Christopher Curtis, owner of Curtis Interiors, invites customers to stop by the Sequim or Port Angeles showroom to start planning their construction or remodel project today. Photo by Ashley Miller

To Christopher Curtis, owner of Curtis Interiors, it’s what’s inside that really matters.

He looks beyond the exterior of an old, weathered house to the heart of a home to see its true potential. Where as one person might look at a rustic house with weathered, peeling paint and think, ‘Boy what a money pit!’ Curtis looks at the same house and dreams about what it could look like remodeled.

After working as a general contractor on the peninsula for 10 years, Curtis opened Curtis Interiors in Port Angeles three years ago. Located just west of the U.S. Highway 101 East and Monroe Road intersection, the showroom is distinguishable by a giant golden elephant.

“The honest truth,” Curtis said with a laugh, “is that it was sent to us as a present from a company we buy products from and we decided to put it up to draw attention to us.”

A matching elephant won’t, however, be installed at the new Sequim showroom that opened Memorial Day weekend, Curtis said in an effort to curb one of the most commonly asked questions about the new branch.

Curtis Interiors specializes in cabinets; solid granite and marble countertops; and hardwood, laminate, tile and vinyl flooring sales and installation in new, custom and remodeled homes.

Though other businesses offer similar products and services, it’s the company’s “fantastic service” and “excellent pricing” that sets Curtis Interiors apart from competitors, Curtis said proudly.

Materials are imported directly from where they are manufactured and purchased in high quantity, allowing the savings to be passed along to customers, explained Andra Smith, general operations manager and Curtis’ right-hand woman.

“We will continue to offer our great prices and monthly specials,” she said.

The decision to open a

Sequim showroom was an easy one, according to Curtis.

“We’ve had great success in the Sequim community and wanted to give them something even better than what they already had,” he said with an air of confidence.

“We (are able to) work around our customers’ schedules because our employees do all the installation and we don’t have to wait around on subcontractors.”

Now that the Sequim showroom is open, customers are putting two and two together and realizing that Curtis Interiors in Sequim is under the same ownership as the “elephant store” in Port Angeles.

“A lot of people in Sequim didn’t know what we offered or that we even existed in Port Angeles,” Smith said.

“But that’s quickly changing.”

Curtis is by no means a newcomer to Sequim. He moved from Kansas City 12 years ago, attracted to the area by the mountains and the oceans. But it was true love that made him decide to stay. He met and married Sequim-native Lynette Brown, an obstetrics nurse at Olympic Memorial Hospital. The couple and their three children – ages 4, 7 and 10 – live between Sequim and Port Angeles, sponsor a youth soccer team and are active in fundraising for Five Acre School.

“I like that this is a small community,” Curtis said about Sequim.

“I like the natural beauty of the area, the demographics and the outdoor recreation.

“And even more importantly, it’s a great place to raise my kids.”

Business hours at both branches are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-

3 p.m. Saturday. The Sequim showroom is at 845 W. Washington St., west of Jeremiah’s BBQ. The Port Angeles showroom is at 2432 Highway 101 East.

For more information, call 683-2350 or 417-2833.