Styled Abode offers home design and decor
Styled Abode owner Becky Dempster stands behind the counter of the new store, which opened July 1 in downtown Elkader.
Styled Abode will offer unique furnishings, vintage Turkish rugs, lighting and a variety of home décor, as well as owner Becky Dempster’s design expertise. (Photo courtesy of Styled Abode)
What makes the décor unique is where it is sourced and how. According to Becky, the pieces will almost exclusively come from countries that have fair trade business practices and pay their employees a fair and living wage. That includes Haiti, India, Turkey, Kenya and Senegal. Some items will also come from small business owners in the United States. (Photo courtesy of Styled Abode)
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
It was a winding road but, eventually, Becky Dempster arrived at her destination: a storefront in a business friendly community.
It was the culmination of a journey that started with a lifestyle blog before transitioning into a DIY site. This spurred the next step, a switch to home styling design and color consulting, because Becky saw the value in creating not just beautiful homes with designs and décor, but also functioning homes for busy adults with kids.
In the beginning, this business was known as Homestead 128, and it had a motto: “We know home design can be delivered in a way that equips you to make smart decisions and be in charge of the style of your home. We believe in treating others with honesty and kindness, and we are focused on the bigger picture. Giving back to improve the home lives of those in other communities and countries.”
Under the direction of this motto, Becky saw success as a home designer, even having a mudroom makeover featured on the blogs of magazines like Real Simple and Good Housekeeping.
This success led to the next evolution of the journey, and in 2016, Becky started hosting the Barn on 128, a pop-up style barn sale full of unique finds and vintage items located on her home farm. It was an extension of the home design business, hosting local vendors who offered a variety of vintage items, re-purposed pieces, industrial finds and handmade treasures.
Over time, the focus began to shift again, mostly because the Barn on 128 had been a success, so it afforded Becky greater opportunities. One such opportunity was opening a storefront, to move beyond the online business setting and the pop-up vendor model and to have an actual boutique that also serves as the home base for her styling services.
She said it was a “leap of faith” to transition from barn sales to an actual storefront, but the next step needed to be taken. And as old storefronts disappear from downtown Elkader, new ones arrive to create new images and memories. On July 1, Styled Abode opened at 107 W. Bridge St.
Becky said choosing Elkader was based on not just the availability of space, but because she “loves being a part of the local community in Clayton County and getting to know other families and business owners.”
She added, “The relationships here are genuine and I love to work among the community sharing my passion for styling homes. And I’m always in awe at how the community of Elkader rallies around its businesses, and they welcomed me into the community right away.”
At Styled Abode, Becky hopes to fill a void in the community by offering unique furnishings, vintage Turkish rugs, lighting and a variety of home décor, as well as her design expertise. The goal is to become a valuable asset in offering these items, which are traditionally only found in bigger towns.
What makes the décor unique is where it is sourced and how. According to Becky, the pieces will almost exclusively come from countries that have fair trade business practices and pay their employees a fair and living wage. That includes Haiti, India, Turkey, Kenya and Senegal. Some items will also come from small business owners in the United States.
Of course, that’s assuming the orders arrive on time. Like many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been breakdowns in the supply chain, causing “shipping headaches,” as Becky put it.
Those headaches have led to the store only receiving about half the furniture that was ordered in April and May. But Becky is not one to dwell on what’s missing, but instead focuses on what is in the store—and what is in the store is high quality furniture and décor pieces that will “fill your home with personality and style,” she shared.
“So many of the products we carry have a story behind them and your purchase will not only be beautiful in your home, but will also support communities from around the world,” Becky said.
Anyone interested in supporting Styled Abode in this mission can stop by Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
