The Tribune

A Bahamian entrepreneur is celebrating her business’s second anniversary with the addition of an in-house decorator and designer at Oasis Furniture.

“Jennifer Treco, an amazingly talented interior designer, has joined the Oasis Furniture team, allowing us to provide in-house design services working with other designers or with the homeowner,” said proprietor Brooke Phillips-Pyfrom.

“We are thrilled that she is part of our team as we continue our commitment to be the go-to source for goods that make a home an inviting reflection of personal taste and style.”

Ms Treco, who founded Sea Glass Interiors, said joining forces with Oasis Furniture was “as natural as the pieces that Brooke finds”. The two had been friends in school more than a decade earlier.

“Our careers took us along parallel paths,” said Ms Treco, who graduated from Rollins College in Florida and the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She opened Sea Glass Interiors in 2011, but its success meant she was working “what felt like 24/7”, depriving her of time with a family that includes a husband and two young children.

“I wanted to remain in the interior design industry, which I love, but I also wanted balance in my life,” said Ms Treco. “I did not want my children to grow up without my being there for the important moments and some of the little moments, too.

“From the time that Brooke opened Oasis, I knew our tastes, instincts and style were well-matched. She travelled thousands of miles to find authentic, natural designs, and I had relied on her store for many of my clients, so when the opportunity arose to join forces it was a natural.”

Ms Phillips-Pyfrom, who studied business and graduated with high honours from Eckerd College, said one of the biggest surprises since opening Oasis Furniture has been how frequently clients ask for help for everything - from sofa or chair colour selection to hanging fixture size.

“For every one of us who knows instinctively that a white sofa will work better than off-white in a certain setting or vice versa, there are a dozen people who struggle over that and I understand how daunting the furnishing of a home can be, so having an in-house designer of Jennifer’s talent will be an extraordinary bonus for our clients,” said Ms Phillips-Pyfrom who had just returned from her latest sourcing in Indonesia, Bali and Thailand.

“It was a working honeymoon,” she laughed. “We did take time out to swim with whales in the Indian Ocean; three hours just to get out to where they swam naturally, and it was an experience I will never forget.

“But we also found some of the best pieces including chairs, tables, lamps, chandeliers, small items like place mats and platters, and just plain pretty stuff I have identified and I just can’t wait until the next container arrives.”

Oasis Furniture is located under Club One in Sandyport.