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By Christine Graf
Local home furnishing and interior design business Saratoga Signature Interiors is celebrating 30 years in business.
Owner Nancy Moultrie Smith, a native of Georgia with a degree in design from San Jose State, owned a design showroom in Atlanta before moving to New York.
“When I moved to New York, I went to work for another company,” said Moultrie Smith. “I had quite a few designers working under me, but I really wanted to be on my own. So in 1992, I ventured out and started a company. I chose Saratoga Springs because I happen to love the town and thought it was just beautiful.
“It has proven to be a wonderful place for a home furnishing store. When I opened here, there was no one else in town but of course now we have a lot of fabulous designers.”
After opening her store at 260 Broadway, she came to realize that the spot wasn’t conducive to operating a retail business. Five years later, she relocated to a space at Franklin Square that had been home to a funeral home.
“It was a gorgeous building, but the only trouble with that was that there was a big staircase. My delivery people with the furniture would not come in and deliver to the second floor,” she said. “That was problematic, and getting things in and out of the building was just impossible.”
In 2003, Moultrie Smith relocated yet again, this time to 82 Church St. She has been there ever since.
“It has a small warehouse in the back, and it was just perfect,” she said. “It also has parking and some street presence. It’s not on Broadway, but I really didn’t want it to be.”
Saratoga Signature Interiors sells a variety of furniture that is on display in its showroom. They also sell area rugs, wall-to-wall carpeting, wallpaper, custom window treatments, shades, blinds, and shutters.
“We also do design work, and we can do kitchens and baths but that is not our specialty. We might lay it out and select the colors,” said Moultrie Smith.
Although they offer design services for both existing homes and new construction, redesigning existing homes is where her passion lies.
“I love doing existing homes,” she said. “That’s my favorite. Dan (Czech) who works for me loves doing new construction.”
Czech has a degree from Parsons School of Design and is one of Moultrie Smith’s three employees. A designer, he has worked for her since 1998. While living in New York City, Czech designed the iconic Christmas window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue. He now applies those talents to decorating the store each year for Christmas.
“Our windows are so fabulous year-round, but he does really fabulous things at Christmas,” said Moultrie Smith.
One of her three sons, Colby Smith, works for her as well in addition to owning Saratoga Outdoor, an outdoor shop that is located on the premises. He sells a wide variety of garden décor and patio furniture. Popular items include large cast aluminum horses and custom-painted jockeys.
“We have someone on staff who paints the jockeys, and this is the time of year when we get phone call after phone call regarding those. That’s been a big thing that I never realized would be quite so big,” said Moultrie Smith. “They take about 10 to 12 weeks right now.
Saratoga Signature Interiors saw an increase in sales during COVID when people were spending more money on their homes. According to Moultrie Smith, after being forced to close for three months at the height of the pandemic, they opened their doors to a flood of customers.
“When we reopened, it was just gangbusters and has been ever since. However, it’s taking a lot longer to get things, prices have gone up, and freight bills have gotten really high. That’s the negative part.”
As she reflects on her 30 years as a local business owner, she said that making people happy has been her greatest joy. Dealing with logistical challenges of receiving and delivering furniture has proven to be her biggest frustration.
Although she has no plans of retiring in the near future, she said the thought has crossed her mind
“I love what I do, and as long as I’m okay, I will probably continue. I also have a great staff, and I can go to them with most anything and they are just fabulous.”
When the day comes for her to retire, she said she considers it likely that Colby will take over the business. His wife, Tiffany, also works for the store and handles social media.
If that happens, Moultrie Smith will be able to retire knowing that the business she has worked so hard to build will been left in very capable hands.
For more information, visit www.saratogasignature.com