Quality Home Décor and Gift Shop!

This posting is a little unusual for me!  Why?  Well, having spent most of my career in the cut throat retail industry topped with a natural aversion to most shopping, I try not to even go in stores… I do make exceptions when absolutely needed for clothing or basic household needs and I admit that I like browsing through antique stores. 

However, once in a while we come across a specialty store or a spectacular store…or something that is just completely off the wall different than the norm.

So when Laurie’s sister Bonnie was visiting back in October, she had seen an ad for a home décor/gift shop in our local paper.  It was right off of I-75 in Sweetwater Tennessee.  Off we went!  Enter through the log arch…

Wait a minute!  The sign behind that arch is for Natural Element Homes and it directed us to check in. 

Natural Element Homes is a builder of log homes of all sizes and they have projects all over the country.  It turns out that the husband, Robert Lambert, is the founder and President owner of the company while his wife operates a totally different type of business… Interested in building a log home?  You can check out Natural Element Homes website at http://www.naturalelementhomes.com/.

This log home is both a model home as well as the sales office for Natural Element Homes.  Laurie and I have been in this beautiful building and we chatted at length with some of the sales staff.  They are well acquainted with some of the key characters on the television’s “Barnwood Builders”, one of Laurie’s favorite shows.

This other attractive log home was the true goal of this shopping foray.  Actually, we’ve been here twice in the past month…

Here’s the front door to the store…Natural Element Interiors… As stated, the store features antiques (mostly furniture), furnishings and gifts.

For the most part, I’ll let the photos speak for us.  This shop offers classy, tasteful furniture and decorative items.  It was dressed up for Christmas but not overly so…

There was one key factor at work during our visits.  On a previous visit Laurie had seen a large framed French horse print that she coveted.  Normally I could just fluff off such a purchase…but as I mentioned in a previous blog post, she was in the middle of her 2-month long birthday celebration!

The shop is packed with all kinds of impulse goodies as well as some very serious purchases.

Usually I can browse through a store…almost any store…in about 10 minutes.  I will admit that Natural Element offers such interesting items that it took me 20 minutes to make my rounds!

They have a really nice selection of throw pillows that can change up your décor at a very reasonable cost!  Some of the antique furniture is spectacular…

Laurie really liked the chairs at this table but we just had our antique double pressed back oak chairs repaired and she agreed we didn’t need any more chairs.  Whew!

Laurie really liked that staghorn potted fern on the table in the back… So I told her to step away from the plant!  However I fear that I might lose in this matter as she’s planning to revisit the shop with 3 girlfriends the day after this posting is published. 

This was the view from the second floor balcony…

So you may be asking… Just how did the trip work out?  Well we picked up 3 nice lamps and that print she wanted!  I tried to tie the lamps to her birthday along with her birthday print but she’s claiming that the lamps were necessary replacements for our home…and not presents!

Oh well… Happy Wife, Happy Life!  The good news is that she only has 16 days left to celebrate her birthday this year…

Fairy Lambert is the owner of Natural Element Interiors.  Her store is located at 1225 Murray’s Chapel Road in Sweetwater TN. (Near Exit 60/TN Hwy. 68 off of I-75) Phone: 800-970-2224, ext. 116.  The website is at www.NaturalElementInteriors.com. 

Just click on any of the photos to get a closer look at what this store has to offer…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave