Flourish Spaces owner Stevie McFadden, right, and retail manager Audie McDougall. The interior design studio recently relocated within the River Road II Shopping Center in Henrico. (Courtesy Flourish Spaces)
A local interior design firm has traded spaces to further emphasize an expansion into retail it made a few years ago.
Flourish Spaces opened earlier this month at 5029 Huguenot Road, just a few doors down from the design studio and retail shop’s previous home in the same shopping center.
The new 2,700-square-foot location is on the end of the retail strip and next to Chico’s. While smaller than Flourish Spaces’ old spot, the new location was more customizable to the company’s needs, and its design was informed by experience gained in recent years operating its retail store, owner Stevie McFadden said.
“When the end cap space became available, we jumped at the opportunity to be able to design our own space for how we knew our customers and clients really wanted to shop and to showcase our merchandise,” McFadden said. “It also allowed us to build out our design studio in a much better way with better access to lighting.”
The shop sells furniture, paint, wallpaper and lighting, among other things. Flourish Spaces moved to the center in 2023 with an eye toward expanding its retail operations, which were launched in late 2020 as Flourish Collective and later renamed for consistency with the interior design firm’s branding.
“We moved here about three years ago from our Jackson Ward location, which was a big move for us to see if we could really make a go with the retail in this location, and the change to this part of town was fantastic. It really boosted our retail presence,” McFadden said.
The store carries brands including Little Greene Paint, Wesley Hall, Taylor King, Four Hands, Visual Comfort and Hudson Valley.
McFadden said the business’s revenue is now split about evenly three ways between interior design services, retail sales and procurement services, in which Flourish Spaces buys furnishings and other items on behalf of other businesses that want to outfit a space.
McFadden declined to comment on the investment made in the new location or the length of her lease there. RiverWest Contractors handled renovations on the new store.
Flourish Spaces, which McFadden founded in 2014, had operated at 221 E. Clay St. in Jackson Ward before moving to River Road II. McFadden still owns the Jackson Ward building at the corner of East Clay and North Third streets in Richmond but wants to sell it. Ann Schweitzer Riley of One South has the listing.
The new Flourish Spaces location was formerly home to menswear store Beecroft & Bull, which moved to the Libbie-Grove area several years ago. Flourish Spaces’ neighbors in the center include Gild and Ash and Stella’s, among others.
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