About Us

British Home Emporium, located at 91 Main Street, Madison, New Jersey began in 1994 when Jim Larcara and his son Alan opened a small furniture store. The store specialized in vintage and antique pine furniture from England. The business took off and grew beyond the capacity of the small shop so in 1997 they moved to a larger space in and expanded the offering beyond pine antiques to include wood furniture in cherry, mahogany, oak and other exotic wood products. Later they introduced custom-made cabinetry, upholstery from specialty U.S. factories, lighting and an expanded selection of decorative accessories, and original oil paintings.

In 2004 Alan hired Nina Karamallis whose years of experience as an interior designer, a visual merchandising executive and a photo stylist enabled the expansion of BPE's interior design service. Early in 2007 Nina's husband, George Karamallis, a veteran senior executive in the corporate retail world, had lunch with Alan and expressed his and Nina's interest in buying the company. Alan agreed, seeing in Nina and George the combination of skills, philosophies and attitudes he desired for the future of British Home Emporium. So, in July 2007 the transition of ownership occurred. With Jim and Alan as consultants, Nina and George pledged continue the heritage, organically expanding the offering to serve British Home Emporium's customers beyond their expectations.

Today British Home Emporium is one of the premier furniture and interior design stores in New Jersey. The store is an amazing two-level, 7,000 square foot restored livery stable filled with custom-crafted furniture, beautiful chandeliers, fireplace surrounds, original art, rich leather, hand-loomed rugs, beautiful bed linens, fine dinnerware and fabulous accessories. The staff includes four interior designers, an interior architect who manages the custom woodworking division and a support staff dedicated to exceptional customer service and personal attention.