Rethinking slatwall

Slatwall can be a controversial topic among seaside retailers. Many dislike it because of its generic look and the fact that it can start looking shabby in fairly short order — and that’s shabby without the chic. Built into many retail spaces, it doesn’t easily fit the vibe the owner of a nautical-themed store may be trying to achieve.
But these demerits can be overcome, as Heather Bennett, owner of 98 Treasures, Gulf Breeze, Florida, a multivendor coastal shop, has discovered.

“I love being able to utilize the slatwall,” she says. “It really helps me maximize space that would otherwise be hard to use.” Bennett hangs many different objects from it: a chalkboard, canvas bags, framed pictures and some of the small wooden crates she uses throughout the store.

To preserve the slatwall’s appearance, Bennett is careful how she works with it. “I screw in-between the slats, not through the boards themselves,” she says. “It’s basically pressed wood, and when you screw into it, well, it looks terrible.”

Weight is another consideration. Once, a shelf holding the Dixie Belle chalk paint she sells got overloaded, and a couple of the slats broke. “Now I keep that display really shallow, only a couple deep, because the paint is super heavy.”

Would she recommend slatwall to another retailer looking to open a seaside store? “I would, definitely,” she says. “It’s great to have something you can add hooks and shelves to for displaying smaller items so you don’t have clutter all over. If I’m going to have clutter, it needs to be organized clutter — and the slatwall helps me achieve that.”