SHARE:
Our customers desire to decorate their homes with unique home decor and furniture. By sourcing items from several local artists and small American businesses, we provide them with an extensive collection of one of a kind art for their entire home they wouldn’t find in most other stores. We personally hand paint and refinish used furniture using several techniques to create a distinctive and original piece. We are also commissioned by our customers to transform an outdated piece to suit their current style.
We offer a curated selection of gourmet food items, such as coffee, tea, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and spices.
CONNECT:
Our story begins nearly 50 years ago with a woman’s desire to take forgotten furniture, strip off the years of abuse and expose the exquisite workmanship beneath.
When I was a kid, my mom would bring home her prizes from yard sales and transform old dirty furniture into beautiful masterpieces. With her classic style, she would then decorate our home with them, and sometimes sell them, as well. I grew up learning about the composition of a room and how to use what was there to change it up, as we would often rearrange an entire room in an afternoon.
Almost eight years ago I convinced her to start refinishing furniture again so we could sell it through consignment with stores in St. Louis. And that’s what we did for three years. Find old furniture wherever we could, each of us taking things home to our own basement or garage and doing our thing. It was a lot of fun and we sold every piece. But, loading up my old Expedition and driving back and forth from Festus & Imperial to St. Louis every week, or so, got to be very tiring.
We both had wanted our own place where we could sell our furniture and home decor, but never really thought we’d be able to do it. Then one beautiful sunny day in September of 2019, I was driving down Festus Main Street and thought, ‘I wonder how much it would be to rent a storefront?’ I figured it would be outrageous and there would be no way we could afford it. But, the Lord had different plans.
Even after we signed the lease and began painting, I just knew something was going to keep us from our dream of owning our own place. But every time an obstacle appeared, a path was made. Things were humming right along until March of 2020 and the world shut down. And still, we managed to have enough sales through our new website to sustain us.
Through Covid and the great flood of 2022, which forced us out of the building for 10 months – a story for another time – God has continually blessed us with friends willing to lend a hand, finances that seemed to appear from nowhere and, of course, our dedicated customers, who continually show up to support us.
But, why did we start our business in the first place, you may ask? It comes down to one simple answer, we love people and we love helping them decorate their homes. We also love the Lord and want to give people a safe, cozy place where they can come to just hang out and enjoy all the pretty things, or talk about what’s bothering them and we’ll listen.
I’ve tried to put a finger on an exact mission for Tree of Life, and if someone would ask, I think I would have to say – our mission is to show God’s love to whoever walks through our doors, which I guess you could wrap around all the way to the beginning of our story.
There are times in all our lives where we each have a little, and for some of us a lot, of old peeling paint that needs to be stripped in order to expose the beauty beneath. And that’s what Jesus does. He’s done so much for me, I only hope I can help someone else to see He can do it for them, too.
SUPPORT:
We want to give back to our community in many ways. Monetarily of course, but also by being a collection point for area food pantries, supporting the Aunt Rose project for girls in foster care in need of feminine products, donating to GSBTTC (Giving Something Back To The Community) and Second Hand Heros, who do so much for so many.
We’d also like to give to an area rehab center, as alcoholism and its disastrous effects are very close to our hearts.
We also love our Main Street business community and are members of the Historic Tanglefoot Association (HTA). Through HTA, we want to help our business community grow, so we can continue to provide jobs and revenue to the great people of the Festus/Crystal City area.
CONTACT:
Tree of Life Home Decor & Furnishings
Tree of Life provides quality refinished furniture, hand crafted & new home decor & art.
- 109 East Main Street, Festus, MO, United States, Missouri
- 636-638-1018
- treeoflifefestus@gmail.com
How an itty-bitty mug and towel that I purchased from Tree of Life has impacted me in a big way:
More on a few of the organizations that Michelle supports:
1/23/25 – Next General Meeting – Historic Tanglefoot Association (HTA)
