Home Rule

Went in with the intention of spending a bunch of money on quirky stuff for our new apartment. Left with an oven mitt and will probably return it… The lady working was awful and literally went out of her way to not help me and make me feel like a criminal. Was I slightly hungover and scuzzy? Maybe. But, as Pretty Woman has taught us all don’t judge a book by its cover. I’ll pay more and be treated like a human elsewhere.
Bottom line… cute stuff but dress DC tourist chic if ya want to feel like a consumer not a criminal.

This is one of my favorite stores to go to when I am looking for a fun gift. It’s small, but the items they have available are great quality and unique.

I love a good kitchen store. I came in and bought several utensils for a friend as a birthday gift. It was a little pricy but they had a great selection. I bought a silicone shower drain trap for myself. The women working there were very helpful.
If I lived in this neighborhood, I’d be here all the time.

A cute store the size of an efficiency in WDC which means the one sales person that’s on her laptop ignoring everyone and has no interest in even saying hello to anyone really stands out. You leave thinking to yourself that it must be exhausting to work so hard to ignore people. Saying hello seems so much easier. They’ve had deplorable customer service for years so at least they’re still consistent.

Very cute home supplies store that carries cooler, more functional, and/​or classier versions of essentials like dish racks, soap dispensers, and ice trays. Store has a slightly hipster vibe and is as useful as it is fun to browse.

I’ve been to Home Rule a few times for various gift ideas, and for a relatively small-​sized store, it has a wide variety of stuff. This isn’t a hardware store as the name perhaps would imply, but more of a home goods store. There are a bunch of gifts in the $ 10-​$ 20 range that are unique and different, so I tend to gravitate towards those items.
For whatever random reason, they have a lot of different ice cube trays, and I’ve purchased a few over the years. This is also where I take my SodaStream canisters when I need fill-​ups of carbon.
This service is friendly, and the store is never really packed. They also have various close-​out sales where a lot of things are half off as the seasons change, and so they email you when the sales take place.
Overall, Home Rule is a good place to stop in and browse for some interesting ideas if you need to get a gift.

The products are alright, very cutesy, but not necessarily the highest quality. The store is small but well organized and clean.
The main reason for my 1 star review is that when I asked a clerk about a particular product (a microwaveable pot for grains and rices), the clerk said she didn’t know anything about it or how it worked. I might expect that at Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, but not at a small, local shop. Most of their stuff can be found at the big box stores or Amazon but I like going to local shops because usually the salespeople are very knowledgable about the products. After this experience, I won’t bother going back.

Home Rule absolutely needs to be on every urban-hipster-hippie-yuppie’s radar because it is just far too cool to miss out on. Every product I’ve seen there is so brilliantly designed, no matter how mundane it is. I didn’t think a toilet plunger could ever look sexy, but this tiny store has the sexiest plungers of all time.
Even the toothbrushes are Japanese inspired with the right amount of minimalism and pop art. My new clothes pins look like little sharks and have suddenly increased my cool quotient in the laundry room. And even if they haven’t, there was no way that I was ever going to pass up on shark pins.
But seriously, go to Home Rule if you want to add a touch of drama to your apartment. The good kind of drama that you get from intelligently designed products with an artistic flair. Prices aren’t cheap, but they aren’t way expensive either. It’s remarkably well stocked for such a tiny store, has everything you could possibly think of when it comes to kitchen ware, bathroom accessories and general domestic stuff; and for the sheer entertainment factor alone, any trip to Home Rule is worth your time!

this store has pretty much everything you might need in a kitchen and things you don’t need but that are too pretty/​cool-​looking to turn down.
minus one star because yes, i know i was molesting the candles with my nose but
1. the tangerine teakwood candle just smelled so damn good
2. if you’re gonna call me creepy for doing so, wait until i’m out of earshot to talk smack about me (or any customer in general). — from a girl who’s worked in retail for over 6 years ;)

A great spot to bring visiting foodie family and friends. This shop has a small but exhaustive collection of kitchen, bath, and home supplies. Mainly cute and funky. Think ice cube trays in interesting shapes, brightly colored knives, interesting shaped klenex holders, etc. I’ve never gone there looking for something specifically, and I don’t think it would be a very good place for that. This shop is better when you go not looking for anything in particular — paper straws that look like bamboo? Yes, please! Herb saver? Sure, why not? Prices are very reasonable, most things are between $ 2-​$ 50. The store has a rewards card that for every $ 25 you spend you get a stamp and for a filled card you get two hangers or $ 10 off your next purchase. Friendly staff. Good for a stroll through on a lazy weekend.

When I need a high-​quality kitchen item immediately, Home Rule is my go-​to. While they have a limited selection (it’s a small store!), when you compare their products to those online, the products are well-​reviewed and prices are fair by comparison.
Also, I consistently go for the Pre de Provence soaps for my bathroom. Handwashing has never felt so luxurious!

