By offering “furniture with a soul,” Nadeau hopes that its new Green Hills store can lure local furniture buyers in to sample its wares.

The California-based company has long sold to the trade from its warehouse locations around the country and world, and is only now getting into the individual-retail market, said Brian Pickler, store manager.

“They’ve been in Santa Monica for almost 20 years, but only got into retail a year ago,” Pickler said. They opened in Birmingham and Atlanta, and then decided to enter the Nashville market.”

Nadeau imports from India, Indonesia and China, so its pieces have an Asian feel, but still are sturdy and designed to work well with many different types of décor. And the variety and the novelty are paying off so far.

The store opened in late July at 2104 Crestmoor Rd. near the Green Hills Mall, and had an “amazing” first week. Since then, steady container shipments of shelves, armoires, occasional tables and more have come and gone.

“It’s affordable, well made, handmade furniture,” Pickler said. “We have everything from unusual painted items all the way to traditional pieces, and people like the selection.”

That’s helped by the fact that each piece may be in several different colors or finishes, opening up a variety of decorating possibilities. And while the store can do special orders it also has a foreign-bazaar feel, as visitors never know what might have turned up in the last shipment.

Some items also are discontinued from time to time, so there’s no guarantee that a favorite piece will be available the next time around, which also encourages shoppers to act more impulsively than they might otherwise. And in today’s retail economy, that’s a very good thing.

“Everyone who comes in really takes the time to walk around,” Pickler said. “They don’t just stick their head in and then go back out.”