Decorate with Panache
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday, closed on Sundays
Where: 154 W. Washington St.
Contact: Store, 360-215-7377
Susan Eiland says she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t decorating a house.
“I can’t remember not doing it,” she said.
Since she was a young girl, Eiland said interior design has been her passion. Her mother and sister both supported her creativity growing up, allowing her to decorate the walls of her family home how she envisioned it.
“It’s a passion for me,” Eiland said.
When she lived in Dallas, Eiland owned a small gift and coffee shop and she would do interior design for many of her friends. She realized she could create a business using her creative talents.
Eiland and her husband, Merwyn Eiland, moved to Sequim in 1999 and about 19 years later, she decided to manifest her talents into a business with her new store, Decorate with Panache, at 154 W. Washington St.
The store officially opened on Oct. 5 with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce and members of the Sequim community.
For Eiland, she said she loves to decorate and do interior because it brings her joy.
“It’s the way you feel,” she said. “When you (decorate) somebody’s house; the (owners) are surprised and thrilled.”
She describes her new store as “warm and inviting” but also incorporates a mix of styles, from eclectic and eccentric decor to traditional, contemporary and modern pieces.
“I love working with colors,” Eiland said.
Store staff say “panache” is a french word for “eclectic, unusual, and unique” which they feel describes the essence of the store in a nutshell.
“It’s bringing all the patterns and colors and textures together and making it ‘panache,’” Devene Work, assistant store manager, said.
The store sells a variety of home decor and seasonal items including consignment, new furnishings and estate sales.
Eiland says the store also will put together gift baskets for clients, for special occasions and seasonal, and will provide interior decorating and delivery services.
While Eiland is the chief designer, she said she couldn’t run the store without her staff.
“Each of us has a niche,” Work said. “Together we make a great team with her lead.”
There are several creative consultants in the store and two employees who will deliver and place large items in a client’s home.
“They do it all with a smile on their face,” Eiland said.
For clients interested in consigning items, store staff ask photos are taken of the item(s) wanting to be consigned and to send photos and contact information to info@dwpanache.com.
To learn more about Decorate with Panache, visit the business’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Decorate withPanache or call the store at 360-215-7377.
Decorate with Panache store staff, from bottom left, Jodi Minker, store manager, Davene Work, assistant manager, Claire Savage, creative consultant, and from top left, Susan Eiland, store owner, Cameron Ingram, delivery/setup, Karen Nelson, creative consultant and Josh Work, delivery/setup (not pictured is Barbara Powell, sales representative). Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins
Decorate with Panache’s owner, Susan Eiland, center, cuts the ribbon with her new store’s staff, family, friends and members from the Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 5 at the store’s official opening at 154 W. Washington St. Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins
The new home decor store, Decorate with Panache, features a variety of styles and pieces from consignment, new furnishings and estate sales. Owner Susan Eiland says she loves working with color, such as this bold living room scene set up in her new store. Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins
