March 28, 2024
Local News

Redeemed Office Furniture now offers home furnishings

DeKALB – When Dan and Lisa Rinker started selling office furniture to the general public three years ago, the process was simple.

That’s because the owners of Redeemed Office Furniture in DeKalb had already been in the business of transporting, selling and installing new and used office furniture to high-volume clients for a decade and a half. All the couple had to do was snag street-facing space in their building at 1600 Lincoln Highway, remodel to create a showroom and start selling products they already had in stock.

Then people started asking for home furnishings, but the Rinkers didn’t have a solution for that until now.

“We had people coming in and asking us if we did home furniture, so we started exploring options, and actually just set that showroom up on Wednesday,” Lisa Rinker said.

Redeemed Office Furniture has teamed up with Rock Falls-based Harold’s Furniture to offer new and used home furnishings – an uncommon sight for the DeKalb area. A ribbon-cutting with the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce is set for Thursday.

“We’re collaborating with them (Harold’s Furniture) because we didn’t know that much about home furniture,” Lisa Rinker said. “Our expertise is office furniture, so we’re tapping into their expertise.”

Now homeowners can purchase furniture from brands such as Ashley and Lane in DeKalb with access to Harold’s entire selection.

“We’re more or less operating kind of as an outlet for them with a small sampling,” Lisa Rinker said. “Anything that’s on their showroom we can get within a few days, and anything that needs to be ordered we can get within about two weeks.”

To accommodate the new products, which include living room as well as bedroom furniture, the Rinkers remodeled a 2,000-square-foot showroom in their 25,000-square-foot facility to show off ensembles.

Works of art from retired Northern Illinois University art professor Jay Paul Bell adorn the walls of the newly remodeled room, and a computer terminal makes for quick access to Harold’s inventory.

Rinker said they made considerations for dorm-based buyers in selecting which pieces to show.

“We’re kind of gearing to the NIU crowd a little bit,” she said. “We have some low-end dressers and low-end mattresses.”

A factor in the Rinkers’ decision to begin carrying home furnishings was that the busy seasons of furniture sales line up in their favor.

“Business don’t generally spend money about January through April until they get their taxes paid, so January through April is very slow for office furniture,” Lisa said. “But people are spending their tax rebate money on home furniture January through April.”

Redeemed Office Furniture

What: Redeemed Office Furniture

Address: 1600 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb

Phone: 866-493-1910

Website: www.redeemedofficefurniture.com