One of the first furniture shops to bring a more contemporary style to this history-loving city, 24e is a beacon of the hip-boutique movement. It probably offers important options to locals who crave a Knollesque aesthetic, but out-of-towners may find it less appealing than some of the other one-of-a-kind design shops.

Liz Demos is a SCAD grad who fell in love with Savannah and decided to open a “creative laboratory” in town. In her general store with a vintage sensibility, she gives the old-fashioned comfort goods she loves such a sophisticated flair that she has developed a successful side career as a photo stylist for national decor magazines. The shop is crammed with vintage-inspired items like floral-printed quilts, quaint stationery and pharmacy flasks.

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This delightful antiques and interiors store mixes vintage pieces with new designs to stylish effect. Owner Phillip Hunter has a well-trained eye for good design and an appreciation for the Savannah pace of life that is evidenced in how comfortable he makes his visitors feel about lingering. Glass lamps, wire chandeliers, artistic vases and carved-bone creatures add an at-home atmosphere to the furniture displays. On the second floor are more small rooms filled with tables, mirrors, chests and fabric samples.

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A lamp lover’s paradise, Circa Lighting, next to One Fish Two Fish, features hundreds of base and shade shapes and sizes, from modern to traditional.

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No. 411 carries carpets by Madeline Weinrib, linens by John Robshaw and Matouk and Bunny Williams’s new Bee Line furniture collection. All linens can be monogrammed onsite, so it’s no surprise that this has become a go-to source for house, baby and wedding presents. The window and room displays are so inviting you may just want to purchase one, books, lamps and all.

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This lovely store stocks housewares, furniture (mainly new but some vintage), linens, books, pajamas, pillows and jewelry divided among appropriately themed rooms: a mini-library and office lined with books, a bedroom with linens and throws and a living area seemingly plucked from a Ralph Lauren–designed beach house. Among the treasures displayed are Roberta Freymann quilts, Diptyque candles, Barbara Barry guest soaps, Dash & Albert rugs and creative fashion jewelry.

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The unifying theme of this magical emporium of old and new treasures may be nothing more than what the name implies: a love of Paris and flea markets. There’s a cabinet of curiosities that includes starfish, blowfish and butterflies, a table piled with beautifully packaged soaps and another groaning under stacks of great coffee-table books. In one corner stands case of candy jars, in another displays of whimsical jewelry. The main floor has an old-fashioned zinc bar where customers can buy coffee or a cool drink, like water flavored with fresh watermelon and mint. Downstairs, a garden room displays hats, tools, vases, urns, lanterns; metal chairs hang from the ceiling. Another area is arranged like a dining room, with a massive country table, antlers on the wall and piles of white china. Other decorative delights: old leather rugby balls, antique suitcases, baskets and boccie balls.

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On the ground floor level of the original SCAD building, a former armory, this boutique sells arts and crafts made by SCAD students, professors and the university’s Working Class Studio—an eclectic collection of everything from whimsical patchwork dresses, handmade soaps, flamboyant pillows and knit fashions to one-of-a-kind beaded and gold jewelry and unusual baby gifts (a bib with a bar code). Paintings, photographs and prints that hang on the walls range from as little as $25 for a whimsical dog print to $4,000 for a mixed-media landscape. (It is also possible to visit the paintings building, where a regularly rotated selection of undergraduate and graduate works are available for purchase.) Twice a year SCAD hosts a studio-night open-house art fair that has become a regional cultural highlight, drawing people from Atlanta to view students’ works and visit their studios.