Home Décor Store HŌM Opens in Remodeled Historic Site

Envisioning a shopping space where customers could feel at home, Danielle Desimone celebrated the grand opening of her home décor and interior store HŌM in late April—a process that was 10 years in the making.  

With more than 20 years of retail experience, Desimone explained that she learned about what made each company successful, taking a piece from each of her experiences and melding it together when she created HŌM.

“It’s a home and interior store, but it’s laid out like a traditional home, so it has a full kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and bathroom,” Desimone explained. “All shoppable areas of the home, so whether you need towels for your kitchen, snacks for entertaining, a gift, sheets for your bed or skincare products, perfume, anything from any room of your house, is shoppable.” 

HŌM celebrated its grand opening on Del Prado Avenue during the bi-annual REDO Vintage and Maker’s Market on Sunday, April 30.

“I was so overwhelmed with the turnout,” Desimone said. “I was overwhelmed with gratitude. The amount of people that showed up. They’re like, ‘We’ve been watching you build for a year. We’ve been so excited. Dana Point needs this.’ ”

Desimone worked with REDO Market founder Randy Hild to coordinate the new business launch with Sunday’s market. 

For future events, Desimone noted that REDO might plan a private event in the store. 

“Since I had all my grand opening stuff, he was like, ‘Let’s push this to the next REDO,’ ” Desimone said, adding: “That’s something that speaks to Dana Point. I feel like everyone that has a business in Dana Point, they want to see everyone grow, and REDO, they’re so supportive.”

Living in Dana Point until July 2020, Desimone said she loved walking down Del Prado and dreamed of opening a shop in the former District Salon space next to Jack’s Restaurant.

“When I got the green light with the investors, I was walking around looking at spaces, and I saw, what was the District Salon, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this would be perfect,’ ” Desimone said.

“I literally walked over to the new District Salon, and I asked for the landlord’s information for the old building, and the owner was like, ‘Oh, well, we moved, because that’s being torn down, so it’s not available,’ ” Desimone continued. 

The building was the site of the former Dana Point Hotel, set to be demolished for a mixed-use development with 68 residential units and more than 10,000 square feet of commercial space and underground parking. 

However, when father and son duo Marvin and Eric Winkler took over the project, they decided to largely keep the facade of the 75-year-old building the same.

“After a year of looking and never thinking I could get that space, I ended up getting the exact space that I wanted,” Desimone said. 

“I’m so grateful because the Winklers are so amazing to work with, and I’m so excited to see everything that’s happening with the back of the building, all that renovation and rentals and Jack’s renovating,” Desimone continued. “I think that they’re so committed to bringing young life back into Dana Point, and I am so grateful that I am part of that team.”

Desimone noted that many of the businesses opening on Del Prado are locally owned.

“It’s cool to be a part of such a growth,” Desimone said. “I’ve been saying for years that retail is going back local, malls are going to be dead, and everyone just wants to shop in their local area.”

Over the past six years, Desimone noticed a change in retail trends in which “it was more about convenience rather than quality,” she said. 

“I hated it. I hated that you never knew what you were getting, and no one could ever speak to the product or background,” Desimone said. “I wanted to have a store where people can trust in anything that they were buying, and I was able to speak to it, and not just like, ‘Oh, well, it was pretty, so I tried it.’ ” 

Desimone added that whenever her friends ask for recommendations, she always has “the best” product to offer, because she has likely tried a dozen different products to find the best one.

“I wanted to take that mentality and curate it into a store,” Desimone said. 

After working in retail for more than 20 years, Desimone said she wanted to make a change to the shopping experience. 

“I am an entertainer at heart; jokingly, my house was called Hotel Desimone growing up, because we would always have people over, I was always cooking, always entertaining,” Desimone said. 

“Retail became so cold, and it wasn’t a personal experience anymore, and I think that shopping is personal and it’s a tactile experience,” Desimone continued. “You can only get so much from online. But to be able to see, touch, smell the product, it gives us a lot more comfortability with what they’re buying.”

Hoping to support the local business community with her new retail concept, Desimone added that she’s a “firm believer that a rising tide lifts all ships.”

“The majority of the products I have in store are all local,” Desimone said.

Whether it’s carrying products from a San Clemente-based photographer or towel company, or an abstract artist Desimone has known since kindergarten, HŌM aims to support local businesses and small vendors.

“So, in purchasing at HŌM, you’re still keeping all of your shopping local, and that’s what I’m an advocate for,” Desimone said. 

HŌM also features a working kitchen, which Desimone plans to use for private events, dinners and cooking classes. 

“I want to make HŌM a staple for everyone,” Desimone said. “I want to be a source for designers, I want to be a source for people, for shoppers or anyone who can use the space to grow. I want to grow together.”

The products speak for themselves, Desimone said, adding that she hopes customers take away a sense of trust with HŌM.

“Story and experience are what sell in retail, and that’s what makes you comfortable and makes you loyal,” Desimone said. “Product speaks for itself; it sells itself.”

Desimone added that she would like customers to take away “the fact that they can trust whatever is at HŌM, and it’s not a gimmick, and it’s not anything that is just trying to be pushed down your throat. If it’s there, trust that it’s worthwhile.”