When Chris Ziegler recognized a need in his community of Spring Hill, he set out to fill it. “My wife, Margaret, was selling repurposed furniture at Vintage 615, and we had a lot of demand for furniture in general. We saw an opportunity to better meet the need for new
furniture, so we decided to open Living615.”
That was in 2018, and in 2019, they moved to a bigger and better location right down the street from Vintage 615. The furniture is stylish and unique, but not ultra-trendy. “It's timeless,” he says. “Our job is to find pieces that are incredibly beautiful and comfortable,
have great quality and are great values.”
When customers walk into the store, Chris and his team want them to feel like they’ve entered an oasis, a place where they can relax and not feel any pressure. Another goal is providing design inspiration so they can create their own sanctuaries in their homes. “We want to give people a vision, so we have some really pretty vignettes set up,” he says. “Our store designer, Lisa Thompson, has a natural gift, and she works hard at understanding the current styles and the current trends and just knows what looks good.”
Furniture is sold right off the floor, and once an item is gone, something new replaces it, so there’s always something different to see. While Lisa focuses mainly on style, Chris focuses on quality. An engineer by trade, he looks at and can understand the manufacturing process to ensure the items Living615 provides not only look great, but will last a long time.
After working for General Motors for 31 years, running a furniture store has given Chris a new lease on life. “If I stayed at my old job, my life would’ve been shortened. I had to be at work by 6:00 am or earlier and it was very stressful. I could feel the years coming off the end of my life.”
But instead of spending his retirement quietly at home or playing golf, Chris now gets to meet and satisfy a need for many of the people who live in his community and surrounding areas. “This store has changed everything for me,” he says.
He adds, “Spring Hill doesn't have a lot of mom-and-pop small retail stores, so both Vintage 615 and Living615 stand out. Communities need these – they’re the bread and butter of a community. We're committed to Spring Hill and we want to be a shining light here in town.” Living615Home.com
