Having celebrated its second anniversary recently, store manager of Meubles, Mike Hartnett, sat down with Galway Advertiser to chat about the business’s extensive furniture range, its state of the art cafe, and plans for the year ahead.
Our furniture takes up the majority of space in our homes, helping make them feel lived in, welcoming, and complete. Our furniture can be the difference between a dull, unenticing, area and a lively, fun, experience. So when it comes to purchasing furniture and home decor for our homes we want products that are reliable, trustworthy, and suit our own specific needs.
Meubles has been operational for nearly 50 years in Kilkenny by the O’Keeffe family. Over those years customers have been loyal to the Meubles brand and what it stands for; quality, knowledge, service, value for money, and extensive range. The Kilkenny store frequently meets second and third generation customers who have been advised by family members to shop in Meubles. Mike and his team hope the same will be said of the Galway store.
Mike says one of the reasons behind the store’s longevity is its emphasis on keeping up with current trends. He explains;” In business you have to keep your finger on the pulse and keep up to date with what is popular. The kitchen is a more important part of the home so we have more choice in dining chairs and bar stools, because what has become very popular in recent years is the installation of islands in the kitchen and what perfectly complements these islands is the bar stool.
“People are designing their kitchens in a more contemporary format, adding in these types of feature bar stools and dining benches. Traditional kitchen chairs are still very much popular but people like to put their twist on their kitchens when designing, so at Meubles we do our best to give them as many options as we can so they can achieve their dream kitchen, so there are plenty of designs and colours for people from which to choose.”
Open seven days a week and offering free parking, Meubles Galway is the perfect place to source all types of quality furniture from the modern to the traditional, plus it also has an extensive selection of homewares. “We have some of the biggest names in furniture. There are sofas, occasional furniture, beds and mattresses, dining, cookware, and giftware. In cookware we sell top brands such as Stellar and Judge, while Newgrange Living and Tipperary Crystal are some of the options in giftware.
“With regards to the sofas and chairs displayed in the store, we offer the well known La-Z-Boy furniture. We have a gallery where customers can try out the individual pieces to see if they suit their needs. We have also recently introduced the designer Orla Kiely’s range of furniture and bedding. Customers can also try out those pieces here in our showroom. Among our other sofas there is a wonderful variety of excellent leather sofas that are unique to Meubles such as Natuzzi Editions, Egoitaliano, and Stressless, which offer stunning recliner chairs as well as Alexander and James and an extensive selection of fabric sofas in a choice of sizes, styles, and budgets.”
‘The highest quality with competitive prices’
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When it comes to sleep we should never compromise on the quality of our mattress as the ability to get adequate amounts of undisturbed sleep will have both an instant and long-term effect on our wellbeing. The second floor of the showroom showcases Meubles’ vast array of mattresses and bedroom furniture including Meubles’ own bed range, a stunning mattress and divan range which gives customers the choice to choose if they want drawers, no drawers, or an ottoman base on the bed.
Mike says; “Like other sections in our store, Meubles’ bedroom selection is varied, with mattresses being of the highest quality with competitive prices. In mattresses, we offer King Koil and Odearest, plus Relyon which offers a natural range of mattresses, plus we have recently increased our own Meubles brand range to include two luxury mattresses. These mattresses feel like you are sleeping on a hotel style mattress which despite being incredibly luxurious and comfortable are very keenly priced.
“We have also an extensive range of children’s furniture. This includes single beds, mid sleeper beds with and without slides, and high sleepers for teenagers, as well as a large range of children’s bunk beds with the extra option of assembly as well. We also advise on the best mattress to accompany these bunk beds and several of our children’s ranges also have built in study desks so are practical.”
And it is good news for customers as Meubles winter sale is in full swing with free delivery all over Ireland when you spend over €50. “Currently we are in the middle of our winter sale which will continue until mid February. There is 50 per cent off on selected items but customers should keep an eye out for a superb clearance sale event which will take place after the winter sale where there is an opportunity to pick up some wonderful bargains. The clearance event allows us to sell off fl oor models before our new stock arrives.
Mike reveals that the store will also collect old mattresses and old furniture. “Meubles is an environmentally conscious business. People are becoming more and more aware of the environment and our need to cut down on wastage so they want a service that adheres to those principles. We will collect old mattresses and old furniture and we recycle to proper WEEE standards when a customer buys a like for like product.”
Meubles Cafe
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We all know that furniture shopping can be an enjoyable experience but with so much to check out over the three storey showroom, customers may want somewhere to digest their thoughts and indulge in some delicious food. With a spacious cafe, Meubles provides customers with a chance to take the weight off their feet. Mike says the cafe has been a big hit since it opened just under two years ago.
“The cafe has been a big hit with not only people who come into us to shop for furniture but also those working in the surrounding businesses. We take a lot of lunch time bookings for groups which a lot of local businesses avail of, but we can also offer bookings for parties and celebrations. Everything is freshly made and we will do our best to locally source our ingredients.
“Like our furniture, we do our best to provide as many choices as possible so we offer a lot of vegan and vegetarian options which were not in the original cafe plan. Our signature dishes are chicken vol-au-vent and chips, seafood chowder, and fish and chips which we do daily, but we also have three daily specials so our menu will suit a number of tastes. We also recently launched our new Saturday and Sunday brunch menu which sees an all day brunch option on Sundays.”
Having been open for a successful two years now, Meubles has fitted in seamlessly with the local community in Briarhill. But Mike and the team are not resting on their laurels with plenty of events lined for 2020. “We are delighted to say we have had a successful two years and to be a part of the local community here,” says Mike. “We will be having exclusive customer events over the year ahead. We have held family events last year with Easter and Christmas events being very popular. These events are a great opportunity to meet our customers and chat and relax with them in a fun, social, setting.
“We thank our customers and the local business community for their support over the last two years and look forward to seeing them over 2020.”
For more information phone 091 709550, email [email protected], or visit www.meubles.ie.
