DC Metro Mommy Blog

  

The latest installment of "Mission: Design" brought me to Vienna, VA.  I first discovered Fabulous Finds on a local design blog.  I was immediately taken with the beautiful furniture, and in all truth, the attractive prices.  When I noticed that the venue was a mere two miles from my house, I had to find out more.

The owner of Fabulous Finds, Sharon Hayden, was immediately open to sharing the story of her business.  When we met, I was instantly enamored with the antiques in her barn as well as her lovely home and property.   I also could not believe that I had passed Sharon's home a 1,000 times in my travels!  Fabulous Finds is truly a hidden gem. 

As I learned more, it became clear that Fabulous Finds could be a mother's best friend!  Sharon's furnishings, coupled with her painting skills, pair perfectly with the design needs of a young family.  Much of the furniture lends itself to a stylish and reasonably priced nursery, child's room and/or active family room.  Find out more about Fabulous Finds in my interview. 

***Best Seller From Fabulous Finds***
Ivory dressers, with a top, can
double as a changing table

DC Metro Mommy: You have an enchanting home and barn.  Norman Rockwell would be envious of your property.  How did you find this amazing place?

Sharon: The truth is that we sort of stumbled across it by accident.  With four active children, we had outgrown our previous home, so we were ready to find a new place, but couldn't find anything we really liked.  I'd always loved old homes but did not think that owning one was a real possibility and thus, we weren't looking for one.  One day, I was driving down Hunter Mill Road, lost and late for an appointment, when I passed this house.  It had a ‘For Sale' sign out front, along with an "under contract" sign attached.  Curious, I called our realtor to see what she could find out about it.  She made some inquiries and learned that the contract was on shaky ground.  It was truly a case of being at the right place at the right time.  The next thing we knew, the house was ours.



                  Before                                                                                                  After

DC Metro Mommy:  It is so charming.  Your customers must be so pleasantly surprised when they come to pick up a web purchase.  You Fabulous Finds Barn Sales must be a big hit!  Just curious when was the house built?

Sharon: The house was built in 1888 and has a wonderful history.  It was actually built on the property next door and moved in 1934 to its current location.  The hill between the two sites was once a Civil War "pickett" (aka a lookout), and has been documented in several books and a history video.

DC Metro Mommy:  This is a great venue and your furniture is gorgeous.  What inspired you to start collecting and ultimately start selling antiques? 

Sharon: After years in corporate America, I decided to stop working and become a stay-at-home mom.  I quickly realized that I needed to find something that I could feel passionate about outside of the home.  Buying and selling antiques gave me the flexibility I needed. 

I've always loved old things - houses, furniture, and decorative items.  I look at a bedroom set from the 1940's, and I can't help but imagine the young war bride who may have chosen it, and her excitement on the day it was delivered to her home.  I look at a sideboard from the 1920's, before the Depression, and I wonder, who bought it and how that person felt; was it a great extravagance or a utilitarian effort to furnish a room?  I wish these pieces could talk - they've witnessed so much of the history that never makes it to our history books, the day-to-day joys and sorrows of ordinary people.

DC Metro Mommy:  After years in corporate America, you opted to become a stay-at-home mom (SAHM).  Was leaving the work force a difficult transition for you?

Sharon: When I first left my job, I felt completely lost.   Because I had worked for a full decade in the corporate world, earning an MBA along the way, my primary "sense of self" was as a career woman not a mom.  I loved working!  However, once my husband and I decided to start our family, we had our four children in just 5 ½ years.  Pretty quickly, I realized I could not keep all the balls in the air at the same time.  Missed t-ball practices, forgotten laundry, and an empty refrigerator, were all taking their toll.  These were all factors in deciding to leave the workforce. 

DC Metro Mommy:  Where did you sell your first batch of antiques? 

Sharon:  I started by selling at the monthly flea markets sponsored by the Four Shabby Chicks in their old Leesburg location.  From there, I did the DC Big Flea and the Lucketts Spring Antique Market for a couple of years.  Eventually, I moved to a permanent retail location in a shop called "Stuff", in Vienna, VA. It was two doors down from the former Twig House.  Since I only rented a room from the store's owner, there was no indication to a shopper that my business was separate from "Stuff".  I suppose, to this day, there are many people who purchased my furniture without knowing it was actually 'mine'.

DC Metro Mommy:  Your barn is so charming, but I have to ask "Why would you leave a retail atmosphere for a predominately online business? 

Sharon: The reason is two-fold.  The first consideration is cost.  The overhead associated with a retail store - from rent and utilities, to trash and snow removal - is quite high.  The second consideration is time.  I really believe that for a retail business to be successful, the owner should be present nearly 100% of the time.  But with my business, so many of the pieces are painted, refinished, or otherwise refurbished by me. In a sense, I am the factory.  If I'm working in a store, there's no time to work on furniture. Here, I have the best of all worlds.  I can be home for my family, busy in my work shop, and still sell from my web site.

                    Before                                                                                   After

DC Metro Mommy: Tell me more about your barn sales?

Sharon: Three times a year, I open my barn to the public for a full day of fun and fabulous bargains.   The barn sale gives me an opportunity to offer a wider variety of items.  Some of the items are newer, but were too fabulous to pass up; others are older, but have a different aesthetic than my usual pieces.  I try to create a really fun mix, with something for everyone.

