Building a better barn

DALTON GARDENS - It retains much of the look from 1910, but few would recognize that beneath all the add-ons and extensions at Walker's Furniture Gallery is a century-old barn.

Over the past few weeks, it got its most recent update.

"We repainted everywhere," said Jim Draggoo, store manager. New carpets, some removed walls, new windows and a few other changes capped the latest project, but the historic Wilbur Barn can still be recognized.

"You still see some posts from the old feed stalls," he said. "There are parts of the building you see a door hanging in the middle of nowhere. It's kind of fun."

Rough-cut 2-by-4s and timbers are used throughout parts of the store to create a rustic ambiance in many of the display areas in the store that has grown from the 5,000 square feet of the barn to 30,000 square feet of showroom.

One reminder of the ancient character of the building is the wood floors on one area, which creak and groan underfoot.

Todd Walker, owner of the building and brother of Walker's Furniture owner Mark Walker, said the barn and the acre the store sits on have been through a variety of changes over the past century.

At one time a fruit orchard, later a dairy, Walker bought the property in 1985 after it had been a feed store for a few years. There, Frick's Furniture was manufactured, and later a second story was added for retail sales.

"It just kept growing," Walker said. "We kept the character of the old barn, in the old part. We still have the same old cupola on top of the roof."

Even today, old-timers tell him they remember swinging from ropes hung in the barn, he said.

Walker's Furniture started doing business in 1980, selling unfinished furniture. Like the store, the business evolved over the years as manufacturers learned to sell finished products for about the same price, Draggoo said.

Today, luxurious leather and massive wood furniture and accessories fill the large store.

"We are going into collections, like bedrooms, desks, dining and entertainment," Draggoo said. The mix ranges from entry-level products to high-end, but the majority of the inventory is "right in the middle, good value and quality for the money."

Leather has gained in popularity because it has come down significantly in price in recent years, he said. For those who like the look but not the real thing, microfiber offers an alternative.

In recent years, there has been limited ability to stock a wide variety of sizes and fabrics in the imported lines of furniture, Draggoo said. Now, Walker's has a new line, Katelyn Trace Custom Furnishings, made in the U.S., that offers furniture in a variety of sizes and fabrics for about the same price.

"It gives us an extra thing to offer customers," he said. "It's not super expensive, and there is a good choice."

A customer who likes a particular piece, but wants it in a different color or size can get what they want in about six weeks, or half the typical time for custom furniture, he said. For those with odd-sized rooms or other reasons for wanting something non-standard, that is also an option that adds about $150 to the typical price.

With a warehouse, two stores and a clearance center in Spokane and eight stores in all, Walker's now has better buying capability and lower prices, he said. They go to furniture markets two to three times a year to keep pace with what is available.

"People are tending to want comfy things in their home," Draggoo said. "They are not going out as much, maybe having a movie and pizza night at home. They want to be able to entertain."

Even dining tables can be ordered in a variety of heights and color combinations.

"We want to give the customer as much choice as we can," he said.

That includes some newer products such as tables made from mango wood once the trees have stopped producing fruit.

The latest remodeling also gave Walker's room for a new line of bedding in its Mattress Express Gallery. The Donald Trump Home Collection is exclusive to Walker's, Draggoo said.

"We even have a picture of Donald Trump," which he acknowledges might not necessarily be a positive sales pitch for some people. The mattresses are the type installed in Trump Towers, Draggoo said.

Upstairs, the line of Tempurpedic and Serta mattresses has been increased to 30 styles from eight, at varying price points. There is also a larger youth bedroom section.

After a slowdown in the economy, sales have improved noticeably in the past six months compared to the prior year, Draggoo said.

Walker's is at the corner of Government Way and Wilbur Avenue, at 7224 N. Government Way.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Information: 762-7200