Stepping inside Fulton Home Center is much like entering the secluded home of a wealthy, eclectic aunt. It’s a place brimming with interesting things to see – flowers and candles, ornaments and statuettes, plants and paintings – all ensconced in the subdued hues of fall.

Owner Brenda Childers said she wanted to create a kind of atmosphere that appeals to the senses. She wanted a place that felt like home.

“When I visited with friends and family in their hometowns, we would go to local stores where they enjoyed shopping,” she said. “They wanted to share with me what was available at their favorite shops. I enjoyed that experience so much that I wanted to have a store of my own where people could come shop with their friends and have an enjoyable and relaxing time.

“Of course, it is great, too, when they find something they like so much they want to take it home with them,” she added.

Opened in 2007, Fulton Home Center offers a myriad of furnishings for the home. It’s a large space housing hundreds of objects and overseen by just two people – Childers and friend Susan Reeves.

Reeves, Childers said, is to be credited for much of the store’s homey atmosphere.

Childers said the store sees a lot of regular customers, including ones who drive from Alabama and Tennessee.

She credited her husband John Childers as being her “inspiration through the good and not-so-good times.”

“He encourages me to let (the store) be my statement,” Childers said.

adam.armour@journalinc.com