Share this on

Room At The Beach

Kathy Krassner -- Gifts and Dec, 8/8/2011 1:24:56 AM

Mud Pie How does a gift and home-furnishings store and design studio downsize from 3,000 sq. ft. to 1,200 sq. ft. yet still increase overall sales by 300 percent? Visual merchandising! When Room at the Beach in Malibu, CA, had an opportunity to move from a large space to a smaller but better location last year, the challenge was to create an exciting environment that attractively showcased the products it carried.

Welcome Home
     "Although we decreased our size, we were able to continue with every category by streamlining our selection," explains owner Elizabeth Lamont, who is responsible for most of the store's design. "I have been doing displays my entire life, even before I had a store, so it comes as second nature to me," she remarks, adding, "I have a great staff that pitches in, too!"
     As its name and locale suggest, Lamont has set the store up to feel like a home on the beach. "Even if you don't have a beach home, you get that relaxed, ‘come sit for a while' feeling," she says, explaining that her customers want that feeling in some space of their house. "The store has quality merchandise and that makes it all feel really good when you walk in. We work with many local artists and companies to make the store's look and product unique. And, oh, the scents and sounds. So important. I am crazy about that being right."
Mud Pie      Here, most displays take the form of room vignettes, which are updated almost weekly or "when someone buys a piece off the floor, which happens all the time!" Lamont states. "Pillows, lamps and throws are big categories for us; when these items come in or go out, it changes the whole feel [of the display]," she remarks. "We are ever-changing, as you would do at home."
     Although Room at the Beach capitalizes on the beach theme, it offers Mediterranean, contemporary and traditional looks as well. "We are a lifestyle store where customers can really see how product will look in their own homes," shares Lamont. "Our vignettes are well thought-out and constantly changing as customers scoop up the merchandise."
     Everything displayed at the store is for sale and can be delivered on the same day, if possible. Room at the Beach is also a design studio, so Lamont works with customers to recreate the store's vignettes in their own homes.

Show How It's Done
Among the store's most successful displays is a front table with beach-inspired items. "People can't get enough; every manufacturer should have some quality beach products in their line," she insists. Among the lines carried at Room at the Beach _ are Tozai Home, Mud Pie, Padma's Plantation and Abigails.

States Lamont: "My store is a little jewel. I have culled down the best lines that I have ever carried, and we work very closely with artists and manufacturers to create the finest items. We display them with lots of thought and care. I constantly tell my staff that we should look like we are having a party every day - perfect displays, candles, music - making it a little oasis in the crazy world we live in."

Share this on

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

In Like Flynn

Jan 16, 2012

Visual Merchandising Finalist: Slifer Designs

Aug 1, 2009

The Gifted Retailer

Dec 15, 2010

Also by this author

»MORE

Featured Company

Wright Labels

Bill and Tom Wright founded Wright of Thomasville in 1961 on the idea that printing was a creative medium and the belief that "a promise made is a promise kept." The Wright brothers focused their attention on providing exceptional printing for the... more