Do not let Holly Springs discourage you if you really want to open your store.. Your premise is to save money instead of making more by how your post was worded. If the importer does not have the sales in your area they want happening they will set you up if you can present yourself as a person who can sell their products. I have called and got set up with prob 25 cabinet companies in the last 5 years. About half of those were import companies I decided quickly were not for me after really learning how they work and the rest were semi custom and a few custom companies.... There are a lot to chose from. The Import lines are not as tough on you if they are not the most well know brand names. If you are to close to an established dealer the sales person respects you will be out of luck... I had a cabinet handles company not set me up cause a I was a mile or so from another person that had a few styles they kept in stock inside their showroom. The sales person asked the company if they minded me getting an account being that close and they asked I not be set up. I mean..... really cabinet handles and so the sales person would not set me up. I thought that was very petty of the other company as we did not know each other in any other way.... No one can pay their bills off the margins of cabinet handles. I have a $300,000 dealer cost in 3 years of sales commitment to American Woodmark in our new showroom. I decided to use them this last summer. If I do not meet the goal I have to pay for the sales center with all the doors on it.. There are 3 of us in a 2 mile radius that have them. In my area I would guess there are 25 kitchen and bath showrooms and a Lowes in 5 mile radius. Competition is insane. The commercial space rents lower there then many other parts of Northern Va.... The sales person set me up as she believed in the experience I portrayed in my conversation to her. The other 2 do not sell a lot and are live and let live businesses..... They will close your account if there is not enough sales though when they see a better business to switch to.... Starmark closed several accounts in the DC area for what they felt was lack of sales against the wishes of the local sales rep... So it happens... RTA cabinets tend to not be as sophisticated in sales if you are not looking at JSI, TSG, Fabuwood etc... They are the larger players on the East Coast. River Run has grown a lot they used to be easy to get along with as a dealer. They have lost touch with the needs of the dealers in many respects... If you are looking at some of the others that do not have the brand name you may get an easier account.... I started the kitchen business with Armstrong I called them to sell their products and it turns out they did not have a commercial lease requirement. I did it as a contractor offering my cabinets on the jobs I did the renovation work on. I then got set up with Sunco. They closed my account a year or so later for not enough sales and me telling them it was difficult to have people always want their limited selection of sizes and colors as an RTA line... They did not like hearing that and the account was closed the next day... Others have been happy go lucky and I have accounts still open that I have not made a purchase on in several years... Those businesses are happy with their sales and not trying to get to the moon and will work with you over the long term. They generally do not have good websites and are not real business savy. Most of their sales are price driven more then quality and selection. They know it and are content where they are in the overall market.... I have never worked for an established kitchen and bath company. My background is general contractor and in my 30's tried to figure out how to not need workers that drive you nuts. I used to do all the designs for the projects I did and realized kitchen and bath cabinet design was a micro of that. No one taught me how to get accounts, I learned the product lines myself studying the spec books, I learned pro kitchen software on my own, I then switched to 2020 and learned that on my own and I have learned soft plan on my own. Every company I know I have learned by studying the books. I started using Marsh Furniture this last winter. They are not overly complicated but they do have their own way of doing things that is annoying to learn at first. The sales rep said I have learned their program with no help faster then any other person he has ever set up. It is trial by fire... If you have the will to learn those things you will get your own accounts. If you just think you are paying to much and want a lower price and deserve it you may or may not pull of what you want to do... Holly springs is right that last months sales are not enough for our business to be viable long term. I teamed up with two other people last year and decided to stat a new place with them using their business name. I switched all the accounts to reflect that and added several new suppliers to the line up. My partners were my most frequent buyers of cabinets so their business was construction. It will take a while to get the same name recognized as a dealer of products. We have not even finished our showroom. If you start one you will realize it is easy to wake up and think of a better way to do things then the plan from the day before and make adjustments to things as you go. We have 5 kitchens and 11 bathrooms none of which have countertops on them yet. Last month we did pretty good considering the showroom is no where near complete in the normal sense of the word. Currently none of the displays have painted walls, no countertops installed, no back splashes yet, hoods without blowers installed etc... We do not even have handles on the cabinets that are installed. To do a real showroom it takes a lot of time, a lot of patience to create the right idea, I have designed 100 kitchens on computer for our showroom with completely different uses of space since the lease was signed. We considered putting the kitchens in the warehouse sections of our building which has a much higher ceiling. We considered the kitchens to be in a single room, We had them spread around a walking path approach for a while. The three of us are so different we rarely agree totally on everything. Usually one of us does not like what the other 2 do for anything you can think in setting up the space. After you get past basic layout of space you have so much trial and error in which companies are good suppliers / manufacturers that it takes a while to get it off the ground. If you are not trying to just duplicate your previous employers place per say you will learn some companies just do not have it together after you make the investment to display them. It is tough to get it all right the first day... The American dream is a great thing. It will crush you for longer then you prefer while you find your place in the sun in this business..... You may have it easy as you already have a demand created for the products you are looking for. It will go one way or the other for you if you try to get set up direct...

