Fresh new look and perspective
Family-owned Ethan Allen has a new home in southeast
Ethan Allen has taken on a hip new look. After 30 years in Mayfair Place, this family– owned custom furniture icon has moved to new digs in Calgary’s southeast.
“We’ve outgrown these walls,” says Doug Cook, chief operating officer, general manager and son of the store’s founder, Bill Cook. “Our lease was up at the end of June, and it was our impetus to give the store a fresh new look and perspective — to take it to another level.”
And take it to another level they did. The new store is an industrial loft-like space with two-storey floor-to-ceiling glass walls. It’s light and bright and very funky.
“In our old store, we didn’t have a lot of natural light, so it was hard to tell the trueness of colours. Our designers would always be pulling customers over to the window to take a closer look. So we decided that in this store we would have lots of natural light,” Cook says.
The 9,500-square-foot space is designed with lots of drama. The central area is the theatre — the interior design area where everything happens.
“We wanted to make the space tighter and make things easier to see,” Cook explains. In this area swatches of fabric and carpet abound, and a selection of woods, frames and finishes are showcased. A single couch — the designers jokingly call her Ugly Betty — sits centre stage, looking slightly dishevelled as she showcases myriad design possibilities from stitching and cushion options to types of fills and detailing. “It’s one of our innovative techniques and it works really well,” Cook says. “Instead of trying out four or five sofas, you can just look at one to decide on all of the options.”
In addition, touch screen technology is everywhere, helping people to visualize.
“A lot of people have these really big spaces and they don’t
SPOTLIGHT
The new Ethan Allen design centre is located at 15 Sunpark Plaza S.E. and is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. Until mid-june, the Mayfair Place store will be open on Mondays and Saturdays from 10:30 to 5:30 selling “as is” items at clearance prices. even know where to start,” Cook says.
That’s where the designers come in. There are six on staff to assist people in wading through the choices, and their goal is to take customers through the entire process from design concept right through to the final “reveal.” And the best part is that the service is fully complimentary.
“We are all about the experience and we really want people to use our design service, whether it is for one chair or for an entire home,” Cook says.
Customers can also browse the gallery, which flows along the perimeter of the store, to get an idea of their style. It is comprised of vignettes highlighting Ethan Allen’s five different lifestyles — romance, explorer, vintage, modern and elegance. “We eclectically mix up all of the frames and different fabrics and upholstery to get these looks,” Cook says.
To get started, just take the touch screen picture question- naire (pick the image that grabs you first on each screen) and it will determine your key lifestyle preference. “It creates a starting point, and you can build from there,” Cook says.