Designing From Within
Family-run Consign & Design is a labor of love
Tucked into a Bonita Springs plaza on U.S. Highway 41 is a 6,500-square-foot showroom that is redefining common perceptions of consignment furniture. Consign & Design is a family-run shop owned by designer Beth Starnes, who opened the store five years ago to share her love of furniture with the community at large, rather than just the clients of her design firm.
“It doesn’t matter where you are financially,” Starnes says. “In the consignment world, everybody has the opportunity to have beautiful things.”
Pieces in the store at any given time range from items such as a Marge Carson dining table, furniture by Theodore Alexander and Maitland-Smith, and even the occasional Tommy Bahama, for new residents who love that “Florida look.” “We have people come in here and buy Maitland-Smith from us who thought they’d never in their life have a Maitland-Smith piece, and they got it at a great price,” Starnes explains, “and they treasure it.”
Starnes has been a designer for more than 30 years. Before moving to Southwest Florida, she spent time flipping houses with her husband, James, in Indianapolis, and even owned a consignment store in Nashville. She opened Consign & Design in 2014, originally with a partner, and is now the sole owner.
“I felt—as a designer—that I needed a partner so I could still work with other customers,” Starnes says, “but I realized sometimes it’s better to have your own place, your own ideas, your own way of doing things.”
Part of what has made Consign & Design successful is its design focus. Rather than being like a warehouse, with furniture haphazardly stored and stacked, Starnes has set up her store like a showroom. Customers walk in and see carefully put-together vignettes, so that each section of the open store feels like its own room.
Adding to that high-level customer service, two staff members are bilingual, making the store more accessible for Spanish-speaking shoppers.
“It’s the mixing of things that gives it interest and balance,” she says. The team continuously resets the showroom to keep it organized and fresh-looking as items are sold or delivered.
Alondra Breton, a member of the team since 2014, says the store has developed a high-end brand that shows consigned furniture isn’t “dirty” or “thrifty.” “They come here and they’re just blown away by what we have,” she adds.
The store also showcases local art, which gives customers the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind works, including photography, watercolors and repurposed furniture. Beyond the items for sale, Consign & Design frequently gives design advice. “People come in with their floor plans, their colors, all of that stuff and we just help them,” Breton says, laughing.
Starnes tries to make sure customers buy only items that will work in their homes. “I don’t let them buy it until we know it’s going to fit,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of model homes and I know the logistics—you might fall in love with something, but it’s not going to fit.”
Adding to that high-level customer service, two staff members are bilingual, making the store more accessible for Spanish-speaking shoppers. Starnes also works to make sure
the third-party moving companies she works with are as professional as her own team.
“They’re a reflection of us,” she says. “Even though they’re a third party, we’ve found that when there are problems, customers don’t call the moving company— they call me. That’s why it’s so important who you have around you.”
That attention to detail has helped Consign & Design build a strong customer base.
“Word of mouth is our best advertising,” Starnes notes. “People walk in every day because of it.”
Along with donating items and supporting fundraisers for PACE Center for Girls, Harry Chapin Food Bank, Golisano Children’s Hospital and more, Consign & Design frequently gives furniture to Habitat for Humanity.
In 2018, Starnes had the chance to present the keys to a family moving into a Habitat house she’d provided furniture for. “It was a wonderful afternoon to see the tears and joy,” she says. “That’s what I tell people when they’re consigning: ‘Let’s try to make some money, but if we can’t, let’s try to give back.’ ”
Starnes calls her personal style “modern eclectic.” “Partly because my family are all abstract artists, I like the space I live in to be on the calm side,” she says. “The visual overload that we live daily … I think my personal style has leaned out and has become more minimalist because of the industry I’m in.”
Starnes is excited to see the growth of the Bonita Springs store, and hopes to open a second location, in Sarasota, in just a few years. “I just think I’m blessed,” she says. “I get so much joy from it.”