Shipshape Furniture at La Place
By Breanne Boland April 8, 2004 Issue

Teak in La Place can be had almost any way you can imagine. Teak doors and floors, chairs and desks and tables and beds. Teak alligators snarling from under teak dressers and wardrobes. You could fill an entire household with all manner of teak – they even have teak toys for tots. There’s no teak too small – you could buy a tiny teak motorcycle, fully articulated, with rolling teak tires and a Harley-Davidson sticker on the side.

Bernadette Chancey is the manager of the Destin store. Hendrik and Maria Engel own it, and the two other La Places in Fairhope, Ala. and Pensacola. They also keep it stocked by going on shopping trips to Indonesia at least once a year to see what new designs are available. Chancey feels this is part of what makes La Place worth frequent visits. “Every week people come in here, and there’s something new,” she says. “Everything is from the West Indies, and is very eclectic.”

Maria Engel is responsible for accessories shopping. “She tries to keep it interesting and different,” Chancey says. “She tries to get things you don’t see elsewhere.” As an example, she points out a rough teak bowl, irregularly shaped and carved so that the rings in the wood form concentric circles inside. “You can pour paraffin in it and make a giant candle, or fill it with ice and use it as a wine bucket, or just as a bowl. It’s been a big seller.”

The variety allows customers to mix and match in a way you can’t find at an average furniture store, where inventory usually comes from a catalog, so the desk you buy can be found in hundreds of other homes. “There’s no matchy-matchy stuff,” she says. “One of the great things about our furniture is the charm of it being handmade. None of it is exactly the same. The flaws—if you can call them that—are part of the character.”

As far as Chancey is concerned, there are few flaws to be found when you’re dealing with teak. “They make ships and boats out of teak because it retains its natural oil, which no other kind of wood does,” she says. “The water can’t penetrate the wood, so it never rots. It’s perfect for outdoor use. We call it ‘the gold of wood.’ Teak will hold up in the salt air. And salt air will eat everything.”

Furthermore, all of the furniture they sell is handmade by craftspeople in Indonesia, and all of the wood is kiln-dried, which keeps the wood from shrinking as it ages. “The wood won’t pull away from the joints, so the furniture stays solid,” Chancey says, “while other furniture will become loose and shaky.”

Chancey stresses that the wood in La Place’s furniture is environmentally friendly. “All of the teak in here is plantation grown,” she says. The farms are controlled by the Indonesian government, and were started 200 years ago by the Dutch.

The Engels return to the same Indonesian suppliers every year and maintain contact with them between visits, so any piece of furniture that can be found in any of their stores can be made to order. Dimensions can be changed, designs can be altered, and in 12 weeks, a specially ordered piece of furniture can arrive at your doorstep. La Place charges for delivery of purchases, but all charges go to the Santa Maria Orphanage in Indonesia. “It’s our way of giving back to the community,” Chancey says. She attributes some of La Place’s success to being socially conscious. Retail karma, if you will.

They also try to stay ahead of the trends. Many people think of Florida style as bright colors, a tropical feel, and light wood. However, Chancey says, “If you mix light and dark wood, it sets off the atmosphere in your home. If you use all light furniture, your house looks washed out.”

The Engels are spreading the teak gospel elsewhere too. The furniture in La Place is sold under the name Chic Teak, the brand the Engels give the furniture they import. They also wholesale Chic Teak to other merchants. Because of their direct importing, Chancey says, the store has some of the best prices on teak in the country. “It’s very attractive for renters,” Chancey says. “They can decorate for a reasonable price while using quality furniture.”

La Place’s plans for the next year include a new store, twice as big as their current one, and a warehouse to match, so that inventory doesn’t have to be fetched from Pensacola and Fairhope. However, the crowded sales floor, which Chancey describes as being low on inventory, still offers plenty of ways to get your teak on. It this teaks your interest, call 269-0969.

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