About this time each year, we make the hour and 45-minute drive from our home in Southeast Nebraska to Steve’s hometown of Shenandoah, Iowa, to have our taxes done. We typically meet with our CPA in the morning and then check out downtown Shen, stopping for a vanilla Coke at Jay Drug Company or peeking in at Joyce Ellen’s on the corner to see what’s new in home decor.
This year, we noticed a store we’d not visited before and walked into Ray’s Shabby Cottage Furniture. The sign on the door said antiques, retro, weird stuff and cool junk — and that’s exactly what it was.
We were pleasantly surprised at the plethora of refurbished furniture, antique mirrors and clocks, and really cool lighting fixtures made from unique odds and ends and glowing with light from Edison bulbs.
We loved the unique pieces that this small-town store has to offer, including lighted marquee signs, metal letters, and lots of old fans that were either painted 
or modified into lamps. The staff was especially friendly and pointed out some really unique pieces and told us a little bit about the different types of furniture and everything the store has to offer. She said they had been in Shenandoah about two years.
Be sure to check out Ray’s Facebook page for up-to-date information and photos of current inventory. We just love exploring small shops like Ray’s Shabby Cottage Furniture in small towns across the Midwest. This one is a real gem and the perfect place for those looking for unique furniture finds or eclectic lighting.
[well]Ray’s Shabby Cottage Furniture is located at 510 W. Sheridan Ave. in Shenandoah, Iowa, and is open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.[/well]