(that decoupaged desk is dreamy. literally so-was my dream to do something like that one day so is penny's super elegant sofa, cawaps' art(i'm especially in love with black and white), Sue's chair and green tables, palimpsest's mind blowing finds, aktillery's hood(had no idea it's handmade!!), Lynn's rooms,Kitch3me's room, arcy's kitchen, sabbath's drapes, nosoccermom's buffet..I can go on and on I'm just afraid to miss someone..) patty it's pink:) I'll need to think of a flower or something to describe it better. not red, not coral...not blush pink though or baby pink either. not hot pink. maybe I'll find a decent image somewhere. I collect colors(again, Pinterest), maybe will give me a clue of what to compare it to. I'd like it..I love expanding my vocabulary on colors

This is a unique, beautiful layout, but - Holy Cow - there's way too much going on. Simplify. As others suggest, raise the living room floor and get rid of the step down and railing. It would combine the entry and living room and really open up the space. It would be safer, too, because it's easy to forget situations where there's one or two steps, especially for guests. Paint the brick. Easier and cheaper than drywall and would retain the interesting texture. Lighter color railings would help. The hillbilly front door has got to go.

I like this article for inspiration for small living areas: https://www.bhg.com/decorating/small-spaces/strategies/living-room-ideas/?slide=slide_396850f0-930d-426a-b58e-6875e8648656#slide_396850f0-930d-426a-b58e-6875e8648656 Things I’d edit or remove: Put the floor lamp in-between the couches. It seems very dark over there and the height would look nice. Put the trunk where the lamp is now. It’s very crowded by your entry. Can toys go in the trunk? If not, I’d get a tall basket for them, it could go behind the lamp in between the couches. A decorative cover on the coffee table, such as a small throw rug, a woven place mat, folded runner, etc. I have a woven throw rug on mine, with a low basket on it for books, remote, etc. (To clarify: not cover the top completely, just part of it. A layered look and bring in color, with some wood still showing). As mentioned, colorful pillows and fix the curtains. I‘d get rid of the entry table and mirror. I’d put a small (but decorative) shoe rack there, and art on the wall. Clear the floor of small clutter. https://www.target.com/p/honey-can-do-rustic-z-frame-shoe-rack-brown/-/A-54579519?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Storage%2BOrganization%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Storage%2BOrganization&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9027244&gclid=Cj0KCQiAs67yBRC7ARIsAF49CdWVoHC24mJDvW_lro74vvGrKJUioBfHXmJ_1IdOz0hLRlAvIxszB_gaAm6TEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds I‘d try moving the shelf unit just a few inches towards the dining room, and putting your cute doggie’s bed where the toys are now. A piece of art on the wall space beside the TV. On the TV console, a bit of very low decor ... wood tray, for example. Google ‘tv console decor’ for lots of inspiration. I remember about toys when my DD was little, but I’d definitely try to edit those down, if at all possible. Rotate what’s in their bedroom and living room. I’d try to keep them in just one area, not every corner. But I do remember that struggle, believe me! :D Keep us updated on what you decide! :)