca, from about $135). You might meet one of the designers at its hopping restaurant and bar scene downstairs. Sample the abundance of culinary Canada - like Nunavut caribou loin - at Canoe (416-364-0054, from about $185 for two), on the 54th floor of a downtown skyscraper. Supermarket Restaurant (416-840-0501, from about $70 for two) in the Kensington Market neighborhood offers a large menu of small Asian-fusion plates. Later on, the place turns into a nightclub. - Wayne Curtis
Southern Style
Year after year, Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, turns out graduates who just can't stand to leave their beautiful city of trees and squares. Instead, they stay and set up shop selling their jewelry, furniture, and artwork. Explore the best of it on foot in the Starland Design District, where you can also get a glorious cupcake at Back in the Day Bakery (912-495-9292, backinthedaybakery.com). A new hotel nearby, Mansion on Forsyth Park (888-711-5114, mansiononforsythpark.com, from $289), also houses a gallery with local artists' work. The restaurant is in the oldest part of the building, the original mansion, now restored and a national landmark.
Plain Dealers
Who cares if it's freezing outside in Bloomington, Minnesota, when you have 50 restaurants, 14 movie theaters, a walk-through aquarium, and even a Snoopy-themed amusement park under one roof at the Mall of America? Then, of course, there are the 520 shops, from department stores to boutiques, plus a new IKEA across the street. A rail line now links the mall directly to the airport and to downtown Minneapolis, and there are 33 hotels in town with free shuttle service. You'll want to book a discounted hotel package (including tickets to the aquarium, say, and coupons for the mall) through the Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau (877-543-1089, bloomingtonmn.org, from $80). Prices are lowest - for travel and post-holiday shopping - after the New Year. - Larry Olmsted
Better than the Basement
A December weekend in Manhattan means the obligatory tour of dressed-up department-store windows along Fifth Avenue and a stop on far West 14th Street - the Meatpacking District - to see the temples there to designers Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and Carlos Miele. Then the real shopping can begin. Head all the way downtown, beside the World Trade Center site, to Century 21 (212-227-9092). The place is a high-design
Raising the Browse
Wickford Village, an hour south of Boston, is Rhode Island without the bustle of Providence or the hassle of Newport: a place where you can unwind, browse in a pretty seaside village, and leave with some one-of-a-kind gifts. The annual Wickford Art Festival (wickfordart.org, July 8 and 9, 2006) shows and sells work by hundreds of painters, printmakers, and photographers. Shops there are busy through the fall, though, including J.W. Graham Co. for handmade crafts. The Haddie Pierce House (866-448-9949, haddiepierce.com, from $100) is a B & B to rival any of the Berkshires' best. There are plenty of waterfront restaurants, but don't pass Bay Leaves (401-667-7225, from $60 for two), a new Mediterranean place on Post Road where the mezes taste straight out of Turkey, Greece, and Armenia.
Unless otherwise noted, room rates listed are for two people staying one night in a hotel's least expensive room with a private bath. Some inns require two-night stays on weekends. All prices are in US dollars. 