Jonathan Pollock
Even compared to its fellow foundering American businesses, the home-furnishings industry has had a tough go of it these past several years. So it’s nice to see one doing well. Even nicer to see a long-standing, independently owned one doing well. Nicest of all when it deserves its success.
Today Centro Modern Furnishings caters to both professionals and the public out of a 9,000-square-foot storefront in the Central West End. But when the store opened its doors 22 years ago, it was a to-the-trade furniture dealer on Washington Avenue. Back in the late ’80s, St. Louis wasn’t exactly clamoring for the stark lines and rigid plastics of Italian designer furniture. Since then, the sofas have gotten softer; the customers, savvier. “A lot of people know the names of their favorite furniture designers when they walk in the door,” says showroom manager Steve Schuepfer.
Those names are “mostly Italian, with a little German and Austrian thrown in,” Mr. Schuepfer says. They include B&B Italia, Cassina, Cappellini (“the Prada of furniture”), Driade, Zanotta, Flexform, and more. Each spring, Centro owners Ginny Stewart and Todd Lannom go to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan—furniture’s equivalent to Paris Fashion Week—to see the latest and to update their selection. “It’s our single opportunity to see the best and bring it back to St. Louis,” Ms. Stewart says. “Our clients expect us to know what’s new in design, technology, and materials.”
What they bring back is exceptionally high-end, ranging from a grass-green, German-made Vitra Vegetal indoor/outdoor chair for $555 to a gray hemp B&B Italia Frank sectional sofa for $24,094. “The owners made a conscious decision to sell high-design and high-quality furniture,” Mr. Schuepfer says. “Not everyone can afford our sofas, but there are also lighting and accessories here for under $300.”
Those who can afford $5,658 for a B&B Italia Frank coffee table, $1,727 for a Carrara marble–topped Zanotta Tempo side table, or $55.22 per square foot for Häggä Goose Eye woven area carpet by Kasthall are paying for things like steel frames, cold-molded foam, thermotreated finishes, removable/replaceable upholstery, and a life span that could outlast their own. Many of Centro’s customers live nearby, but a smattering come from farther away, as Centro is the only local place to find B&B Italia, Poltrona Frau, and Ingo Maurer.
While furniture is Centro’s focus, the store sells lighting from Artemide, German-made Dornbracht bath fixtures, and EcoSmart’s flueless fireplaces. For the person with contemporary inclinations, the shop on McPherson is the first—and sometimes, the only—place to go.
Centro Modern Furnishings · 4727 McPherson · 314-454-0111· centro-inc.com
