You can get custom furniture and even a piece from Ellen DeGeneres at this new store in Bluffton

Representatives of the Thomasville Furniture store in the Bluffton Commons shopping plaza say they hope to have a soft opening at their new location within the next week or so.

Micki Hart, sales manager of the new store at 95 Baylor Drive, said plans are to have a grand opening sometime in February.

“That will be a more formal opening to the community,” she said.

News of the store’s opening, the first Thomasville Furniture store in Beaufort County, came last November. Hart said people have been waiting for the addition for a long time.

“We’ve had several people that come that we’ve caught looking in the windows,” she said.

Hart said the store’s original opening was delayed by Hurricane Matthew and that she didn’t want anyone to be disappointed because of the wait. She said contractors were busy with repairing damage to homes from the storm and that Thomasville employees are trying to get the final pieces of the project finished.

“To me, someone’s home being destroyed was more important than getting our business up and running,” she said.

Furniture collections from the Heritage Home Group, like Drexel Heritage, Thomasville, Henredon, Lane-Venture, Maitland-Smith and La Barge, will be featured at the store, according to Hart, with a new collection from Ellen DeGeneres debuting in the spring.

Hart said the store offers custom furniture and that representatives can come to customers’ homes to help them make selections.

“You pick out the fabric, you chose it,” she said.

The new Thomasville Furniture in Bluffton is a replacement for the Savannah store at 7505 Abercorn St. Hart said the first thing she noticed at the Savannah store was that the company was in the wrong place for their business, and they immediately started looking for a new spot, which was a two-year process. Even after looking at locations in Pooler, she said, she decided that Bluffton was the best area for their clientele.

“I think the growth (of Bluffton), to me, as a consumer, I think that it’s one of the major factors that ... I have chosen to come here, to be a part of that process,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful market for our particular brand.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "You can get custom furniture and even a piece from Ellen DeGeneres at this new store in Bluffton."