The woods at the county crossroads

Zoom in to the center of Hanover where those routes meet and you'll find the historical building that is home to The Sandy Woods Home Furnishings Co. The 8,000-sq.-ft. structure, a former hardware store, was brought back to life by Sandy Long, who bought the building and moved her company there in 1996 following renovation and restoration. "I was immediately drawn by the extreme soundness, the beautiful lines, bricks, wood beams, stable, and the hand-cranked elevator," Long said. The hand-cranked elevator still works and, because it is used to bring furniture pieces upstairs, gets inspected on a regular basis.

Much of the hardware store's original woodwork and tin ceiling remain, providing a beautiful background for the store's furniture and accessory collections. Long defines her style as "updated transitional, non-cutesy country, clean lines of modern but not classic modern." Her inventory is driven by the tastes of her customers, the majority of whom are retirees and empty-nesters. "I sell a lot to a growing retirement community in the Hanover region," she said. "Most are matching furniture to new places in their retirement lives and not necessarily downsizing."

What most retailers would probably describe as an efficient, tightly run organization, Long calls "lean." There's just her and one other employee running the store in addition to providing design, reupholstery and refinishing services. The Sandy Woods operates on a limited schedule and by appointment. The store closes Sundays, Mondays and holidays, is open most days from 9:30 until 6 p.m., closing at 3 p.m. Saturdays and 8 p.m. Thursday evenings.