Soap Opera Digest: The layout of your shop is unique. You refurbished an actual house and each room is furnished like a real home, but everything in it is for sale.
Genie Francis: I have always wanted to take one of these old houses — it's right on the road, which was desirable in the horse and buggy days, but not so much now to live in — and fix it up. It was falling off of its foundation, so we had to prop it back up and do a lot of renovation. It's a beautiful Victorian building with original stained glass. I just had to paint and make it fresh and clean. The idea of making it into a home was to make people feel like when they came in to shop that they'd gone home, to make them feel somehow nurtured by this experience of shopping.

Digest: Give us the scoop. What's hot in home design right now?
Francis: Hot things right now... What's very hot right now is the crystal chandelier. I have two in The Cherished Home and I do sell them. They're beautiful. I can't say that I love them everywhere. If you go into some stores, they just have them loaded up everywhere. But they're fun. They're supposed to be jewelry for a room.

Digest: So, lighting is hot?
Francis: Lighting is hot. I've been using old chandeliers next to a bed, where you get an antique chandelier and hang it over the bedside table in lieu of the lamp. I did that with a black iron one and a black iron bed. That was my opening debut bed [laughs]. It turned out very pretty.

Digest: Cool. What would you say is an essential must-have?
Francis: I have a slipcover line that's so easy, you just take it off and wash it. My dog can go on it. My kids can eat on it. All that can go on and I can just wash it and it's new again.

Digest: How would you define the theme of the shop?
Francis: My personal preference about buying a home is that the home should feel warm and have a sense of generations. I have some great wooden pieces like tables and coffee tables and knick knacks. I go for antiques, so I put new furniture with upholstered pieces that are practical — shabby chic-esque with antiques.

Digest: It sounds like you found your calling.
Francis: It's like living a dream. This is something I've always wanted to do, and it's been such a fun and satisfying project for me. Come see us!

To take a virtual tour of Genie Francis's store, log on to www.thecherished home.com