Gallatin Valley Furniture Partner Website

Room for Improvement

A Guide to Furnishing Your Home

Advice and expertise from the in-house design team at Gallatin Valley Furniture

by Molly Kordares

For nearly 80 years, Gallatin Valley Furniture has been a go-to destination for homeowners in Montana and beyond. The store first opened just after World War II in 1946, as a simple shop on Main Street in downtown Bozeman. Now, the business has evolved into a massive, 36,000-square-foot building with a full in-house design team, more than 100 vendor partners, and even a trade program for outside designers.

The sprawling showroom at Gallatin Valley Furniture has just about everything for outfitting a home: lighting, blinds, area rugs, artwork, textiles, and— of course—enough furniture options to satisfy even the most discerning shoppers and designers. The owners pride themselves on offering an exclusive mix of pieces for every taste and every budget.

Western Home Journal spoke to three of the store’s in-house design consultants, to find out what advice they have for clients looking to furnish their homes.

FIND YOUR INSPIRATION

Whether it’s redecorating a single room or furnishing a new home from scratch, the designers at Gallatin Valley Furniture all agree that your vision is always step one. “Knowing the client’s vision will help lead us in the right direction to fill the space in their home,” says designer Paul Jakovac, who has been with the company for nearly two decades. “I’ll usually start by asking a lot of open-ended questions to help build a picture in my mind,” he says. Jakovac says you can expect questions like, “Tell me about the room. Are there specific colors you would like to incorporate into the space? How will the room be used?”

Designer Averie Skillestad also recommends bringing photos into the showroom with you, even if you are just browsing. “Inspiration pictures are so great,” she says. “I really don’t get a ton of them, and I wish more clients would bring them in.” She says they help her get a sense of your style so she can start filtering options for you. Skillestad also suggests bringing floor plans and dimensions into the store with you to give your designer a better sense of the space they are working with.

If you don’t have a vision, that’s not a problem. “Because of the size of our showroom, we can walk around and use it as a guide,” says designer Sarah Bucklin. “Everything here is very customizable, so even if they don’t like the fabric or the shape of something they see, we can help them customize it for their home.”

Gallatin Valley Furniture also offers in-home consultations for clients who prefer to brainstorm in their own homes. “We do a ton of them,” says Skillestad. “We’ll go to the home, take measurements, do some space planning, and then we’ll just talk about the space we’re in and what they want to do with it.” Afterwards, the designer will do some quick sketches and come back with options they have pulled from either their in-stock inventory or custom-order pieces. “It’s a great way to use our skills and knowledge inside your home.”

KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

To better understand the room you are hoping to furnish, designers need to understand how you plan on using it. Jakovac says, “I’ll often ask, ‘Is this a conversation area? A TV-watching area? Are kids playing here?’ Because all of that is very important for me to know. That way, I can lead you down a path that’s suitable for your space. For example, the last thing we want is a light, linen-covered sofa in a room full of children and pets.”

The same goes for rental properties and vacation homes. “If what we are furnishing is a rental home, that makes a huge difference,” says Bucklin. “We can still find quality pieces for your home, but we will be looking at ones that can withstand a lot—like performance fabrics that are easy to clean, or more budget-friendly pieces that could be replaced if needed.”

Gallatin Valley Furniture offers plenty of high-end investment pieces, but for homes that aren’t a primary residence, the designers say those might not be the best option. “People who are putting furniture into a rental home have to be a little more economical about it,” says Skillestad. “They are going to have to replace those items more frequently because there’s just such a faster rate of wear and tear in a rental home.”

“We have a wall with literally thousands of fabric samples. Get your hands on them. Take them home. Get them in your space and see what you like.”

–Paul Jakovac, Designer

USE YOUR SENSES

Each designer we spoke with also agrees that you should never underestimate the power of seeing something with your eyes and feeling it with your hands. “You would not believe the amount of people who come into our store and tell us they just bought a sofa online and hate it,” says Skillestad. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to be able to feel what you are buying, rather than just look at photos of it online.”

“The internet is pretty big,” says Jakovac, “and unfortunately, it’s very easy for people to buy something they see online and then be disappointed. The advantage of a showroom as large as ours is that you can come in and touch all the furniture, sit on all the sofas and chairs, and really feel the comfort and quality of the pieces.”

Plus, the designers remind all their clients that the way something looks in the showroom might not be the same as the way it looks in their house. They encourage people to take samples home and see them in their own light. “We have a wall with literally thousands of fabric samples,” says Jakovac. “Get your hands on them. Take them home. Get them in your space and see what you like.”

“We live in such a throw-away society, and I really think we should cherish things more. That’s why a lot of our upholstery pieces are heirloom quality, which means the frame will never break down and can be passed from generation to generation.”

–Averie Skillestad, Designer

“I’ve had clients who love the look of wool fabrics and come in wanting wool for their home. But after talking to them about their space, I realize the room gets a lot of direct sunlight, which will cause discoloration on wool. So, we pivot to a different fabric that still provides the texture and look without natural fiber.”

–Sarah Bucklin, Designer

BE FLEXIBLE

A client’s vision is always the most important thing, but the designers at Gallatin Valley Furniture encourage people to sometimes allow their minds to be changed during the buying process. “For example,” says Bucklin, “I’ve had clients who love the look of wool fabrics and come in wanting wool for their home. But after talking to them about their space, I realize the room gets a lot of direct sunlight, which will cause discoloration on wool. So, we pivot to a different fabric that still provides the texture and look without natural fiber.”

“Of course, we are always listening to what they want,” says Skillestad, “but we are also adding in design principles that they might not have considered.” Like sustainability, which is something she encourages her clients to think about. “We live in such a throw-away society, and I really think we should cherish things more. That’s why a lot of our upholstery pieces are heirloom quality, which means the frame will never break down and can be passed from generation to generation.”

Jakovac says being open and honest during the process will ensure that the design team at Gallatin Valley Furniture leads you in the right direction. “I’ve found that people love to talk about their homes. The more you tell us about it during the process, the better we can help you design your dream space.”

“We have an awesome team,” says Bucklin, “and everybody really cares and listens to the client. Redesigning a space can be scary, but our job is to take the fear aspect out of it. And providing that relief is a great feeling.”

“I’ve found that people love to talk about their homes. The more you tell us about it during the process, the better we can help you design your dream space.”

–Paul Jakovac, Designer