BY BARB BERGGOETZ
Jeff Scofield gets a kick out of hunting down unusual vintage home furnishings of all sorts. And then he finds pleasure in making sure they get good homes.
“I feel like I’m the middleman,” says Scofield, owner of Jeff’s Warehouse, now in an expanded location at 426 S. College.
Jeff’s Warehouse, which last November moved into the spot formerly occupied by Furniture Exchange, now has 13,500 square feet to display its eclectic mix of mid-century modern home furnishings and industrial pieces, funky and fun vintage items, and decorative arts. There’s even a small single-wing wooden airplane hanging from the ceiling. “It’s an attention-getter,” says Scofield, who has worked antique shows all his life.
Scofield’s shop, which was located just behind the current site for nearly seven years, is packed full of vintage pieces dating from the 1950s to the 1980s. He says mid-century furnishings are popular with people who grew up with them, those who support recycling, and with younger people who are minimalists.
“But,” Scofield stresses, “I don’t want people to think this is a snotty shop.” He sells furnishings at a variety of prices, from small $30 side tables and $100 dining room chairs to a $900 mid-century credenza and an Italian church altar for $16,000 — and lots in between.
He attracts frequent shoppers such as Linda Hall. She has been a customer since Scofield moved from Columbus, Indiana, where he had a store for 27 years. She has completely changed her home’s décor to mid-century modern, and she’s bought 90 percent of her furnishings from him.
“His store is my play place,” she says. “It’s so much fun to see what’s new, and I always know I’m going to get a good deal.”
But Scofield does more than sell Hall furnishings. She says he gives her decorating ideas and tells her the history of each item. She’s bought many pieces of Danish furniture, cookware, lamps, glassware, paintings, even jewelry from Scofield. She particularly relishes a Dansk desk made in 1977. “I cried for two days when I realized I could get it,” she says. “They don’t make things that beautiful anymore.”
