By Kim J. Gifford

How do you combine the comfort and familiarity of a store that has been in business for 25 years with today’s innovative home decorating solutions? This is a question that Ned Preble and Dan Frost — owners of Main Street Paints (formerly The Home Decorating Store) on 51 Main Street in West Lebanon, N.H. — have been facing since they purchased the business on Feb. 1, 2003.

“We want to keep the old while remaining on the cutting edge,” says Preble. “The old is what makes the store a comfortable and relaxed place.”

As a result, the partners have retained such recognizable assets as the store’s knowledgeable and long-time staff while introducing a modern state-of-the-art color room, featuring color samples from the store’s popular paint lines. In addition to well known Benjamin Moore, Cabot’s and Sikken’s, the color room showcases Collections of Color or C2, a new premium paint line Preble and Frost introduced upon their arrival.

C2 first came on the market three years ago, when a group of retailers called the Coatings Alliance formed to produce a better paint product. “Better in that it uses the best quality product inside the can. It covers really well and holds the color longer,” says Frost.

Frost, who has operated a contracting business in Concord, Mass., for the past 25 years, was one of the original contractors to test the C2 line in Concord. “I’ve tried all these products,” says Frost. “I’ve seen them stand up to the elements, and I’ve lived in an area similar to Hanover, N.H., and Norwich, Vt., where people are looking for the best quality product, irregardless of expense.”

Although C2 may be slightly more expensive than its competitors, he notes, it is able “to cover a lot of area with less product.” Other plusses include the lines’ ultimate paint chips — 18" x 24" paint samples that feature the actual paint colors from the can.

Main Street Paints is one of four stores in northern New England to carry the C2 line, and its owners are hoping the paint will draw customers to the store. “My experience in Massachusetts is that people will come a long way to get this product,” says Frost.

The two men are also betting on the color room to convey their new direction for the store. “The color room directly ties in to creative problem solving. We can use paint and fabric to come up with creative solutions,” says Preble, who, prior to purchasing The Home Decorating Store, traveled extensively as a corporate consultant. “Our whole concept is one of collaboration with the customer. We create with the customer, not for the customer.”

Frost agrees. “It’s about color not just about paint,” he says. “It encompasses the whole design process. We introduced the color room, but fabrics, wall coverings, and window treatments go right along with that.”

Main Street Paints’ staff of 11 includes Bill Butcher, a long-time color expert, whom Preble calls “the dean of paint,” as well as Sally Burns, who has worked with fabric in the Upper Valley for more than 15 years. Maria Voege, says Frost, does superb window treatment installations.

The owners’ plans for the store do not stop with the color room. Preble says the name change also emphasizes their strength with many paint lines. The men are also presently renovating another area on the main floor and deciding how to best utilize it for their customers. Noting the popularity of decorative painting, they have introduced a new line of decorative paints, Faux Like A Pro, and plan to offer some future seminars on the subject. This fall, they will host a wine and cheese event to kick off the color room and will be offering design kits from C2 and Benjamin Moore.

The 3,200-square-foot-building that now holds the store was once a Dairy Queen, where Preble remembers courting his wife, Melinda Rand, with ice cream sundaes and milkshakes. Drew and Susan Tallman first started the business in its present location. In many ways they were predecessors to Home Depot, Preble says, offering a special place for rugs, window treatments, flooring, etc. The couple called their business The Paint and Paper Barn, and later changed the name to The Home Decorating Store to reflect the fuller range of items they carried.

For Preble — whose wife’s family, the Rands, have roots in the area —purchasing the store and relocating to the Upper Valley is a homecoming. Frost continues his contracting business in Massachusetts, commuting to the Upper Valley several days a week. The two men knew each other in Concord, and felt that Preble’s business acumen and familiarity with the region coupled with Frost’s product knowledge provided a winning combination. Preble learned of the store’s availability from his accountant who happened to work for the Tallmans as well. “It was a serendipitous situation,” he says.

“It was a real opportunity,” says Frost. “Everyone agrees this is a growing area. I deal with customers all the time in the contracting business and retail is not different. It’s all about problem solving. One of the things we definitely want to get across to people is we’re here to help them.”