I plan to hold the fall barn sale on September 25, 2010.  The holiday barn sale will be held on November 6, 2010.  My website lists all of the pertinent details.  Outside of the barn sales, visits to the barn must be made by appointment,

DC Metro Mommy: How do you pick your fabulous finds?

Sharon: I always choose things that I'd like to own myself.  My style is very classic and I always try to choose pieces that are timeless and elegant with clean, traditional lines.  I love mahogany and walnut; I love to paint maple; I shy away from cherry and oak. I try never to carry anything newer than 1960, and I love to mix a little bit of glitz and glamour, like a candelabra lamp full of prisms, in with really traditional pieces, like a Sheraton sideboard, to provide an element of the unexpected.

DC Metro Mommy: Who are the typical Fabulous Finds customers?

Sharon: Most of my customers are fairly young; typically somewhere between 25 and 35.  Most are either setting up their first home after finding their first "real" job, buying their first place after getting married, or furnishing a nursery before the birth of a child.  They're ready for "real" furniture, not dorm room cast-offs or pieces borrowed from their parents.  Often however, they don't have the budget to buy new furniture that is also good quality furniture.

DC Metro Mommy: I absolutely love your collection of furniture and antiques. Not only are they beautiful but they are so reasonably priced!  How do you keep the prices so low?

Sharon: I work hard to keep my prices low because I don't want to keep any inventory around for a long time.  I'm something of an auction junkie, and I love going to them; I also love shopping.  However, my barn can only hold so much.  When it's full, I need to get things moving, so I can make room for more.  It's a little bit like "free shopping" for me.

DC Metro Mommy: Many thanks for letting me peek at your idea book.  It is amazing how simply painting a piece of furniture can totally transform an item.  Do you help customers with paint and hardware selections?

Sharon: I do frequently try to help customers see the potential in pieces they already own and steer them toward choices that are timeless rather than trendy.  If a piece has good bones and is well built, it can be completely transformed with some paint, new hardware, and maybe the addition of a decorative appliqué. 

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to take painting commissions as often as I'd like.  It's a very time consuming process, and between being a mom, going to school, and running my web-based business, I can only do a few custom pieces each season.

DC Metro Mommy: Fabulous Finds is a perfect fit for new parents and growing families.  I wish I knew about Fabulous Finds when I was creating my nursery!  You have worked with expectant and new mothers in the past, what advice can you give my readers about setting up a space for little ones?

Sharon: When you're setting up a nursery, realize that your baby is going to grow - and outgrow it - very quickly.  Avoid the temptation to make it too cutesy in ways that will be expensive to do over. 

1.        Choose furniture that is well built with timeless, classic lines.  If you do, your child will be able to use it for a lifetime. 

2.        Choose fabrics that can grow with your child and be unisex, should another baby follow.  Geometrics like polka dots, stripes, or paisleys are all great choices.  My personal favorite is gingham.  It will coordinate equally well with a crib bumper covered in teddy bears for your son now, and crib quilt covered in butterflies for your daughter later. And later still, gingham will work as well with race cars as with fairies, as your children grow. 

3.        If you want your nursery to have a theme, be it animals, alphabet letters, insects or rainbows, confine these themed elements to areas that will change naturally over time.  For example, put zoo animals on the crib bedding (as all children eventually outgrow their cribs), and not the wall paper or lamp, which will be around for a lot longer.

4.        A shelf that runs the entire perimeter of the room, about one foot from the ceiling and 8" - 9" deep, is a great idea.  Children tend to accumulate so many "treasures" that they can't bear to part with - even after they no longer play with them.  Stuffed animals, action figures, and trophies can be arranged up high where they're out of they way, but not forgotten.

5.        Finally, avoid the temptation to make the nursery too sophisticated.  You don't have to choose circus tents and clowns in bright primary colors if you don't want to, but remember that a child- not an adult - is going to live in your nursery.  Try to incorporate a sense of magic or whimsy in your choices.

DC Metro Mommy: What are your favorite auctions?

Sharon: I use a web site called auctionzip.com to help me find auctions.  My favorite is whichever one is being held on the day I'm free to go and has photos of furniture I like!

DC Metro Mommy:  So what is next for Fabulous Finds? 

Sharon: I am currently working toward my degree in Interior Design, and I'd like to move into doing more interior design consulting.  Right now, I do it informally as an extension of selling my furniture, but I'd like to expand it to a full-blown part of my business.

DC Metro Mommy:  So many thanks for sharing your story with me.  I will see you in September for the barn sale!

If you're interested in interior design consulting, you can contact Sharon at fabfinds4you@aol.com.  She is offering some great introductory rates while she finishes her degree. 

To find out more information about upcoming barn sales, register your name under the "Contact Fab Finds" tab on the website.  For additional details about Fabulous Finds, visit http://www.fabfinds4you.com/. 

And for the latest on Fabulous Finds, go to Fabulous Finds Facebook page @ this LINK.

READERS:  Are you creating a nursery?  Are you converting your nursery to a child's room?  Maybe you are finally ready to pull together a playroom for your growing family.  If you opt to use Sharon for your design dilemmas let me know.  I will love to cover your room's creation and transformation for an upcoming DC Metro Mommy story to be featured under the DESIGN BUG tab.  You can contact me at info@dcmetromommy.com.