So much cool, fun, interesting stuff in such a small space! If you need a gift for anyone who cooks, drinks, or enjoys things for their home that are aesthetically pleasing, unexpected, and/​or brilliantly useful, this is your place. Definitely a ton of items in the category of things you didn’t know you needed.
You’ll find everything from pots and pans to whiskey stones to adorable travel toothbrush cases to clocks to shower curtains. I had fun just perusing, and had to restrain myself especially from a Kleenex box cover that was the awesomest thing ever, but $ 40.

Although the place is pretty small, they pack a lot of items into the store. What I like a lot about this store is that many items are open out of the box so you can try it out and get a sense of ergonomics or weight or other characteristics you can’t know just from reading about it online. They also have a couple of different models from different manufacturers rather than just one type so you can compare and see what you really want. Right now, the at home carbonation is hot but they have 2 models here to try. I love soda but I’m not yet convinced to buy one at home.
Staff is helpful and not intrusive. Things can get pretty high up on the store so you’ll probably need to help if you end up buying things. It’s a great place to browse as well. So if you want something a little different for an everyday kitchen tool, stop by here to find it!

DC’s answer to Kitch Kitchen.
Great selection of whacky, fun, interesting gifts –be careful though or you will end up paying $ 15 — $ 20 on a whime for something that you’ll hate 10 mins later. Caveat Emptor.
Got an awesome period table shower curtain for Thing 1 and Thing 2. Who in tunr bought me a Virgin Mary Toast embosser and a pack of tattoos.
It was pretty busy when we were there this weekend and the guy in front of me was actually writing his Unilocal review in the checkout line. Respect.

It took all the self-​restraint I possessed to not walk out of here with ½ the store. If you eschew the match-​y match-​y Martha Stewart world of all that is «proper» for a kitchen and home in favor of quirky, odd-​ball, pop culture and just the plain usefully weird — then this little shop is definitely for you.
I was like a kid in a candy shop armed with a credit card. Thankfully I remembered I am in domestic purge mode at the moment with a kitchen overrun with weird. Like a famous general — «I shall return» both to fill my own home as well to shop for squeee cuteness for my friends.
Cheers to Aine for bringing me over here after brunch at Bistro La Bonne one Sunday. Its places like Home Rule that make me glad I venture across the great river from Virginia for more than work time to time.

One of my favorite shops in Washington! A petite shop that features a wonderful variety of housewares, kitchenwares, bath items, kids stuff and decorations. Alessi and higher quality functional design pieces are a focus of this shop, and you’ll always find something special for someone there, or for yourself. The staff is friendly, honest, and even though the prices can at times be a bit pricey, you’re shopping at a well thought out local place. I’ll take Home Rule over IKEA anyday!
Now, if Home Rule was right next door to Logan Hardware life would be almost perfect in regards to my housewares shopping.

This is a nice little shop, full of housewares [kitchen, dining room, bathroom, cleaning]. The wares are about a 50 – 50 split between standard things/​brands and things more unique, which is excellent. The staff is warm and welcoming. .. well, okay, –some– of the staff is warm and welcoming and others seem frosty, but I can live with that. Really a pleasant place to shop.

This place is to kitchen supplies what Logan Hardware is to hardware– an oddly compelling, very friendly local supplier of important home goods.
And yet: the selection is a little smaller, the prices are a littler higher, and somehow I find myself spending a lot of time shopping at Crate & Barrel even when I am not similarly drawn to Home Depot. Three stars for quality. An additional star for effort.

During one of my photowalks over the summer, I recall stopping into Home Rule to cool off from the blisteringly, brutally hot sun. To my delight, I stood there in awe — I think it was partially due to the wonderful air conditioning and partially due to the massive amounts of home stuffs set before my eyes.
I came here recently to do some Christmas shopping. I had a hard time resisting the temptation to buy all of the ADORABLE Christmas ornaments they had on display on 3 different aluminum trees but I managed. I did actually want to buy some of these snowflake ornaments in white but they were sold out. Bummer. (See review for Pulp next…)
Lots of unique, fun kitchen/​home stuff here. Didn’t actually buy anything because the object of the day was to find gifts for others and all of the items here I would have bought for my own kitchen. Staff was friendly and I’d absolutely come back here again.

Despite being a tiny store, there’s so much in here to look at and fall in love with — especially if you love browsing items for the home.
Home Rule is also a great place to buy a unique housewarming gift — such as a bright orange deviled egg tray, a set of Tovolo popsicle molds or a couple of ice kabob trays.
Lots of selection from the Built NY baby line and cute items like a mouse-​shaped cheese grated and a monkey vegetable peeler.
Staff is very friendly and they do great gift wrapping!