By STEPHANIE TOONE,Staff Writer
Buell Sullivan calls this “the golden age of furniture,” an era when distinct, well-crafted pieces are widely available.


Sullivan, vice president of Bradford’s Furniture, works for a company that has been open for more than 100 years and has been in Green Hills since 1951.
The furniture business is competitive in Green Hills with a variety of stores that offer a wide range of styles from modern and contemporary to classical. The Mall at Green Hills also offers Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, giving customers even more options when searching for the perfect table or ottoman.
Sullivan said his company has always offered exclusive pieces from England and France. They also sell pieces from exclusive manufacturers, such as Baker’s and TRS Upholstery.
“This is the golden age of furniture,” he said. “You can literally buy items today for less than you could 30 years ago. The quality is available to a much larger group of people.”
Sullivan said premium furniture is obtainable at affordable prices because the cost of labor is much less in countries such as Egypt and Vietnam where many of the items are manufactured.
Even though luxury items are less, customers at Bradford’s are still willing to spend a considerable amount for the best. It is not unheard of for a customer to spend $20,000-$100,000 on one item, Sullivan said.
Design solutions
Storehouse Inc., founded in Atlanta in 1969, has a rich, 20-year history in Green Hills. Store manager Rebecca Robinson said it also has had customers spend $20,000 or more on one item.
Storehouse has been successful, Robinson said, because of the quality and uniqueness of its furniture and because the most important thing is to make the customer feel special.
“We offer a lot of design solutions on the house, so we can go to our client’s home and make out a plan for them by computer,” she said. “We’re really interested in the projects they’re working on. We’re really interested in them; it’s kind of our motto.”
Traci Henry owns At Home, a relative newcomer to the Green Hills furniture scene.
“We offer something different,” she said. “We have gone back to a boutique atmosphere. I have a small number of vendors, so I have a tremendous amount of knowledge about my products.”
While her business is much smaller than Bradford’s or Storehouse, she still has Green Hills customers who are willing to pay top dollar for quality furniture and home accessories.
Clients have shopped in At Home for whole rooms for as much as $22,000, Henry said.
Since opening in August, customers looking for the right mix of styles rather than famous brands have flocked to the small home accessories store.
Mixing styles and colors such as celadon green, robin’s egg blue and persimmon orange are also a big hit with furniture buyers, Henry said.
Try before you buy
Mark Savage, co-owner and manager of Savage Gallery, said each furniture store in Green Hills has a special flair that sets it a part.
Savage Gallery has an award-winning staff of interior decorators, one-of-a-kind furniture, quality antiques and original art from local and international artists.
The antiques at Savage Gallery are pricey; they sell for as much as $12,000-$15,000 a piece.
Besides the home accessories Savage Gallery distributes, Savage said his customers have also appreciated being able to try out their furniture before buying it.
“We let them keep it for a few days to see if they like it,” he said.
“At first, everybody can’t believe it, but everybody loves it. It’s the best way to do it because really, it’s going to look different in my store than it will in their home.”
Eighty-percent of the customers buy the items after trying them, Savage said.
Savage Gallery has been open for eight years but has only been in Green Hills since 2004.
Savage said he can tell the difference in his business since the move.
“The location is the best benefit,” he said. “Green Hills is a shopping destination; they come to shop for the whole day rather than a quick stop.”
New store on the block
The newest furniture store in The Mall at Green Hills, Z Gallerie, definitely reaps the benefits of being at a destination for shopping, said Jennifer Reeves, public relations manager for Z Gallerie, which has stores in almost every state.
Z Gallerie has the colorful traditional and contemporary home furnishings like many furniture stores but is the vast art gallery that gives the store something extra, Reeves said.
The hot item at Z Gallerie is the leather Canyon sectional. It’s a contemporary piece that sells for $2,400.
As with all the furniture stores in Green Hills, Reeves said Z Gallerie invites customers willing to pay for quality.
“We find that people are not afraid to invest in their furniture,” she said. “They are not making an impulse buy. They always come back.” n