“We like to say we’re furnishing the new West,” says Lea, owner of Modory Home Furnishings and Amira Rug Gallery. She’s passionate about helping make a house a home, and her 4,000 square-foot showroom and design center offers everything you need to bring style and comfort to every room with furniture, rugs, wallpaper, and window treatments.
“I would define our design style as Scandinavian and mountain modern,” says Lea. “We specialize in clean lines, European-style looks, high-end fabrics and leather, and lots of color.”
Many people may not be aware that a furniture store has been in this location at 1121 W. Kent for decades operating first as Williams and Wegner before becoming Modory. Prior to purchasing Modory, Lea owned Amira Rug Gallery in downtown Missoula. During that time, Amira and Modory shared many of the same clientele, and Lea worked closely with the previous owners of Modory, so it was a relatively seamless transition when she combined the two businesses in 2017.
Lea and her accredited staff offer free in-home design service, and nurture relationships with all their customers by first having a conversation to determine what each client is looking for in terms of furniture and design. They will then come to your home to help you pick out pieces and accents that match what you already have, or start from a blank slate. They are also happy to work hand-in-hand with a designer of your choosing.
An important component of their process is working directly with furniture designers to help clients find the perfect piece. Lea is proud that the majority of their furnishings are made in the United States, as well as Canada and Europe, and that everything is of very high quality
“I call it heirloom quality. These are not disposable pieces that you throw away. They will last a long time,” says Lea. “Almost all of our fabrics are made from polyester or polyacrylic blend with a high rub count, which means it’s extremely durable because the Montana lifestyle is dirty. There’s lots of kids and dogs around and animals need to be able to get up on the furniture. We help people with pet emergencies all the time,” Lea laughs.
What’s on the floor of the showroom is just a small taste of what they offer. Choose from a staggering amount of rug samples and furniture that can be customized in a number of ways including color, fabric, trim, and size. “We probably have over 20,000 fabrics here to choose from,” says Lea. “It’s all customizable, but it’s really particular to the customer. We don’t like to do anything the same. I like it when people have an eclectic sensibility so it’s not all contemporary. You can mix in things you’ve had all your life to balance styles. I think that makes it unique to the person.”
Lea has always loved art and colors, and has found a gift in matching colors. Her bachelor’s degree is in anthropology, which at first may seem a far cry from owning a home furnishings and design business, but Lea says, “I think anthropology actually ties into what I do now because it relates to artifacts. Furnishings and the things people have in their home are often what survives over time. Our rugs also play into anthropology because the symbols in them can be ancient.”
These one-of-a-kind rugs can be made to fit any room in terms of space, color, and shape. Their rugs are high-quality and hand-knotted, held together by a fluid weave, without the use of glue. “Hand-knotting is how rugs have been made for millennia,” Lea says.
Window treatments and wallpaper also play an important role at Modory, and Lea loves helping customers choose from their vast and varied inventory. “A lot of people have PTSD from ’80s wallpaper,” she laughs. “But we carry excellent wallpaper and the glues now are easy to remove. I really try to convert people to wallpaper, even for a little accent wall. It adds so much and it’s fun to just page through the samples. If you’re stressed out, just look through pages of wallpaper and fabrics. It’s so soothing. “
Lea and her team are honored to be a part of the Missoula community and hope to share that love of “home” with each and every customer. “People come here for something different,” she says. “We’re not a chain. This is a total Missoula store and it has been for over 25 years.” They have many long-term customers who know to come to Modory to find that perfect piece while working with people they have come to trust.
“It’s so important to really love where you live,” says Lea. “You want to feel like your home expresses who you are. That can be life-changing. It can make your mood better when you get home and feel like you’re in a place that’s specific to you. That makes it your home and your safe place in this crazy world that we live in. When it’s beautiful and soothing and expresses your personality, that’s the whole purpose of home.”
"We don’t like to do anything the same. I like it when people have an eclectic sensibility so it’s not all contemporary. You can mix in things you’ve had all your life to balance styles. I think that makes it unique to the person.”