(Not) burning down the house

Fireplace shop expands into Scappoose with rustic showroom

By Stover E. Harger III

The South County Spotlight, Feb 24, 2010

Stover E. Harger III / The South County Spotlight

FIRE QUEEN — Cindy Lorenz explains the differences between the many varieties of fireplaces she sells from her newly-opened showroom in Scappoose.

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From selling state-of-the-art gas fireplaces to old-fashioned wood stoves to 50 cent lighters, Cindy Lorenz is an expert at starting fires.

But don’t worry, there’s no need to call Smokey the Bear. She only wants to keep you warm.

Lorenz has just opened up a new shop in Scappoose to show off the many varieties of heating equipment and rustic furniture she has been offering in North Plains, at 10505 N.W. Glencoe Road, for two years.

With wall-to-wall fireplace displays, classic wood stoves, a chandelier made of a genuine wagon wheel, elk statues and pictures of horses, the showroom, sandwiched on a busy block at 52549 S.W. Columbia River Highway, is decorated like a pyromaniac cowboy’s living room.

The unique decorations and furniture, all for sale, are rustic in nature, perfect for the home decorator trying to give their home a “lodge feel,” said Lorenz.

But it’s the many varieties of fireplaces and stoves that have earned her, along with her husband, repeat customers over the years. Many of those customers have come from this part of the region, which is exactly why Lorenz chose Scappoose as her place to grow.

Unlike the customers from cities in Washington County, who are more interested in modern gas fireplaces, the 12th-generation mason said those here are more enamored with traditional wood burning fireplaces and pellet stoves.

Last year, the IRS created a consumer tax credit that would refund 30 percent of the cost to purchase and install a biomass-burning stove. This cost

savings to the customer (up to $1,500), and a growing interest in making homes more energy efficient, has helped Lorenz expand in this uncertain

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