With crystal pendants on Italian chandeliers dancing in the light, hand-knotted banana silk rugs lining the floor and relics from India and Indonesia dotting the showroom, Arhaus Furniture evokes all five senses and maybe even a sixth ”” a sense of style.
There”™s something in the store for everyone, said Joseph Shearer, store manager, who moved to Danbury Fair Mall after working at the Arhaus in Manhattan”™s Meatpacking District.
From upholsteries and office collections ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars to simple trinkets and antiques like a floral wall piece or bongo drums, the idea is to bring a diversity of handcrafted, locally and globally produced goods to the Connecticut market.
“We want complete control over the style, quality and modification of our furniture,” Shearer said. “We use traditional manufacturing techniques, and we”™re also part of the Rainforest Initiative Act. We use reclaimed pine from Asia, recycled copper from Mexico and plantation grown lumber from India and Indonesia.”
Arhaus, which is a family-owned company based in Ohio, focuses on avoiding the middle man and by design seeks unique products from Amish villages to South Asia.
The company has 47 stores nationwide, but this is the first Arhaus store in Connecticut. The store opened in Danbury after a number of commuters from Fairfield County said they wished Connecticut could offer Arhaus”™s furniture options and the company listened.
“They needed a new option and we have a big untapped resource to bring a new style to Danbury and the rest of Connecticut,” Shearer said.
The two-story retail space at Danbury Fair, a former H&M clothing store, is now an eclectic home goods and furniture hub. Clients include designers, homemakers, business owners and hipsters.
With 19,000 square feet of space on the two floors, not one inch is wasted. The place is packed with $10,000 leather sectionals, a $35,000 joglo ”” a wood-framed, gazebo-like structure from Bali ”” sofas and beds ranging in the thousands, and pillows for $56.
“People come in for inspiration and we never sell the same thing,” Shearer said. “We change our products seasonally and daily. One day we might get a new product as trucks bring in new accessories, so we”™re constantly moving things around.”
The store provides customer service, such as complimentary house calls and gets homeowners set up with a desirable office and bedroom layout and proper furnishings.
“We help clients focus on what they need with a 50 percent deposit on their orders,” Shearer said. “We can help put a space together and our clients can purchase as little or as much as they want from us instead of going into a shop and buying a random piece.”
As spring approaches, Arhaus will display small garden houses and upholstery with UV-resistant slips for outdoor sofas. With the season change, people are looking for more sprightly colors and going for the lighter woods and neutral palettes, Shearer said.
