Market Imports: A Home & Garden Destination in Raleigh

Last weekend we made a family trip up to the Raleigh-Durham area. My primary purpose for our visit to the Research Triangle was to research the local shopping. We also enjoyed some delicious dining, and visited the science museum in Durham, which James LOVED. Mainly I was excited to see the creative works by artists at the Downtown Designers Market on Saturday, and check out the local art and design scene in Raleigh. As many of these trips go, my husband was kind enough to play chauffeur and babysitter while I ducked in and out of shops. After many such uninspiring stops for my two patient guys, it was a great relief that Market Imports, our last shopping destination of the trip, ended up being fun for everyone.

The Market Imports entrance

Market Imports is a home and garden center located adjacent to the state farmers’ market just outside of Raleigh. Being more interiors-focused, I don’t usually get too excited about garden centers. My husband is the gardener in our family, and beyond picking out pots and flower colors I’m utterly useless in the garden. But as we entered Market Imports, we immediately started oohing and ahhing over the dramatic stone fountains. Pots, planters and garden accessories of all shapes and sizes fanned out from the central building in neat rows, as far as the eye could see.

A garden fountain has been on our wish list for many years. Will we find just the thing here?

I left my husband and son to ponder the fountains while I went off to explore the main building. Inside, I found a fascinating mix of new and vintage imports from all over the world. There were weathered wood tables and framed mirrors, chippy tea kettles, colorful ceramic lanterns, vintage-style reproduction signage and more. According to their website, Market Imports buyers travel to England, France, Belgium, China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico to hand-select the inventory. Here are a few things I found inside the store:

A colorful mix of accessories greets you as you enter Market Imports.

I like the warm, rustic style of this Chinese and Indonesian furniture.

I keep finding these vintage Hungarian baby bathtubs wherever I go! This would be so fun filled with ice and chilled beverages for your next garden party.

How great are these old doors?!

As I wandered back outside, I passed rows and rows of planters, benches, stepping stones and every garden thingie you can imagine:

Cheerful birdhouses of every architectural style swing from the rafters.

A rainbow of pots to brighten your porch or patio.

When I re-joined my family, James was happily expending boundless energy skipping around the patio. My husband was in gardening heaven. “How did you ever find this place? It’s awesome! How much can we spend here?” I think were his exact words. But an urgent family discussion was in order: would we give one of these beautiful fountains a forever home?

Oh fountains, which of you is coming home with us?

Cost and transportation constraints played into our decision. But we just loved these stacked stone fountains, which mimic the style of the stacked stone walls in our garden. The smallest of the group, at about 30 inches tall, was just right. Here it is in our garden:

Our new fountain! Which also seems to function as a birdbath and watering trough for the local cats.

Market Imports is open every day 9am-5pm. For more information, visit their website here.

Stay tuned: in the coming weeks I’ll share more of my design discoveries from our visit to Raleigh-Durham.