If you think you know where you can find anything you need to decorate your home, think again. Monika’s Furniture, located along Marine Corps Drive is sure to surprise you.

The store, owned by Monika Nugent, opened in 2007, carrying teak home furnishings from Java. However, Nugent’s retail experience spans more than 20 years, with a gift shop the family owned in Saipan, which eventually turned into Monika’s Furniture. The family made the move to Guam in 2007 and subsequently moved the shop as well.

According to Sandy Weaver, Monika’s daughter who manages the store, many people think that Monika’s is just a furniture store. “But it’s more than that,” she says.

It is, indeed. 

­Aside from offering solid teak furniture, the store also offers home furnishings, including pillows, blankets, curtains, wood carvings and more. Monika’s also carries local artwork, by Weaver’s husband, Jim, as well as hand-made jewelry.

Weaver says, “Our goal is to help the customer create a tropical oasis in his or her home.” She says that the company also educates its customers about the difference between solid wood and pressed wood: solid wood is one cut from an actual piece of wood while pressed wood uses a different, fiber core material, and then uses a thin layer of wood on the outside. While both look the same on the surface, the difference is in its durability. Fiber core material will tend to warp after a couple years or become easily damaged when wet. Solid wood is sturdy, and teak especially has natural oils that make it hardy enough to resist the

elements — excellent for the island humidity.

Of course, with quality comes the need for a bigger budget, but the prices are not as extreme as one would expect for good furniture. For example, with a budget of $5,000, Weaver says one can get a bedroom set, dining set, a few sculptures and a lot of decor. “You can furnish your house with $5,000,” she says.