LOFT Home: Local furniture retailer wins national awardPhoto by Lyndsey Taylor

Offir Schwartz opened LOFT Home in 2006 at The Domain with his wife, Kelly.

Local furniture retailer wins national award

After a six-year presence in Austin, furniture and design store LOFT Home in The Domain has been nationally recognized as the best independent furniture store in the United States.

The ARTS Award was presented to co-founders Kelly and Offir Schwartz at a gala ceremony Jan. 19 in Dallas. Offir said the business was nominated by industry peers and that the store was chosen from hundreds of retailers. The ARTS Awards are given to businesses in the home industry for excellence in retailing, manufacturing, design and representation.

"It's a pretty high accolade to be nominated by industry peers and then to win. We were shocked and delighted," he said.

The staff at LOFT Home aim to provide a comfortable setting when customers walk into the store as well as throughout their process of decorating, Offir said. The store carries contemporary and modern items such as sofas, tables, chairs, rugs, table lamps and bedding. Offir said about 50 percent of the store's upholstery comes from its own private label.

Before starting LOFT Home in Austin, Offir and Kelly lived in Los Angeles, where Kelly worked as a professional designer on yachts and homes. When they decided to start a business together, Kelly's original idea was to open a furniture store for babies, but the business idea shifted to contemporary furniture and ultimately LOFT Home.

Since winning the award, Offir said the couple plans to focus on growing their customer base in Austin, expanding the store's private label and adding more rare items that cannot be found anywhere else in the nation. Offir and Kelly make two international buying trips a year, mostly to Asia, as well as to North Carolina.

"We're going to continue to deliver value to our customers with exquisite design, amazing customer service, a unique shopping experience and a great product," he said.

LOFT Home offers several services to its customers, including:

  • Complimentary in-home design consultation
  • Fabric protection with a five-year warranty
  • Local and national delivery
  • Free subscription to LOFT Home catalog
  • Opportunity to customize most furniture, such as choosing upholstery fabric or wood finish

Gift items at LOFT Home include:

  • Books on interior decorating, furniture and cooking
  • Assorted scented candles and votives
  • Wall art
  • Tabletop dinner party games, such as "Table Topics"
  • Ornaments
  • Picture frames
  • Assorted dcor
  • Throw pillows
  • Decorative bowls, trays and throws

The client experience at LOFT Home

Customers can visit LOFT Home's showroom at The Domain to buy items for their home, but if they need further design assistance, they can make an appointment with one of the design consultants for a home visit.

A LOFT Home consultant will measure the room, assess the client's needs and design taste and will put together a variety of options for the client that will also complement items the client wants to keep in the space.

When the items arrive, LOFT Home will deliver the client's new furniture, lighting and accessories.