Do you know the story of The Cozy Home?
The Cozy Home is a creation of the mother daughter team, La Rae Richard and Leah Hernandez.
Leah was eager to take on the challenge of opening her own business, and contacted La Rae who was living in Texas flipping homes. They began to brainstorm business plans, and fell in love with the idea of a consignment furniture store.
The two began to fill up a storage locker with goods to sell in the store, while they searched for a location. They landed on a space at 4100 Monona Drive (which has since become The Lake Edge Seafood Company).
Lots of construction took place before the doors were ready to open in October 2013. But consigners were ready and waiting.
While the new business was growing, requests for design and home staging began to trickle in, and The Cozy Home Staging & Consignment was born.
By 2017, Leah and La Rae realized they’d outgrown their space, and began looking for new storefront locations. They found an opening three times the size of their location, in a former dance studio at 6330 Monona Drive.
With just a short time between their lease ending, and being able to move into their new space, much of the construction had to be done themselves.
They had the concrete floors polished and sealed to provide the most durable surface possible for the constant moving of furniture.
Then, the floors were covered, the walls and ceilings were finished, a counter was built, the intake room was created, a public restroom was built, and a sliding barn door was constructed using reclaimed wood from their previous location.
By October of 2017, the new location was open for business.
Leah continues to run the store, while La Rae runs the staging department. With a team of staff by their side, and over 2,500 consigners scheduling appointments to bring their goods, The Cozy Home hopes to continue to grow for many years to come.
Thank you all so much for supporting our small business!
