City February 25, 2013 3:09 PM

Essential Home Decor opens on Hertel

Essential Home Decor opens on Hertel
queenseyes
queenseyes 7
It didn't take long for Catherine Newman, owner of Essential Home Decor, to fix up the former CooCooU location on Hertel (see back story). In a relatively short period of time, Cat stripped and buffed the floors, cleared out what was remaining in the showroom, and prepared the space for her own merchandise. What is truly amazing is what happened with the formerly congested space when Cat got her hands on it. I'm not sure if anyone in Buffalo knew that there were wood floors in the storefront. Cat relayed to me that when they were first uncovered, she was told that the floors were too far gone to reuse and that she should look for carpeting. Undeterred, Cat asked that the floors remain, and conceded that if there were some signs of damage then she would chalk that up to showroom"character". Today the floors look dynamite and play off of the look of the salvaged tin ceilings.

The large size of the showroom has allowed Cat to created vintage vignettes throughout, in order to create a flow from the front of the shop to the back. When it comes to antiques and retro furniture and accessories, Cat is a whiz. Somehow all of her pieces work well together, without looking cluttered and overly eclectic. If you find a table that you like, chances are that you will find a lamp and a chair that match. That is hard to do in many cases, but she's got a trained eye for mixing and matching, and "she doesn't take any crap" either. Being a lover of Danish modern furniture and retro contemporary design, I find Essential Home Decor to be robust and refreshing. Thankfully now that the transformation is complete, it is easy to see that Hertel has landed yet another great business.

Cat is also featuring original artwork in her space, and plans on showcasing "live" art in the display windows on Saturdays. 

Essential Home Decor - Learn more
1478 Hertel Avenue
Buffalo, NY
(716) 250-8939

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7 Comments Leave a comment
norwalk
February 25, 2013 3:41 PM
norwalk

What a great addition to Hertel! The place looks beautiful..Its great to see dynamic store owners like Cat invest on Hertel..Looking forward to stopping by!

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Score: 9 ( 9 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
Kelso
February 25, 2013 3:55 PM
Kelso

I love the transofmation of Hertel over the past year or so since buying property in this area! Additions like Spot, Globe Markets, Village Beer Merchant on top of the already fantasic furniture stores like Room, Stock Exchange and now Essential Home Decor, to name a few. Hertel is only going to get better as Elmwood over-prices itself out and new business/ventures cannot afford to lease there. Such a happening area!

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Score: 5 ( 13 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
The Boss
February 26, 2013 7:07 AM
The Boss

Why does it always have to be Elmwood vs. Hertel? This store opening on Hertel is no way Elmwood's loss. Furniture retail has always been a piece of Hertel Ave mix. And the other attractions you mentioned Spot, Beer Merchant and Globe are all open for business on Elmwood already so how is Elmwood at a loss here. In fact a long staple of Hertel, Joes Deli, has just started construction on Elmwood.

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replied to Kelso
Score: 7 ( 11 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
BUFFALOUED
February 26, 2013 8:56 AM
BUFFALOUED

Cat developed a solid business in the relative obscurity of Tacoma by developing a solid word-of-mouth clientele and a small internet presence. The visibilty on Hertel will be wonderful. I have never recommended her to someone who came away unhappy. She is a pleasure to deal with. But I did get spoiled by the ease of parking on Tacoma.

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Score: 3 ( 3 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
Kelso
February 26, 2013 10:51 AM
Kelso

The Boss - I am not bashing Elmwood, I lived there for many years (and enjoyed it) before buying property in North Park. I just think a lot of people living in Elmwood have an artifically negative perception of Hertel, which is a shame. For all the spotlight Elmwood gets and I'll admit, Elmwood is probably 5 years ahead of Hertel in terms of development, Hertel Ave is definitely headed in the right direction. Colvin to Parkside is a fantastic area, Delaware to Colvin needs some work.

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Score: 2 ( 4 votes ) Vote up Vote down Report this comment
Martha Red
February 26, 2013 1:35 PM
Martha Red

I hope the shop has some evening hours! (Maybe they do), but it's a suggestion. It's tough for us working stiffs to make it into stores from 10-5PM (average hours it seems). That's why we end up shopping online. Nothing's ever open in the evenings. Anyway I'll visit the store soon. Can't wait!

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Lukia Costello
March 4, 2013 2:27 PM
Lukia Costello

This a great little store with some beautiful pieces. That being said, I was a little disappointed by the responsiveness of the owner. There's a fine link in customer interaction. You don't want to jump on people when they walk through your door but, at the same time, you also don't want them to feel ignored. You don't know who your buyers are going to be. Unfortunately, given my experience, I probably will not be one of them.

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