When Doug Worrel’s parents retired to Western North Carolina, they had no plans to start a new business — but a passion for design soon led them in an unexpected direction.

Reaching retirement while living in New Jersey, Worrel’s parents, Anne and Chuck Worrel, decided to move to Maggie Valley where they had occasionally visited Worrel’s grandmother. His father wanted to play a lot of golf, and his mother enjoyed bargain shopping and helping people decorate their homes. With this passion, she decided to open a small furniture store in 1996. Originally called Cabin Fever, the 1200-square-foot store served the growing population of people building cabins in the mountains. 

Anne was great at working with people and combining interesting pieces and styles for their homes, so the store did very well. She relocated to a larger property, changed the name to High Country Furniture & Design, and asked her son if he was interested in joining the business.

“At the time, I was working in the corporate automotive sector, often traveling around the world and leaving my wife and three small kids at home,” Worrel said. “It was tough on all of us, and we were looking for an exit strategy. When my mom first asked if we were interested, my wife said ‘absolutely not’, but we ended up moving here and growing the business.”

As the business grew, High Country opened a second store in Downtown Waynesville, and at the same time, Worrel’s wife Lorrie became a company partner and opened High Country Style — a ladies boutique clothing store — across the street. Soon after that, an opportunity became available in Downtown Hendersonville, so they opened a third location there.

“We’ve been the beneficiaries of people wanting to get out of the city and come to the mountains for their retirement or second home,” Worrel said. “North Carolina is so accessible, and once people get up here, they’re just amazed. We’re fortunate to have wonderful people who think we have a unique product and a unique experience. They come from California or Texas, walk in our store, and say ‘wow, this is something special’.”

High Country Furniture’s items often reflect a blend of rustic charm and mountain elegance. As mountain cabins in the area transitioned from small, rustic lodges to substantial luxury properties, their inventory also expanded to include more contemporary items that blend with the mountain feel. 

Items are sourced from a wide variety of vendors, and many of the furniture pieces are made and upholstered in North Carolina. Worrel and his team of design consultants look at trends and visit large furniture markets to source products. They recently found interesting items crafted from reclaimed pieces in Mexico, but their favorite vendors are local craftsmen making custom or unique pieces that customers are unlikely to find elsewhere.

While many shoppers want to decorate their local homes in this way, the store also ships pieces throughout the Southeast and as far as Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Whenever possible, Worrel sends their delivery team in High Country Furniture trucks to deliver items. Keeping the delivery process in-house helps control the outcome of the delivery and ensures their level of customer service remains consistent. 

Worrel and his 38 employees work to ensure a quality experience throughout the entire process, from the time they walk in the door until the delivery staff walk out of the customer’s home. As a family business focused on building customer relationships, the style of the business is different from chain retailers.

“It’s still family-oriented and friendly,” Worrel said. “When customers come in, they are greeted and engaged. It’s much more like a warm and friendly feeling when you have that, and that’s very exceptional. The exceptional service accompanying the unique pieces on our showroom floors is an interesting way to do business, and we know our customers appreciate that.”

High Country Furniture & Design operates three retail locations in WNC. Learn more at HighCountry.com.