What is Recherché? Recherché is a French word that means exquisite, rare, or sought after. Collins Dictionary states: “If you describe something as recherché, you mean that it is very sophisticated or associated with people who like unusual things and of a very high quality.”
Sophisticated. Stylish. Stunning. These three words immediately come to mind upon entering the high-end furniture and home goods store in Costa Rica’s Southern Zone, just a few minutes south of the French Village Ojochal on the Costanera. And maybe “surprising” should be a fourth. How DID this large, modern, eco-friendly, yet fully air-conditioned impressive furniture store come about? And why are they closing their doors after a 3+ year run? To find out the answers to these questions, we interviewed the owners of Recherché. (Pronounced reh – share’ -shay.) Their answers conjured three new words: intelligent, inspired, and imaginative.
Blake Sawyer and Jerry Polansky are two of hundreds of ex-pats to make the Southern Zone their permanent residence recently. They came to Costa Rica via Austin, Texas, purchasing their first home in Ojochal in June of 2019. Later that year, they bought two brand-new luxury vacation rental homes in Uvita. As Jerry puts it, “It was so difficult to find any furniture or décor that we liked. Even in the Central Valley. We spent weeks going to every so-called high-end store to furnish our two new vacation rentals.”
Jerry continued, “Despite the downturn in the economy, supply chain issues, COVID, and huge freight increases, we decided to open a unique furniture store in the Southern Zone, to meet the needs of the hundreds of new homeowners in the area. My business partner has previously owned two very successful furniture stores and was an interior designer for the rich and famous. So we went for it!”
We asked Blake why Recherché Fine Home Furnishings is so different and WHY are you closing the store now?
He responded, “I wanted to bring into the country, furniture that made sense. Meaning materials that would not mold, rot, or deteriorate due to the elements. As an architect and interior designer, I also want to give our customers creative ideas through the vignettes in our store. I use various colors, shapes, styles, and materials to create incredible living spaces that have a delightful ambiance. These vignettes help clients visualize just how amazing and beautiful their homes can be. And from the incredible success that we had over the past 3 years, I would say this is what many people in Costa Rica were looking for. We filled a niche.”
“We sell only top-quality home furnishings. There are too many things to mention here, but a few examples are: We don’t sell anything with particle-board in the furniture. Most people don’t know that over 10% of particle-board furniture is the toxic, flammable, and cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde. AND it absorbs moisture, warping rapidly and eventually falling apart. Most of our furniture is either hardwoods or mango wood, which is one of the most sustainable and moisture resistant woods used in building furniture.
He continued: “I turned 70 this year and have been working non-stop. My best friend and business partner (Jerry) and I also own a large farm in the mountains. I live there 90% of the time. It has become too difficult to be at both places at the same time. It’s a 2-hour drive between the farm and Recherché. I am designing and building a self-sufficient and sustainable village at the farm, that literally takes more time than Recherché does. Though I have loved every minute of helping people with designing, creating, and turning their homes into special places, it is the furniture and home goods store that had to go.”
“I’ve owned various businesses over the past 50 years, including high-end restaurants, an interior design business, as well as furniture stores and many others. Going out of business can be a lot of work, as well as emotional. I have had fun these past 3+ years. Starting with designing the ultra-modern, high-tech building for Recherché. Then bringing in quality, eco-friendly, home furnishings from all over the world, exclusive in Costa Rica only to our store. Fabrics, woods and materials that surpass the demands of a tropical environment. Then I have met people from all over the world, making friends and helping homeowners create unique and breathtaking interiors to match the jaw-dropping views that surround their homes. It has been a blast. So, I want to continue the fun in the going-out-of-business sale. We are going to have creative and fun ways to sell the nearly million dollars in inventory.”
Nearly all items at Recherché are at least 50% off the MSRP, with a few best sellers marked down to 25% (which is less than 2% of our inventory). Jerry, a professional singer, who does Facebook and Instagram music reels for the store, recommends anyone interested in the sale, to get on their VIP mailing list. Weekly updates and special discounts during the going-out-of-business sale are only available to their VIPs on the mailing list. The one thing that they both stated multiple times is the cost of goods and inflation is another driving factor of them closing the store.
“Prices have more than doubled since we opened. With the 30% Costa Rican import tax, dramatic increases in shipping, and now stiff tariffs being placed upon most of the company’s items we purchase wholesale, prices are going through the roof. People from Europe, Canada, and the USA who have recently moved here are astonished at the prices back “home”. We think they will be horrified over the next year or so with the dramatic increase cost of furniture and home décor. The time is now to purchase furniture and home décor before it doubles again or becomes scarce.” Blake adds, “Especially with our dramatically reduced prices. We are selling 95% of our inventory below our cost.”
Walking through the store is quite an experience. We found a huge selection of indoor and outdoor pillows, gorgeous comfortable sofas, sectionals and chairs, over 100 bronze statutes (everything from monkeys, mermaids, toucans, parrots and lots of sea life: whales, dolphins, sea turtles…) They sell several sleeper sofas in various colors and sizes, that are very easy to open and close. Blake said with 150 plus vacation rentals in the area, that these new modern sleeper sofas are wildly popular. We found 5 different bars, including 2 that fold into large, elegant wood and brass trunks. There were lots of bar stools, counter and bar height. An incredible amount of bedding, pillows, and even mosquito netting that looks like it belongs in a royal palace. Lamps (really beautiful stained-glass lamps too). Rugs, art, home décor. Recherché Fine Home Furnishings was quite impressive to experience.
According to the owners, the sale has started and will continue until everything is sold, which Blake said he thinks it will take to at least May or June this year. Jerry stated that they get inspiring testimonies from people all over Costa Rica of their Recherché experience. If you have always wanted to see what the titillating buzz was all about, now is the time. Soon it will only be a memory to those who have purchased items at Recherché to décor their homes.
Links:
- FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085639232897
- IG: https://www.instagram.com/recherchefhf/
- To get on the VIP email list: send an email to: jerry@puravidaimports.com
- Recherché is located on the Costanera, just 3 kilometers south of downtown Ojochal, before the one-lane bridge in Coronado.
- Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 3:30 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
- Phone: +506 2102-9069
