Decorated Den receives hardware

The real estate downturn on the Gulf Coast raked a host of related businesses, from shutter installers to roofers and painters.

But the owners of Decorating Den Interiors in Bonita Springs and Sanibel survived the slaughter and recently won their company's Franchise Business Owner of the Year award. Owners Cliff Welles and Judy Underwood beat out owners of about 450 other stores nationwide.

As we recounted in the Review's Feb. 25 issue, sales at the Decorating Den stores in South Florida were up 38% last year compared with the previous year, a clear sign that the economy is recovering.

Welles reported that affluent customers are spending money again on new furniture and interior design services, buoyed by increases in their investment portfolios. “I'm very positive,” Welles says. “Our own franchise is booked through the summer.”

Many consumers who held off during the recession are spending now. “There's a pent-up demand and we're seeing that now,” Welles says. And now, he notes, “there's a whole lot less competition.”