Reiter Comes Home With Muléh

Following four years in Southeast Asia after quitting his job as a fund manager in San Francisco, owner Christopher Reiter created Muléh (“to come home” in Japanese) in 1999 in D.C. to reflect the harmonious subtleties of Asian modern interiors. Muleh caters to the home, selling furniture, men’s and women’s clothing and artwork at locations in Bethesda and on 14th Street, N.W. He focuses on aesthetic, looking to clean lines with rich texture and rapidly renewable organic materials.

In 2004, women’s fashion was introduced to complement Muléh’s lifestyle concept, which weaves style and design throughout the home and into the wardrobe. “D.C. had a very international demographic, but a conservative image. I wanted to do something different in a city that wasn’t used to it,” Reiter said in a Washington Life interview.

In addition to carrying well known labels like 3.1 Philip Lim and Mulberry, Muléh’s design selections of out-of-the-mainstream brands attempt to expand the availability to obtain such critically acclaimed but hard-to-find designers, such as Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania and Red Label, Jean Paul Gautier, Smythe, MM6, Ter et Bantine, Sea, Hache, By Malene Birger, Faliero Sarti, LD Tuttle, Chie Mihara, Lizzie Fortunato, Paula Mendoza, Coclico and foundation-building knit lines Majestic and Autumn Cashmere.

His collection at Muleh also has something a little unexpected: Lights! Many of the light fixtures feature innovative designs and the bedding options are no different. The feature sharp lines that are definitely Asia-inspired. He says his shopping is primarily done in Denmark, London, Italy and Turkey, where he looks to what the product looks like first, and the label second. He says his favorite piece of furniture is his bed, which is one of the first pieces of furniture he bought in Indonesia (a hand-carved canopy bed of recycled teak).

In addition to his professional life running his boutique, he recently welcomed his first child in August with Juleanna Glover, a former Dick Cheney spokeswoman and a high-profile GOP lobbyist.

Want to visit?
1831 14th St., N.W. Washington
Hours: Monday through Saturday (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.); Sunday (noon – 5 p.m.)
202 667 3440
Muleh.com