I like to visit places that are beautifully decorated. I think I appreciate them because I lack the natural talent for creating beauty. I definitely think it takes an artistic eye to make a room pleasing to the senses. Therefore, visiting P. Graham Dunn during the recent Cupcake Tour, was a real pleasure for me.
It all begins when you drive into the complex. I say complex because it is so much more than just a store. The driveway is lined with light posts and banners that are very welcoming. There is a large pond with a dock and a small A-frame building on its edge (I found out later this is a chapel). When you walk in, you are welcomed with a large, beautifully engraved wooden sign.
The beauty continues as you enter the lobby of the store. There is a comfortable sitting area where you can enjoy a cup of something from the Keurig while watching a video of the history of P. Graham Dunn. There are also plate glass windows throughout that show portions of the factory where on weekdays you can see staff making the products manufactured by the organization.
Finally to reach the show rooms, where you can start shopping, you get to walk up a large winding staircase to the second floor. But don’t worry, if you can’t climb stairs, there must be an elevator, because I saw a family who had a child in a wheelchair shopping. P. Graham Dunn has so much merchandise to choose from, it can almost be sensory overload.But it is all beautifully displayed for their customers.
Each area of the store seemed to have a theme or specific items to look over. The beach theme section reminded me of my good friend, Judy. There are pictures of the ocean with different sayings and some wall hangings that talk about the beach or ocean.
The store offers so many types of items for home decor, everyone is bound to find something to their liking. I was able to find a couple of different things for my mom for mother’s day. She really loved them and are now hanging on her walls.
But home decor isn’t all they offer. There are clothes and jewelry as well. I honestly don’t think we saw everything the store had, because we only had a short amount of time to check it all out. Being on the cupcake tour we had to split our time up between five different locations.
However, I couldn’t leave without a walk around the pond.
I also did a quick stop into the chapel. It was a really neat experience. They invite you to leave a message on the wall and even provide the sharpie markers to do it. Of course I had to leave my own message there.
Though the weather was a little overcast the day I visited, the beauty both inside and out at the P.Graham Dunn store in Dalton, Ohio, gave me just the boost I needed. Because I am decorationally challenged (yes, I made that up), I am glad places like P. Graham Dunn exists. They take the guess work out for how to create beauty in your home.
