I recently had the privilege to meet with Elise Miller, co-owner of The Lake Country Bed Barn in Hartland. I asked her some questions so learn more about her business and her family. Are you on the search for a new mattress at affordable prices? This will surely help!
- So, you and your husband run Lake Country Bed Barn together? Tell me a little bit about your family.
My husband, Nick, and I have been together since college. We were summer loves. After I graduated college from Carroll University and we both got steady jobs, we bought a house in Hartland. We got married shortly after at St. Charles in Hartland. We have been married for three years this July. Since getting married we have had two careers changes (me from a teacher to learning retail at Kohl’s and Nick from a low-voltage electrician into sales and then back) had our daughter, Quinn, and then opened our own business. Nick still works full time outside of our store and I work very part time at the Pabst Farm YMCA. We are expecting another child this December.
- Lake Country Bed Barn has stemmed from your family’s business, tell me the history of how it all started.
The Bed Barn in Watertown has been around for about 15 years. My father started working in contract sales at Symbol Mattress in Watertown, where I grew up. He saw beds coming back to the factory that were sent back by dealers because of various reasons. Many of those beds were not sent back to the dealers, so my father started to buy them from the factory. He and my mother started to sell them out of a storage unit in Ixonia. After a couple years of that, my parents decided to move the business to our house. We lived on a veal farm just outside of Watertown. We remodeled the barn and made it a huge show room. We dubbed the barn “the Bed Barn” as a nickname and it eventually became the businesses name. The store in Watertown has moved to downtown after my parents divorced. Watertown still has some those returned beds as well as deliveries of their own. We opened our store in Hartland of the same model as my parents did 15 years ago: by appointment, low overhead, owner operated, and great deals.
- Why did you choose Hartland to have your showroom?
My husband’s family is originally from Delafield and Hartland area. Nick’s Great Grandpa Bob Duncan was the First Constable of Delafield. We moved to Delafield after college to try the Lake Country living and we fell in love instantly. When we decided it was time to buy a home we knew Lake Country was where we wanted to be and the Village of Hartland was our number one choice for their schools and community. After we had our daughter, Quinn, and decided to start the Lake Country Bed Barn business, we knew we wanted to keep it in the community and be a part of the Hartland Chamber of Commerce. We love this area and are proud to be a part of this community Business Improvement District.
- Why should someone looking for a new mattress choose Lake Country Bed Barn vs a larger furniture store or buying online?
We feel the local family business, where you deal personally with the owners is something we would love when shopping for any big purchase, like a mattress. Not only our customer service but also the one on one, no pressure appointment style shopping experience has received great response from our customers. Most of our customers tell us that it is not only quick and easy but a very comfortable setting to ask any questions and get the answers you need. You do not have to wait for a associate to be freed up like some of the bigger retail stores or feel rushed to make a decision because there are other customers waiting to be helped. Our selection is very un-intimidating to a first time mattress buyer or anyone looking for their 10th bed. We felt very frustrated looking for a mattress in the past when you walk into a store and there is upwards of 50 mattresses to choose from. Of course, last but not least is our pricing! We have the freedom to set our own price and work with families that want a great bed at a great price. We don’t feel like an individual should have to take out a loan to get a great night’s sleep!
- How often should you replace your mattress?
Symbol Mattress (our brand we sell) is very accurate with their warranty coverage compared to the life of the mattress. It really does all depend on quality. If the warranty says 5 years, then that’s a good range for your mattresses life. Likewise for a 15 year warranty mattress and so on.
- What types of mattresses do you offer? Brand? Where are they made? Sizes? Can you tell me about them?
We offer Symbol Mattresses in all sizes, even custom. They are made in Watertown, WI, but Symbol is a national retailer that does just as much production as some of the brands you are familiar. We have all foam, gel memory foam beds, hybrids, pillowtop, euro tops and traditional mattress. We carry twins, fulls and queens in stock that you can take home right away. We also order Kings, Cal Kings, Twin XL frequently for customers with less than a week wait. Symbol tries their very hardest to keep their eco footprint small. The foam is local manufactured in Wisconsin. Many things Symbol does in house, where as their competitors’ contract out, making their products superior to the rest.
- You state that you have affordable prices, how do you compare to competitors?
We pride ourselves on being affordable for any budget. We are a young family with a mortgage and car payments. We truly understand that families don’t want to spend a fortune or take out a loan for a good night sleep. Our current customers that have shopped around tell us that our prices are hands down the best for their family’s budget. Our goal is to help any family in any financial place get a bed they will love and get it as soon as they need it, even the same day. We started this business to help families like ours with a tight budget and also carry mattresses for the families that can afford to spend the extra money on a mattress with more features.
- You are open by appointment? How do I reach you to come in?
One of our slogans we love to use is “We are ALWAYS open!” All you need to do is call our phone number 262-349-0034 and let us know when you will be at the store! It really is that easy. Either my husband or I will be down there at that time to help you find your perfect mattress! You may even be able to work with our top sales person, Quinn. Our daughter is pretty hard to say no to!
- What is your family’s / Lake Country Bed Barn’s mission or promise you make to someone purchasing a mattress from you?
Our mission is to help any family or individual with any budget to have a “Good Morning” with a good night’s sleep! Not only on a comfortable mattress but also knowing you didn’t spend a fortune to receive your well deserved good night’s rest. We also promise your experience will be at your pace. We have had customers in and out in 10 minutes as well as longer to make an informed decision on your purchase.
We pride ourselves on our customer service and knowledge to help you make what really is a difficult decision. It is very hard to lie on a bed for 5 minutes and know it is the one you want to spend every night on for years. We love what we do and we are very proud of our repeat and referral customer base. It shows us we are doing this the right way and the way we wanted this business to be when we opened just over a year ago. We are truly a family owned business with my husband and myself being the owners and only employees. We started this business to stay a close family, to raise our daughter and work together every day. We did not start Lake Country Bed Barn to be a fortune 500 company. We started it to help families like us and keep our family closer than ever. We feel everyone deserves a happy, stress reliving and comfortable place. We are here if you decided for that place to be your mattress.
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You can find The Lake Country Bed Barn here:
Disclosure: This is a sponsored blog post. The Lake Country Mom was paid to write this post, all opinions are our own.
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