Rustic Rooster Interiors in Encinitas Defines Coastal Style

The "Rooster Chicks" are at it again!

Due to increased demand of their expertise in coastal inspired design, San Diego mother-and-daughter design team Sally and Alexandra von Gymnich have expanded their cottage chic Encinitas store, Rustic Rooster Interiors, to include both commercial and residential interior design projects.

Instead of forking over half your salary to buy a complete set of new furniture, now you can send your old furniture--including that horrible hand-me-down hutch, that clunky dining room table you got from your mother-in-law as a wedding gift, or even that atrocious sofa you got at a garage sale--over to Rustic Rooster Interiors for a speedy make-over. The von Gymnich girls will gladly incorporate their expertise in beach cottage design and give your drab furniture a "Hamptons chic" touch.

"We take in vintage furniture people are sick-and-tired of and turn their old stuff into something new and fun," Alexandra explains. "And since we don't have the space to store too many items, our service is the fastest and the least expensive in the area."

It's A Family Affair

Rustic Rooster Interiors has occupied a cheery, yellow cottage in the beachy town of Encinitas for over seven years. The "Rooster Chicks" now consists of four generations.

On a busy day, you may encounter both Sally and Alexandra running around the mini "compound" on which their shops, design room, workshop and storage room are located. Alexandra's 94-year-old grandmother is typically seated on her "throne" behind the cashier counter, while her now one-year-old daughter Taylor is often stomping around in the Chicken Coop, the company's new children's furniture boutique.

Other employees have also been incorporated into the family – Alexandra refers to John the painter as her "brother", while her ex-college roommate works as the store manager.

Extremely customer service-oriented, the von Gymnich girls truly aim to please. "We tend to get really involved and often create lasting relationships with our customers," Sally chuckles. "Sometimes after being on the phone with someone for an hour, they start to feel more like friends than just clients."

Comfy Cottage Décor

When asked why they love beach cottage design, mother and daughter chime in unison, "Because it's comfortable!"

Natives of Tuluca Lake, Sally and Alexandra both graduated from Southern California universities  with majors in interior design. Alexandra's love of combining vintage treasures with new finds helped her create the sought-after style that has made Rustic Rooster Interiors famous. She and her mother have become experts at blending versatile items to create a casual, yet pulled-together feel. For example, they might mix antique blue-and-white pottery, a Persian rug, sea grass and vintage woodworks.

After baby Taylor was born, Sally and Alexandra were determined to bring San Diego a boutique that would offer vintage children's furniture at reasonable prices. The Chicken Coop was hatched shortly thereafter.

The new children's boutique introduced their first custom line of real wood furniture, aptly named the "Taylor Collection", including desks, bookshelves, dressers and miniature Adirondack chairs. The Chicken Coop is proud to feature local designers who truly understand Rustic Rooster's signature beachy look. The boutique also has boasts many fun accessories, such as vintage-inspired sand pails, lunchboxes and hand-knit pillows.

"We really wanted to help give parents the options to carry through this great design aesthetic from the rest of their home into their children's rooms as well," says Alexandra.

"Vintage-inspired furniture and design look even better with age, and can easily transition from room to room. We are also seeing owners who want to invest in repurposed furniture as a means of easing the burden that logging has on the environment."

Roosters Everywhere!

Sally and Alexandra's talents in beach cottage design have accumulated quite a following. Rustic Rooster's clientele has expanded all the way to Hawaii and the Midwest, and the store may even go international in the future. Noting the high demand for their products in non-coastal areas, Sally exclaims, "We recently shipped off a box of beach shells to Texas!"