Sep 2, 2007

ItBy Chantelle BowlesLangleyTimes.com

As you walk up the steps and through the door at The House of De-lovely the smell of flowers tickles your nose and a sense of calm washes over you.

The bright, one-room store is quietly nestled at the corner of 48 Avenue and 216 Street, across from Porter’s Store.

Jeanette Kornelson, 29, and Michelle Burton, 35, have turned the heritage building —that was originally a grocery store owned by Samuel and Elizabeth Mathews — into The House of De-lovely. (See page 21 for history).

“It [the house] just sort of appeared, like a beam of light from the sky and it shone down,” said Burton about the long search for the perfect location to set up their store.

Business partners for three years and friends for 10, they loved the charm that the Mathews store held.

They were originally looking in White Rock and were about to sign for a location but some thing didn’t feel right, Kornelson said.

“We looked at the demographics and it is such a seasonal area. They’re [shops] turning over two to three times a year,” Kornelson said.

Burton said the decision was easy because of the area. With more traffic coming through because of the round-about, double-exposure and the friendly neighbours, the ladies knew they had made the right choice.

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