Matthew Buccilla designed spaces for Herman Miller and co-founded beloved indie shop Cowboys & Astronauts in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood before moving to Beverly Shores. Now he’s opening a design studio and occasional shop in the Indiana Dunes town.

Like a lot of Chicagoans with homes in Southwest Michigan, Matthew Buccilla and his partner, Greg Lanier, spent a lot of time zooming past the Indiana Dunes on their way to and from their vacation home.

Then the pandemic hit. Buccilla, and Lanier who owned lifestyle store Cowboys and Astronauts in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, were prohibited from opening the shop and yearned for some fresh air (they had sold their Saugatuck place three years before). A longtime fan of national parks, Buccilla decided to visit what was then the country’s newest, the Indiana Dunes National Park, in part because it was just a little over an hour’s drive from the city.

After some hiking, he and Lanier drove around Dune Acres and Beverly Shores and were amazed at what they saw—so much so that he returned the next day and drove up and down every street in Beverly Shores. “We were flabbergasted by the mix of architecture and there was an obvious history to the area,” Buccilla says.

“We were totally smitten with it.” he says. “We said, People live here? These people live surrounded by the National Park?

Soon they became two of those people, buying a home in Beverly Shores in 2020. And last year, after selling Cowboys and Astronauts, they made it their full-time home.

Now Buccilla has started Blanket Fort, in Beverly Shores, a design studio and occasional shop full of mostly vintage furniture, accessories and art—”the kind of space I wanted to see in this area.”

“Our location (on Rt. 12, 1 East Dunes Highway) shapes everything,” Buccilla says. “The programming, the philosophy, even the pace of the work. Plus, the south shore corridor of south Chicago, Northwest Indiana, and Southwest Michigan is a growing and vibrant region where I felt my talents could find a home.”

Those talents: Buccilla spent years designing spaces for Herman Miller around the world, and Cowboys and Astronauts’ customers often urged him to open a home store and offer design services.

Now he’s doing just that, only in the Dunes. Through Blanket Fort, Buccilla will offer design and shopping services to anyone looking to create spaces that feel personal—homes, commercial establishments, homes for sale that need staging, and interior designers looking to source original art and objects.

“What I do works with what’s already there or focuses on finding just the right things — then arranging, editing, and layering to make a space feel alive and intentional,” he says. “It’s the difference between building a room and making a room feel like you. I often partner with interior designers as their sourcing and styling partner for art, objects, and ephemera.”

Buccilla describes his “core” style as “vintage modern-meets cozy cabin-meets Japanese Wabi-sabi.” What it’s not is “provincial or classic,” he says. “I kinda like the weird and esoteric, but I also have things my mom would like.”

See for yourself. Blanket Fort will have a soft opening on May 16 and 17 from 11 am. to 4 pm. For the rest of the summer and fall, Blanket Fort will be open on the first and third weekends of the month. Shoppers can peruse Buccilla’s furniture, art, antiques and objects, a constantly changing mix as things come in and go out as he works with clients and collects. He’ll also have a National Park nook with cool souvenirs.

If you miss the opening on May 16 and 17, a good time to check it out would be at a bonus pop-up on May 23rd as part of the Beverly Shores Collective’s Big Little Shop Hop, which includes Blanket Fort, its neighbor, Cat’s Eye Vintage; the Friends of Beverly Shores Antiques & Art at 4980 West Dunes Highway; Hobgoblin Fine Wines & Spirits; Goblin Duneside Bar & Eatery; Daytrippin’ in the Dunes Vintage; The Depot Museum & Art Gallery; and Over Yonder Dunes Gift Shop, all clustered together near the Beverly Shores train station. Most of the places will be open 11 am-4 pm. Check social media for exact hours.

Blanket Fort, 1 East Dunes Highway (on the backside) Beverly Shores, 219-367-2596