Showroom

>>> Santa Fe Saavy, Scottsdale, Arizona

Photography by Scott Sandler

Vignettes showcase Santa Fe Saavy’s signature pieces made on site, such as a round dining table and kilim-upholstered chairs.

There’s more to Santa Fe Saavy than meets the eye--much more.

First of all, there’s the name. “Yes, it’s spelled with two A’s and only one V,” explains Deborah Davis, the long-time general manager. “That’s just to set us apart.”

Second of all, the furnishings showroom, tucked away in the Scottsdale Airpark business district, looks rather small from the street. Once inside, visitors realize that the rambling showroom, with its many rooms and vignettes, is some 6,000 square feet, then there’s another 8,000 square feet of warehouse, loading dock and shop space.

Finally, there’s the name again. It might conjure up images of howling coyotes, imported equipale furniture and brightly colored papier maché gourds, but in fact, the showroom specialty is custom furniture, done in all styles. “Yes, we can do Southwest,” says Davis, “but we actually do more traditional, Old World, farmhouse and even contemporary styles. Whatever the designer and the client want.”

Santa Fe Saavy was founded in 1988 as an import company. But when the new owners (a local couple who prefer to be out of the limelight) bought the business in 1994, they evolved the offerings into custom designs, made on site or by local craftspeople, plus several U.S.-made lines of upholstered seating and carefully culled accessories, lighting and art.

A recent visit to the showroom revealed room vignettes carefully arranged to showcase examples of custom pieces. Against a backdrop of rustic walls and tile and flagstone flooring, furniture such as a mesquite and old maple sideboard, its knotty top inlaid with swirls of crushed turquoise set in resin, or a copper-topped farm table were likely to catch a designer’s eye.

“We can do just about any size, any dimension, any finish a designer might want,” says Davis of the showroom’s ten-person staff. “We can also build from the designer’s drawings. We have a carver who can do just about anything, and we do our wood finishing and upholstery right on site.

“We had one client who wanted a cabinet for a meditation room,” continues Davis, “with angels on the top, bookshelves and a place to burn incense and candles--and we did it. Another client wanted a way to display a Navajo rug on the wall. We designed a raised frame, inset with Velcro, for the rug. When the client wants to clean the rug, she just takes it down from the Velcro backing.”

Davis notes that most custom pieces take approximately six weeks to complete, but the showroom can also accommodate rush orders. Furnishings are also sold off the floor. “We offer a substantial courtesy to the trade,” says Davis. “We’re old school that way.” The showroom also ships pieces around the country.

Once designers order custom dining tables, chairs, consoles, beds, coffee tables and more, they’ll often also discover Santa Fe Saavy’s accessories collection, including worsted wool and mohair Zapotec area rugs loomed to the showroom’s specifications in Oaxaca, Mexico; hand-tooled copper mirror frames and iron-based table lamps. “We do custom bedding, too,” says Davis.

“We like to keep most of our furniture production right here,” says Davis, summarizing the Santa Fe Saavy philosophy. “And if it’s not local, we like to know our sources--very well.”

Santa Fe Saavy, 7671 E. Acoma Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85260; (480) 991-6719 or www.santafesaavy.com.