Bacon’s Furniture & Design, a new and more design-driven format for the Port Charlotte-based company, opened yesterday in the former home of Robb & Stucky on South Tamiami Trail.  It was a soft opening, with an eye toward a grand opening around the first week in November. The concept will be tweaked, room sets will be embellished, and everything is scheduled to be ready for the arrival of snowbirds.

Still, there was plenty to see, and you could easily understand that the store’s mission is to fill the void Robb & Stucky left in our market. In a way, Bacon's aims to go one step further and deliver high style with a new twist: high value. One new brand that does just that is called Caracole. It’s affordable, and designers love it. (By the way, you’ll be happy to know that several formal Robb & Stucky staff designers have been hired by Bacon’s.) Since some of my favorites worked out of Robb & Stucky Patio, I’m hoping they’ll be on board when Bacon’s Outdoor Living opens directly across Tamiami Trail from the interiors store in January (in Bacon’s former Thomasville concept store).

Getting back to Caracole. It’s produced by Schnadig, a venerable North Carolina company, and the furniture is original and fun. Every piece has a clever name, like this Star Light, Star Bright Bed.





Friends and business collaborators John Murse (owner of Rugs As Art) and Bill Bacon took time out to explain how rugs will be integrated into furniture settings on the main floor to create a total look.


Rugs As Art will open a Rugs As Art Design Resource Center on the second floor at Bacon’s in a couple of weeks, and they’ve hired the former manager of Robb & Stucky’s floor covering department to manage this new venture. John and Bill have tested the concept of merging their expertise in Bacon’s Port Charlotte store, which has had a Rugs As Art component for several years.

One fun example is the new Lilly Pulitzer department, where John added a brightly colored Tufenkian wool carpet to the setting brimming with Lilly’s high-powered colors. Jeff Bacon tells me their stores have the exclusive on Lilly on the west coast of Florida. We’ve been wondering when this brand would hit Sarasota—love, love, love the citrus and ocean colors and patterns.



In fact, I’ve been holding on to some great photos of Lilly stuff since the press launch in High Point, N.C., a year ago. Here are a couple of my favorites:





The store offers a cross-section of brands from Lexington to Tommy Bahama, an entire Thomasville store within a store, and the hot new line by celeb chef Paula Deen.  

Bacon’s Furniture & Design: 7557 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota (941) 894-3090