Robin Grove shows off some of the vintage home accessories available in her store.See the changes
Red Door Antiques & More, now called My Happy Place, is located at 3973 Chattanooga Valley Road and can be reached at 941-447-2150. The store’s new hours are Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Red Door Antiques & More store along Chattanooga Valley Road is expanding and changing its name to "My Happy Place."
The store has a new owner and concept as well.
"My husband works for Homeland Security and was transferred here from Florida," said Robin Grove, who's behind the changes at Red Door. "I came in here and Fran, the previous owner, was open three days a week and she's 69. She had trouble moving the furniture. I bought all Fran's stuff. I had my own inventory of vintage clothing and accessories in Florida. I had 300 pieces in the clearance room [at Red Door] when I opened December 1."
Though Grove brings her own inventory into the store, she plans to let other people rent space in the new wing she is opening up next door.
"I will rent spaces to people starting in April," she said. "It will flow like one happy place. I want it all clean and all looking good. I always get comments on how I do things with colors that flow. I like to have eclectic mixing Hollywood Regency with modern."
Grove has a background in interior design, horticulture, landscape work and managed a Goodwill in Florida for three years. She said she also has experience in working for Kohl's doing cross-merchandising by moving things around on the sales floor in order to sell them faster.
The Hollywood Regency-style section of her store is Grove's favorite, she said. It's also proven popular: One customer purchased everything in it save for a chair with an adjoining stand.
Splayed out around the touch of Hollywood at the center of the store are more fun furniture, light fixtures and vintage clothing, including a "man cave" section.
" It's fun because people come in and buy a little piece of home," she said. "It's amazing the stories you hear about a teacup. A lot of times people buy it because it reminds them of someone that has passed or someone special."
Working 60 hours a week, Grove said she networks with resale shops in addition to finding designs through Etsy and Pinterest and painting trunks. One such trunk added a special touch to her daughter's dorm room.
"Each piece is special and unique," Grove said of her inventory. "I want to make people happy. I want it to be a happy place."
She said jewelry is especially popular.
"I can't say enough about how great the people have been," said Grove. "I have lived in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida and now here. People ask if I miss Florida. Yeah I do, but it's better to work with people around here. One customer brought me a picnic basket with egg salad sandwiches. That's huge that a customer did that. The community knows I'm trying to make a nice place in Flintstone."