When interior designer Shaina Morse left Los Angeles for Upper Red Hook last summer, she didn’t just bring her family and belongings — she brought a vision.
Nestled at the corner of Bulls Head Road and Route 82 in Stanfordville, Butter, Morse’s new home goods store and first retail endeavor, opened its doors on Dec. 14. The boutique, housed in a historic building, is a tangible extension of her design philosophy.
“This store is a culmination of all the things I love and products I use,” Morse said. “I’ve always enjoyed creating spaces that are inviting and tactile — nothing too precious.”
A graduate of San Diego State University, where she studied interior design, Morse honed her skills working for several prominent designers in Los Angeles, including Peter Dunham, Waldo Fernandez and Kristen Panitch. She spent years honing her craft, working on projects that shaped the eclectic, cozy aesthetic she brings to her designs today.
Morse’s husband, Long Island native Matthew Malone, also shares a creative pedigree. An industrial designer with a focus on product design, he runs his own company, Fades to Nothing, and has worked on everything from lighting and furniture to beauty product packaging. The couple often collaborates, with Malone contributing to Butter’s branding and even constructing display shelves for the store.
Having spent most of her life in Los Angeles and San Diego, Morse sometimes felt out of place. “In a weird way, I did never feel like I fit in,” she said. The city’s interior design market, she added, felt overly saturated. Ultimately, she came to a realization: “I’m not really a city girl.” Drawn to nature and the quiet, she convinced her husband to move back East. “And so, yeah, here we are.”
It was during one of her first routines as a new resident — dropping off her 16-month-old son at a nearby daycare — that she stumbled upon the space on Route 82. Formerly home to the wine store Le Caviste, the building sparked an idea. “I came across this building, and things just kind of unfolded,” she said. “I poured my savings into this. It’s scary, but I feel like this space has so much potential.”
Morse’s aesthetic blends vintage charm with contemporary sensibilities. Butter’s carefully curated inventory includes textiles, handcrafted rugs from a family-run business in Los Angeles and home goods — candles, soaps, and bath salts — sourced from independent artisans working across the Hudson Valley. Morse, who scours antique shops and thrift stores, also incorporates pieces she’s collected over the years.
“It’s about breathing new life into things,” she explained. “I try to support small artists and bring in items that tell a story.”
The store’s name is a nod to Morse’s nickname among friends. Better known as Butter, the moniker evolved from her given name, Shaina. “People used to call me Shea, then Shea Butter, and eventually just Butter,” she said. “So it felt like a natural choice to name the store butter. Butter makes everything better.”
Butter operates on weekends for now, a schedule that allows Morse to balance her time between running the store and caring for her young son. She hopes to eventually expand her hours and hire staff.
Though Morse still takes on occasional interior design projects, Butter has become her primary work focus. And while the rural corner of Route 82 sees far less traffic than Sunset Boulevard, it has brought Morse something unexpected: a deeply welcoming community. “It’s far exceeded my expectations.” she said. “It’s been really lovely —especially for me, starting fresh here where I don’t have many friends yet. It’s been eye-opening and makes me feel like we made the right decision.”
Credit: Patrick Grego