ABOUT RELIC HOME
Relic Home was founded on the idea that a home is most welcoming and comfortable when its furnishings are collected over time.
“I love antique rugs because they are stunning works of handmade art ---even as intricate as they are, they are also incredibly durable. People often say, ‘I have kids or pets or a high-traffic living room, I can’t have a nice rug.’ But that’s exactly the reason you need one. Antique rugs, even worn ones, hide a multitude of dirt, clean up easily and they last longer and look better because they are so well-made. High quality rugs make a room feel warm and grounded, they add so much character and they feel great under your feet.” – Alyssa Spyridon
ABOUT ALYSSA
It’s no surprise that Alyssa Spyridon ended up working in interiors.The longtime Nashvillian grew up in Fairhope, Alabama, in a series of historic houses that were
always changing. Her designer mother was as passionate about renovation as she was collecting
the antiques that she mixed with modern finds to decorate their homes.
“My mom’s passion for interiors definitely rubbed off on me,” says Alyssa, who worked at her
mother’s Southeast Asia imports store when she was a teenager before trying her own hand at
decorating. “I furnished my first college apartment with items I found at resale stores and
antique malls. That was my entry into the thrill of the hunt.”
Putting her childhood exposure to quality antiques to good use, Alyssa started buying and
flipping secondhand décor when she was in her twenties. She put the money she made on sales
toward furnishing her own East Nashville homes, including Eastwood Manor, the name she gave
the historic 1867 clapboard home she’s lived in since 2014 with Goldy and their 5 pups.
Excited for Alyssa to have her own historic home to decorate, her mom donated four antique
rugs to the mix. When a visitor asked to buy the gorgeous number covering the
hardwood floors in her foyer, Alyssa said yes. While searching for a replacement, she fell down
“the rug rabbit hole.”
“I became obsessed. My mind was blown by all of the different styles,” Alyssa says. “I was
posting my finds on social media, and my friends and followers were interested in what I was
finding. I quickly realized that there was a market for it.”
In 2015, she founded Relic Home. Alyssa quickly learned to source vintage and antique rugs
internationally, with most imported from Northern Africa and the Middle East. “Buying is how I
honed my eye,” she says. “A lot of mistakes were made along the way and a lot of rug books
were referenced.”
Despite any perceived hiccups, Relic Home flourished. Alyssa developed strong relationships
with rug dealers and pickers around the world. As her expertise grew, so did her renown. Today,
her stylish clientele extend far beyond Nashville: Relic Home wares, which are sold on its namesake website and in their brick and mortar location, ship to customers coast to coast. The publishing world took notice: Relic Home’s rugs have appeared in
Lonny, InStyle, Country Living and Cherry Bombe.
In 2019, the brand expanded its offerings, as Alyssa began having her own rug designs produced
in India. A passionate collaborator, she also asked creative friends to create their own designs;
so far, she’s produced limited edition projects with artist and musician Alison Mosshart and
Jessica Cheatham of Salt Ceramics.
Alyssa believes strongly in quality over quantity. “I feel strongly about the quality of
hand-knotted wool rugs,” she says. “People should be investing in them over synthetic ones
that won’t clean well, won’t get passed down for generations, will never degrade and get tossed
into landfills. Fine rugs are works of art that live underneath our feet. Does it get better than
that?”