Bruce Carter began developing his interior design skills when he worked with his father. As a child Carter used to give his dad a helping hand remodeling residential homes. Now the skills Carter gained in his youth are benefiting the Tucker community through Treasures on the Railroad. Treasures on the Railroad is an antique collectable home furnishing store that also offers interior design services.
Carter’s passion continued in adulthood where he designed for 25 years after getting his bachelor’s degree in interior design from American College of Applied Arts. He worked in the Atlanta Metro area , Cartersville and Rome flipping houses for a period. Carter then flipped a house off Chamblee Tucker and decided to come back home to the Tucker community to start something he had wanted to do for a while.
“This is what I call my playground,” Carter said. “It takes all of my interests and hobbies and puts it in one space.”
In his playground there are several styles of furniture. Carter says he makes sures what he offers is good quality.
“With us you are going to find quality products.” Carter said. “I am very selective in the items that I choose. I want good quality solid wood furniture. My upholstery pieces that I find are going to be quality, something you have forever that you can reupholster for many years to come. Just something that is not offered at a lot of furniture stores. You don’t have much of a selection and I am trying to bring that back to give people quality items.”
With his experience family and friends urged him to open his furniture store. They were excited when Carter decided to open the store. Members of the community of Tucker were also excited that he was bringing his store to Tucker.
“I put feelers out on Facebook, Tucker Town Talk and Tucker Real Talk, Carter said. “I got phenomenal feedback. People were gung-ho about it.”
Carter knew that Tucker was the place to start his business venture. Carter acknowledges the growth of Tucker over the years, and he believes the location will help his business.
“Tucker has come a long way. Downtown has really come back,” Carter said. “When I came back to Tucker and started learning about the restaurants and how everything was, I thought, ‘We are good at restaurants, but we need shops like this.’”
Carter said that the Tucker community is friendly. Carter is glad he can have his business in a town like Tucker. Tucker is his home, and it’s just right.
“I just love the people coming in and being able to connect with everybody,” Carter said. “I love meeting new friends and all of the clientele that have come in. It has been wonderful. I like the community feel. I thrive off that.”
Carter knows his clientele and does his best to cater to the community. In his store he has a lounge catering to husbands where they can relax while wives shop. The lounge area has snacks and a tv for husbands to watch football games. Carter also has space where vendors can come into his shop to enhance the shopping experience. His dog Ella is his supervisor, he says, and she helps keep the store running.
Carter has learned a lot from his father about remodeling and furniture. It has come full circle that Carter is not only doing what his father did but also working with the same person. The landlord of the store’s location is the same person that his father used to buy custom upholstery pieces from. Carter is glad to have learned from his father and is happy with where he is.
“Tucker is where I want to be,” Carter said.
