Haus-Envy brings fresh furniture, decor to Lakewood Ranch

Being new to the Lakewood Ranch area, business owner Nicole Nuzzo decided to implement her new vision.

That vision eventually became Haus-Envy Furniture and Decor, which is located at 9626 State Road 64 east inside School House Plaza. Haus-Envy specializes in unique furnishings and gifts.

Nuzzo owned a high-end consignment store in South Carolina for eight years. That store shifted to mostly new items toward the end of its time, giving Nuzzo the nudge to go with a new store with all new items. She uses her expertise in finding items at market for a great price and reselling them at affordable prices.

“We have soft goods like furniture, chairs, accent chairs, light fixtures, things like that,” Nuzzo said. “There’s tons of home decor, we're heavy on gifts, like the cash and carry stuff. We’ve also had people coming in picking up some personal costume jewelry, lotions, and candles.”

The market approach leads to a lot of uniqueness inside Haus-Envy. Nuzzo said that she can get repeat items about 30 percent of the time, meaning that shoppers need to check in regularly to see what’s in the store.

‘We've stocked the floor with whatever we have, and when it's gone, it's gone,” Nuzzo said. “We replaced it with something else. That way, we're keeping it fresh all the time. And we're trying to provide a good vibe for people as well.”

Haus-Envy Product Manager Jodi Rice said that approach has already led to a lot of repeat customers.

“We have people who just keep coming back because the store is so fresh and new and because we put new stuff out every day,” she said. 

Nuzzo said Haus-Envy also does artificial flowers, where a customer can either bring in or purchase a vase and the staff helps make an arrangement. They also do in-house design consulting.

“You can bring pictures and fabric samples, things that are in your own home and we can help them put it together with what we have in house,” Nuzzo said.

Haus-Envy is gearing up for the upcoming Holiday season. Christmas trees already dot the sales floor and large Nutcracker toy soldier statues greeted customers as they walked into the store for last weekend’s Christmas open house. 

“We are heavy on small gifts and tabletops and trinkets,” Nuzzo said. "Our sign says furniture and lighting, but we’re so much more than that. The bulk of what we sell is gifts and personal items. So I think over the holidays, there's a lot of opportunity to get something different and unique for people.”

Rice said the store will stand out in the community for a variety of reasons.

“The variety of merchandise in the store, the variety of home decor, the customer service and the help we provide is phenomenal,” she said. “The variety of home decor in our store is unlike anything else in this area.”