Warehouse of the Year!

If there were such an award, I think I would have a pretty good crack at it, although my friend Jo Potvin of Design to Market in Cincinnati, OH would give me a run for my money (Take a Peak at our Warehouse). My company, Moving Mountains Design & Home Staging, outgrew our previous location - my guest house and carport. It took me a while to find it, but on December 15, 2007 I leased a warehouse in Arcadia, CA. It was about 1,100 sq. ft. to start with, and I added (well, I paid a contractor to do it) another 400 or so sq. ft. mezzanine to increase available storage.

Beside the fact that we were bursting at the seams, I wanted to be able to increase my inventory. I currently own enough inventory for about 10 houses. With the new space and high ceilings, we can expand that to 15-20 houses.

Here is what the space looked like before we moved in:

The previous tenant restored classic cars here.

OK, so here are the "after" photos. Keep in mind, we are still moving in, but things are developing nicely.

This is "the greenhouse" (left) and lamps r us (right)

We fondly refer to this (up on the mezzanine) to Pillowland & Bed, Bath & ...well, you know the rest! I have tried to incorporate a tabletop in each section for sorting the things we want to use in a particular staging, and the things we are returning to inventory. Right now we have the luxury of space, so we can afford to have empty horizontal surfaces. I keep all my bedding, towels & throw pillows in plastic tubs to help keep them clean, together & for ease of grabbing and going. I may change this once we are entirely moved in, to have the throw pillows displayed openly, for ease of selection.

This area is where we store all the accessories, fake food, etc. We call it "wonderland".

We are still working out storage options for artwork, furniture (I mostly rent large pieces, but do stock smaller items or items I can't find a rental source for) and the rugs. I have a feeling palette racking is in my future. I'll post some more photos when we are finished.

UPDATE: I found my warehouse on www.loopnet.com a website where commercial REAs advertise their listings. We signed a 3 year lease. If we need more space, we will either expand the mezzanine or lease another unit, if one is available in the same complex. We are paying $1.10/sq. ft./month.

(c)2008 Moving Mountains Design