By Jodi Schwan

It didn’t take long for the building that used to house The Bakery to find a new use.

A collaborative of interior designers called Design House will move in this summer.

Owner Megan Peterson, an independent interior designer, had thought about the concept for awhile. When the building on North Main Avenue became available a few weeks ago, she knew the time was right.

Megan Peterson

“The space was so perfect for the business model we had to do it,” she said. “It’s not often a building like that is available and ready to go.”

The Bakery to give up its physical space

The Design House already has a handful of designers interested in sharing the space and renting the offices on the second floor, she said.

The idea is that members will have access to the building at all times to meet with clients and sell furniture, lighting, wallpaper and other design-related items.

An interior design by Megan Peterson.

Peterson became an independent designer following what she calls “retail burnout,” seeking the flexibility to work with vendors anywhere.

“There’s a ton of us around Sioux Falls that nobody really knows about except our clients, and that’s all word of mouth,” she said.

A benefit to The Design House will be an online listing of designer members, so potential clients can browse and connect. Members also will benefit from feedback and ideas through being part of a community of designers, Peterson said.

“(As an independent designer) you don’t have sales reps calling on you like they do at stores. You don’t get to see new trends,” she explained. “So we’ll have reps coming in and a group of us will go to market together and bring back what we found. I hope it’s a great working relationship for all of us.”

There won’t be many public events in the space, but they are thinking of occasional open houses and potentially using the lower level for upscale consignment sales.

While operations won’t ramp up until summer, Peterson will be at the building for the May 13 downtown loft tour event and is talking with interested designers. She can be reached at [email protected].