From a car dealership to a candle-making factory to a church, a historic downtown building will soon start its newest role as a design and home goods store.
By August, the former Starkville Korean Church building will be home to Lafayette Street’s newest business: The Collective Design House.
Owner Abby Thompson said the store will be a one-stop shop for all things home design, whether it’s building or decorating.
“We really wanted to be a place where clientele and contractors could come in and pick out building materials, home furnishings (and) accessories to really just make that process of renovating or building much easier and less stressful,” Thompson told The Dispatch.
Inside The Collective Design House, customers will find everything from furniture to cabinets to decor and even interior design services. The concept was born while Thompson and Designer Megan Hancock were working together at Thompson’s other business, Paul Davis Restoration of the Golden Triangle.
“We pretty quickly realized the need for it,” Hancock told The Dispatch. “Working inside the office at Paul Davis, we found that the experience we wanted to have (with) the showroom and all the pretty things. … It was a little challenging to make those two things coexist in the same building.”
The pair also saw the need for a local full service provider for interior design.
“One of the things that we’ve recognized in this market is there’s a lack of consistency for the full service,” Thompson said. “Like you might have someone who does interior design or furnishings or you might have somebody who is a home builder … but not somebody that really brings them all together.”
Thompson and Hancock began speaking with Castle Properties owner Mark Castleberry about what spaces he had available. That’s when the pair landed on the former SKC building.
Castle started renovating the space in 2022 after the SKC relocated to the old Oktibbeha Family Medical Center building on Felix Long Drive.
The building first opened as the Slaughter Chevrolet Company in the late 1920s. It functioned as a grocery store, a Radio Shack and a candle-making factory before SKC moved into the space in 1992.
Much of Castle Properties’ $1.4 million renovation of the building was focused on returning the interior to its original design as a car dealership, complete with an open floor plan and garage-style doorway.
“We did do a historic renovation working with Mississippi Archives and History and the National Parks Service,” Castleberry told The Dispatch. “We opened up the space as it would have been in the automotive days (and) opened up the big tall ceiling and beautiful beams.”
Castleberry’s team replaced the roof of the building, installed new windows, redid the floors and repainted the exterior. Each aspect plays into the building’s new aesthetic, one that Hancock said fits The Collective Design House brand perfectly.
“We wanted something that’s really beautiful and unique, but also very homey and approachable,” she said. “It’s so unique and pretty, and it fits the look that we wanted.”
Thompson said The Collective Design House is targeting an early August start date. Currently, the team is in the process of moving into the space and planning a soft opening.
In the meantime, Hancock said she is looking forward to working with customers to create spaces that feel like home.
“We want to be attainable for everyone,” she said. “We want you to come in here and feel like there’s something that fits everyone’s space and their budget.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
