DECEMBER 17, 2009 ISSUE
Business Spotlight
Quality Products and Courteous Service—House of Upholstery Reopens in Boone
Ken Cook, House of Upholstery owner, and Caite O’Bryant, furniture design consultant, stand by some of the store’s fabric sample books. The business provides “quality work and courteous service,” Cook said. Photo by Corinne SaundersAfter being in business from 1976 to 1995, House of Upholstery & Fabrics, Inc. owner Ken Cook “wanted to do something different,” he said.
Cook ran a tool truck route for about four years, then commuted to Hickory for several years to work at a high-end custom furniture company and, finally, worked locally at a floor covering business, “but was never satisfied,” he said.
Cook decided to reopen House of Upholstery, and since December 1, it has once again been operating in Boone, just in a new location—378 Highway 105 Bypass, Suite 5.
House of Upholstery offers a broad selection of fabrics, including linens, leathers and big bold prints.
“Bright colors are a trend right now,” said Caite O’Bryant, furniture design consultant and Cook’s only full-time employee.
“We have all types of trims, exotic wood and rustic-type wood, solid and engineered floors [and we] also sell unfinished floors,” O’Bryant said. “We’re in the process of partnering with new fabric sources and fabric distributors.”
O’Bryant, who graduated from ASU in May with a degree in interior design, worked with Cook at a previous job in floor covering, she said.
At House of Upholstery, “I’m learning how to upholster and helping on the computer side of things [with] office work [and] phones,” O’Bryant said.
Several subcontractors also work for Cook, he said, noting that “we still sell, refurbish and install wood floors.”
Cook, originally from Boone, boasts more than 30 years of experience in upholstery.
“My dad worked in furniture,” Cook said. “Living with it, being around it, got me interested in it.”
Cook, who had moved with his parents down to Hickory, studied upholstery at Catawba Valley Technical Institute.
“I always said I’d come back when I had the chance,” he said. “I just love the mountains.”
His father worked for Century Furniture in Hickory, staining and finishing furniture, and Cook worked in the company’s upholstery division in 1967 or 1968, he said.
“I wanted to move to Boone and start my own business,” Cook said, adding that in 1976, he did.
House of Upholstery has completed sofas, chairs and more for both commercial and residential clients, Cook said, adding that he has also reupholstered pews for 15 to 20 churches.
“Taking old furniture and making it look better than ever” is Cook’s forte, and he added that “quality work and courteous service” are his company’s priorities.
One of his previous places of employment did not place such an emphasis on courtesy to customers, which was a main reason the job “left a bad taste in my mouth,” he explained.
Cook and O’Bryant, however, will meet the needs of “anybody who wants furniture reupholstered,” and anyone interested in custom sofa and chair design, custom throw pillows, flooring or more, and be respectful and helpful throughout the process.
House of Upholstery & Fabrics, Inc. is located at 378 Highway 105 Bypass, Suite 5, in Boone. The business is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturday by appointment. For more information, call 828-297-2526.
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