SummerStory

SummerStory is the home furnishings and decor shop at the center of Alys Beach’s Town Center, a locally owned store built for visitors and homeowners who want their space on 30A to look as considered as the town itself. The shop stocks furniture, lighting, textiles, and lifestyle accessories, and pairs that inventory with interior design services for anyone furnishing a beach house rather than just decorating one room.

The range inside is broader than the name might suggest. Furniture spans seating, storage, tables, and outdoor pieces built for coastal living, while the lighting and textiles sections cover pillows, throws, and linens meant to soften a room without weighing it down. The home decor side goes deep into the smaller details that finish a space: art, mirrors, baskets, books, tabletop pieces, and kitchen and cookware items that work as well in a full-time residence as in a weekly rental. An apothecary corner rounds things out with candles, bath products, and laundry goods, alongside gifts and paper goods for anyone who needs a hostess present on the way to a dinner party. Fresh flowers sourced from local and national growers are also part of the mix, giving the shop a rotating, seasonal feel that a purely furniture-focused store would not have.

The overall aesthetic leans bohemian and beach-inspired, built around the idea, spelled out in the shop’s own tagline, that every summer has a story worth decorating around. That sensibility carries through to the interior design services offered alongside retail, which give homeowners in and around Alys Beach a way to work with the shop’s eye for coastal, textured, layered spaces rather than starting from scratch on their own. It is a natural fit for a town where the architecture already leans toward white stucco simplicity outside and warm, textured interiors inside, and SummerStory’s product mix reflects that same balance between clean lines and lived-in comfort.

SummerStory keeps hours slightly different from some of its Town Center neighbors: Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday from noon to 5 PM, so it is worth checking the clock before a Sunday evening stop. The shop is located at 69 North Somerset Street, Suite R101, in the same short stretch of retail as Parasol and Holiday Shop, making it easy to combine a design-focused browse with the rest of a walk through Alys Beach’s shops. Call 850-909-0406 to ask about interior design services or to check on a specific furniture piece, since larger items are not always kept in-store inventory.

For visitors furnishing a rental property, second home, or full-time residence anywhere along 30A, SummerStory offers something most beach-town gift shops do not: a genuine design resource, not just a place to pick up a candle on the way out of town. Even for guests with no furniture on the agenda, the shop is worth a walk-through for the smaller decor pieces and gifts, which travel home a good deal easier than a sofa.

The shop’s spot in Alys Beach’s Town Center also makes it an easy add-on to a day that otherwise revolves around the beach. Because the storefronts here sit close together along walkable, cobblestone-edged streets, a stop at SummerStory pairs naturally with browsing at the boutiques nearby or grabbing lunch at one of the courtyard restaurants before heading back to the sand. Homeowners working on a renovation or a full furnishing project often treat the shop as a starting point, gathering ideas from the floor displays before scheduling time with the design team to talk through a room or an entire house. Visitors just passing through for the week are more likely to leave with something smaller: a candle, a set of linens, or a piece of tabletop decor that carries a bit of Alys Beach’s coastal, unhurried style back to wherever they call home.