St. Petersburg Times
Jan 3, 2007
Author: PAUL SWIDER
(Copyright Times Publishing Co.)
It's not your dad's furniture store, with unexpected items like a bed that opens like a car's hood, a table that rises on legs like an ironing board, or a simple footrest that conceals a storage compartment.
Little surprises are plentiful at DOMA, a new home furnishings store the owner says is more of "a resource." David King sits in a slender yellow chair and pushes on its arms to make it stretch into a long recliner. "It's a Barcalounger," said King, 44, who opened the store two months ago at 2540 22nd Ave. N, "but it's not your dad's Barcalounger." It's not your dad's furniture store, either, with other unexpected items like a bed that opens like a car's hood, a table that rises on legs like an ironing board, or a simple footrest that conceals a storage compartment. King said the business is an appeal to the city's changing marketplace of condos and refurbished bungalows.
"We have to be space-conscious, but we don't have to sacrifice design," King said. "There are many choices that people didn't know were out there." DOMA is more than just a store, King says, but not quite a studio. He can provide much more than the Tema, Star, Calligaris, Carter and other "urban contemporary" pieces his showroom displays. He sees his customer interaction as more of a consultation.
"What we want to do is help people find solutions," he said.
The business is a return, of sorts, for King, whose first professional job some 20 years ago was with now-defunct Scandinavian Design Gallery in New Jersey. That company trained him as a manager but also in Denmark as a designer. His career later took him to Staples, which brought him to St. Petersburg, and then Tech Data, but he never gave up his interest in design.
"I was still doing people's homes for free," King said.
With a goal to own his own business, King left sales at Tech Data to buy American Closet Systems, which he grew for three years before selling in 2005. He then set out to launch DOMA and marry his design interest with his varied business background.
"We sort of specialize in sourcing," he said of plans to help customers but adapt with them. "I want it to be organic, what the market wants. You're going to see it evolve."
King said about half his business comes when customers see something they almost like and he finds the right answer through his catalog connections. He said items like Dinec tables, which customers design uniquely themselves, help the client create an individual stamp for a home. He can even get rugs made with customers' designs, or custom-made furniture for that odd corner. "You can draw your own and we'll make it for you," he said.
Not all shoppers can pay for custom work, but King's stock is unusual enough to allow for individual expression. He said customers so far have most often commented that "it's about time" for a store like his.
"I wanted to show people what was available," King said. "St. Pete needs something like this."
Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.
Where: 2540 22nd Ave. N, Mainstream Plaza in St Petersburg
