Finding a Real Space
vintage furnishing retailer Spaced Out Furnishings opens storefront
Barbara Arnold, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
At the corner of Margaret Street and Hogeboom Avenue on the Eastside Hill stands a two-story, pale sage green building.
With two huge display windows and a glass door in between on the first floor and two huge black awnings on the second floor, the building almost looks like a person’s face. But it is a building after all.
Through the front door is a nine-drawer, a modern chest with two tall glass lamps on top: one clear, and one clearly blue, with white orbit-like lampshades.
On one side of the room there’s a burnt orange couch with spindly legs along with two distinct chairs. Objets d’art line the windowsill. On the other side there’s an art glass-filled hutch with two purple-patterned side chairs.
Set back behind that is a brown couch below a huge abstract oil painting. The sofa faces an ottoman coffee table and two metallic-like chairs resting on a unique fur rug.
In the back of the room are two Midcentury Modern dining room tables and almost matching gray-looking hutches. A pair of vintage skis leans against the wall.
Set back from the main showroom is a home office unlike any other. It’s as if you have stepped onto the set of Doctor Who.
The sign on the side of the building says it all. This is the new home of Spaced Out Furnishings: Midcentury Modern and Vintage Industrial, which features furniture and décor of those distinct eras. The building, 1602 Hogeboom Ave., was the longtime home of Timm’s Dairy, and it most recently housed Molly Marie Photography.
“My clients and customers were asking me for a brick-and-mortar store,” said entrepreneur Sue Derfus, who started an online store and blog early this year. “They would want to know how to use or display certain pieces. And furniture is meant to be sat upon, touched, and seen up close. You can’t do that with images on a webpage.”
Derfus was keeping all of her inventory stored in her family’s three-door garage as well as two storage units. So opening up her store was both natural and necessary.
“Being part of a neighborhood like the East Hill is really fun,” she said. “As I’ve been renovating, my neighbors have been stopping by asking questions and wondering what’s going on.”
In addition to displaying a mix of midcentury modern and vintage industrial furnishings, her plan is to offer unique exhibits in the basement. Derfus hopes to draw in aficionados of these niche design styles so they can discuss their finds and how to incorporate them in their current living spaces.
“There are a wide variety of price points for the casual buyer to the boutique designer,” she shared.
Spaced Out Furnishings, 1602 Hogeboom Ave., Eau Claire • 4-9pm Thursdays, 10am-5pm Saturdays, and by appointment. • www.spacedoutfurnishings.com
