MONROE - Sequels ... Fine Interior Consignments opened on the Square last week, but the store's building also is a sequel of sorts in the life of its owner.
Rosemary Forcade is the fourth generation in her family to run a business in the building, located at 1024 17th Ave.
She opened the store which offers unique, unusual and useable home furnishings.
Forcade lived in the upstairs living quarters as a child when her parents and grandparents owned and operated a tavern on the ground floor.
"If I wasn't upstairs, I was in the tavern with my parents," she said. "I remember the card tables sitting in the windows with the glass holders in them."
Forcade had wanted to own a consignment shop for a long time, having visited them when she lived in North Carolina.
"I love shops like this. I have always been one who preferred good, well-made wooden furniture," she said.
Forcade notices more people moving to nursing care facilities, and said it's sad to see people losing the value of their home furnishings at auctions or charitable stores.
The purpose of her store is to bring together buyers and sellers at a time when people are downsizing.
"They have acquired lovely things; they need a venue," she said.
The store is arranged like a well-loved home, with pictures on the walls. Books, lamps and other home decor items adorn the shelves and tables. Forcade is selective about the consignments she takes into her store and doesn't deal in electronics or used mattresses.
Forcade is a tax preparer, but on the off-season she found herself just "wandering," she said.
Today, she sits surrounded by the elegance of consignees' quality pieces, and with her memories, feels the presence of her family in the store, Forcade said.
"In the 1930s and 40s, my grandmother was known for her roasted chickens," she said.
When she goes down to the basement, she remembers her grandfather and says hello to him.
The upstairs still is a fully furnished living quarters, remodeled after the building next to it burned in the 1980s. Her mother was the last to live there, and Forcade now rents the space to professionals, such as executives or traveling nurses, for short or long-term stays.
Forcade said she is not ready to live there herself just yet; she has a house full of her own quality furnishings.
"But I probably will end up there," she said smiling.
Rosemary Forcade is the fourth generation in her family to run a business in the building, located at 1024 17th Ave.
She opened the store which offers unique, unusual and useable home furnishings.
Forcade lived in the upstairs living quarters as a child when her parents and grandparents owned and operated a tavern on the ground floor.
"If I wasn't upstairs, I was in the tavern with my parents," she said. "I remember the card tables sitting in the windows with the glass holders in them."
Forcade had wanted to own a consignment shop for a long time, having visited them when she lived in North Carolina.
"I love shops like this. I have always been one who preferred good, well-made wooden furniture," she said.
Forcade notices more people moving to nursing care facilities, and said it's sad to see people losing the value of their home furnishings at auctions or charitable stores.
The purpose of her store is to bring together buyers and sellers at a time when people are downsizing.
"They have acquired lovely things; they need a venue," she said.
The store is arranged like a well-loved home, with pictures on the walls. Books, lamps and other home decor items adorn the shelves and tables. Forcade is selective about the consignments she takes into her store and doesn't deal in electronics or used mattresses.
Forcade is a tax preparer, but on the off-season she found herself just "wandering," she said.
Today, she sits surrounded by the elegance of consignees' quality pieces, and with her memories, feels the presence of her family in the store, Forcade said.
"In the 1930s and 40s, my grandmother was known for her roasted chickens," she said.
When she goes down to the basement, she remembers her grandfather and says hello to him.
The upstairs still is a fully furnished living quarters, remodeled after the building next to it burned in the 1980s. Her mother was the last to live there, and Forcade now rents the space to professionals, such as executives or traveling nurses, for short or long-term stays.
Forcade said she is not ready to live there herself just yet; she has a house full of her own quality furnishings.
"But I probably will end up there," she said smiling.