Aspen Ridge opens in Princeton

PRINCETON — Homeowners wanting to have that rustic cabin feel can now have it without having to travel hundreds of miles.

In fact, Aspen Ridge Furniture at 522 S. Main  St. in Princeton can allow homeowners this feeling without leaving the comforts of their own home.

Owner Mary Vinson opened this store selling all kinds of aspen log furniture.

“It is the top of the line log furniture in character and quality,” she said. “For those who like cabin or lodge-type decor, we have home furnishings to make their home like a cabin.”

Vinson also sells candles, rugs and other decorative items.

Vinson has drawn on her 16 years of experience in the furniture business to get the quality furniture from Utah and Colorado to sell at her store. She has run seasonal stores in malls in the Quad Cities, Peoria and Bloomington and had a store in Utica she closed two summers ago.

“This is my first full-time venture at a permanent location,” said Vinson, who grew up in rural Kewanee and now lives in a log cabin in Lake Thunderbird.

Vinson decided driving 70 miles to the Quad Cities was too much, especially in the winter, so she decided to get something closer to home.

“I wanted to be able to go home earlier than I could in a mall,” she said. “I love the look of a log home. It isn’t for everyone, but we can make rooms in a home (have a) cabin-like feel. We can make a person feel like they are getting away to the woods or mountains, even if they don’t own a log home.”

Many people remember going to the woods or Colorado for vacations. “We want people to feel they don’t have to go to Wisconsin Dells to get this feeling,” she said.

“We have items shipped here, and we then finish them with two coats of a natural stain and use catalyzed varnish to protect the wood from water,” she said. “The varnish insures a better durability and easier to care for in the long run.”

Vinson also sells oak furniture display cases, reproduction curio cabinets  and quilt display cases  for those customers liking this kind of wood more than aspen.