TRURO, N.S. — An opportunity presented itself and Karl Costandi grabbed it.
Costandi Designs will be opening in its new location, at 45 Willow St., on June 1.
“For some time, we’ve been looking for a new location,” said Karl Costandi who, along with his wife Atousa, runs the business. “Someone who knew that approached me about buying the building, and then the Home Hardware building went up for sale.
“Business is booming so it happened at a great time.”
Renovations on the new space will begin April 1. The entrance will be moved to the side of the building, new windows and flooring will be installed, and the electric and heating systems will be upgraded. Landscaping will be done outside, and the exterior of the building will be finished with Knotwood wood-look aluminum siding and batten.
“Knotwood is a new venture for us,” said Karl. “We’re the exclusive dealers for eastern Canada. It’s a separate business, but our head office for that will be in Truro.”
The new building allows Costandi Designs to go from about 2,500 square feet of display space to 4,500 to 5,000 sq. ft. Plans are to expand the furniture line, along with the Hunter Douglas line of blinds, and add more accent products such as rugs and lamps.
“We’ll also add some more economically priced products,” said Karl.
“We have a large existing clientele and, with a more prominent location, we’re looking forward to new people finding our business
Costandi Designs has been in business 41 years, offering interior styling, new home design, project management and custom services. It also has one of the largest fabric libraries in eastern Canada.
Business will flow from one site to the next, with the North River location closing May 31 and the Willow Street location opening the next day.
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Costandi Designs growth
1978: Monica Costandi started a shop in her garage on Queen Street selling small kitchen items.
1980: the business began wholesaling to stores.
1992: Karl took over the business and changed the focus to custom window coverings, fine upholstery and high-quality furniture
1999: Atousa, who had expertise in interior design, joined the team.
