What's New

Barn on the Range
“Three years ago, we bought a yellow barn and its 12 acres as investment property, and we had no idea how much it would change our lives,” says Regina Tenbrink, co-owner of The Yellow Barn with her  husband, Jerry.  The three-story yellow barn houses Shea Photography on the third floor, Jerry’s CPA office on the second floor and the shop on the main level. When the couple first bought the barn, located at 11272 Ridgeview in Olathe, another store was leasing the main level. Because people walked through the foyer areas to get to the shop, Regina wanted it to look nice, so she livened up the space with statues, figurines and other festive decor, and soon began selling her decorations. The  Yellow Barn showcases vintage-inspired gifts for the home and garden, such as seasonal decor, tabletop accessories, wall art and clocks. The Yellow Barn also has jewelry, pictures, garden decor and baby boutique items — all items that help “feather your nest,” Regina says. Store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday, with a 7 p.m. closing on  Thursday. 913.888.8976

Door No. 2
Branaman Cabinet, Inc. has been in business for 42 years. Previously located in Harrisonville, Mo., the store recently built a 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Peculiar, with a beautiful showroom, along with a separate pre-finish building. The store offers a wide variety of standard styles and unlimited custom options with an in-house design team. Branaman Cabinet is able to accommodate anything from commercial projects with box-style cabinets to intricately detailed designs for million-dollar-plus homes. With the new addition, Branaman Cabinet continues to focus even more on production goals, meeting customer’s needs and scheduling. Builders and remodeling contractors are encouraged to tour the computer-automated shop for a look at the operation in action. bcimo.com

Build Your Dream Home
Kansas City offers the best of the best when it comes to home building. Co-owner of Timberstone Development for the past nine years, Cory Childress has recently branched out on his own. His new Leawood-based company, Evan-Talan Homes, focuses on homes that range from $800,000 to $4 million. Because Cory’s a family man and devoted father, he named his new business after his two boys, Evan and Talan. With the new company, Cory plans on continuing to incorporate his architectural ideas to create tailored plans for each client, which is what he enjoys most about his job. 816.289.1122 or evan-talanhomes.com

Peachy Keen
Located at 159th and Mur-len in the Arbor Creek Shopping Village in Olathe, Connie Molsen’s store, Peaches and Dreams Home Decor and Accessories, is a one-stop shop that celebrated its one-year anniversary in  September. “I am in a very new shopping area, and people are constantly coming in who didn’t know this area even existed,” Connie says.

Her store features an eclectic range of home decor items, which include everything from frames, floral arrangements, artwork and vases to metal urns, pottery, Wood Wick candles and the Habitat home and body collection. She also puts together gift baskets that will please even the pickiest relative. Store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. 913.393.4556 or  peachesanddreamshome.com

Dirt Be Gone
Floors and surfaces can be a pain to clean, especially when the cleaning is long overdue. Victory Cleaning Systems is a company that offers a relatively new service to eliminate that problem. It can restore any type of tile and natural stone, such as marble, granite, ceramic tile, limestone and terrazzo. Acrylic, slate, travertine, Saltillo, porcelain and quarry are all on the can-do list, too. Victory Cleaning has been known to clean a variety of spaces, both commercial and residential, including kitchens, shower stalls, patios, pool decks, backsplashes, lobbies, hallways, walls and bathrooms. The company also cleans carpets and carries a variety of protective sealants for surface protection. Other services include anti-slip treatments and sealing and color staining. For a free demonstration, call 913.269.2103 or visit vcleaning.com.

Top It Off…
With a new countertop, that is. If your kitchen or bathroom is missing that certain something, K.C. Countertops has a variety of new countertop choices for you. Specialized for customers who want to remodel their existing home, the Blue Springs-based company offers almost any type of counter, from the popular choices of granite and quartz to solid surface countertops and modernized laminate tops. It also offers a wide variety of materials for your bathroom vanity, including custom countertops from the Onyx collection. In-home estimates and samples are available. 816.405.1232 or kccountertops.com

Creative Expansion
Arlene Ladegaard, president and lead designer for Design Connection, Inc., decided it was time to expand. Formerly in Leawood, Kan., the design firm now has a new showroom at 10520 Barkley in Overland Park, Kan. The showroom features 1,500 square feet of fabric, wall coverings, flooring, window treatments and numerous design elements for clients who want to remodel. Besides the new showroom, the facility also includes private consultation rooms, a meeting area for staff designers and a gallery of the firm’s work — all designed by Arlene. With the new location and showroom, she has a place to house and create all design styles for any client. 913.851.8776 or designconnectioninc.com

Movin’ on Up
In 1995, David and Lynn Blaser opened an antique store called Armoires & More. Needing more space, they moved into a 10,000-square-foot building in 2000 and began featuring all new furniture.

In September 2007, Armoires & More found plenty more room in its new location at 10325 Metcalf in Overland Park. Focusing on home entertainment, home theater and home office, the 30,000-square-foot store offers enough room for you to design or redesign with its full line of furniture and variety of accessories, artwork and lamps. “I love furniture, the new looks, and I love to shop,” Lynn says. “All of our employees love to accessorize, and we change the product every week to keep things interesting.” Each week the store receives about 25 percent new product, and if you need something that isn’t there, custom options are available. 913.438.3868 or armoiresandmore.com

A Purchase with All the Trimmings
In February 2007, Alicia deFlon became the proud owner of the 10-year-old Home Embellishments store in Parkville. It’s a gift and home decor store that features    furniture, jewelry, sculptures and paintings by carefully selected artists, many of which are local, as well as numerous collections of knobs, pulls and switch plates. Since Alicia purchased the store, she has expanded it by opening the upstairs and adding several unique and artistic furniture lines. “I want to make it a store for customers to find unusual and unique touches for themselves and their home,” she says. Interior design services are also available. 816.505.1022 or home.embellishments@yahoo.com