Rhodes Furniture in Columbus: A Discontinued Chain Worth Understanding Before You Shop Local
Few furniture names carry as much nostalgia in central Ohio as Rhodes, and that recognition still shapes how some Columbus-area shoppers approach the furniture market today. Rhodes Furniture was a mid-century American furniture retail chain that operated across the Southeast and Midwest, including locations in the Columbus metro area, before the company ultimately closed its doors. By the early 2000s, the brand had exited the retail market entirely. If you arrived at this page expecting to visit a Rhodes Furniture showroom in Columbus, there is no active location to visit.
That context matters practically, because "Rhodes Furniture Columbus" still circulates in local search results, on vintage coupon sites, and occasionally in real estate listings that reference former commercial tenants. Understanding what the brand was, and where Columbus shoppers can find comparable value today, is more useful than a listing for a store that no longer exists.
What Rhodes Furniture Actually Was
Rhodes operated as a mid-range furniture chain targeting working- and middle-class households, competing primarily on accessible pricing and in-store financing options rather than on premium materials or designer names. The typical store carried living room sets, bedroom furniture, and dining room pieces at price points positioned below higher-end regional chains but above discount warehouse operations. The financing-forward sales model was central to the brand identity, which made it popular with first-time homebuyers and younger households furnishing starter homes.
Several Columbus-area locations operated during the chain's peak years in the 1980s and 1990s. When the company collapsed, those storefronts transitioned to other retail uses or sat vacant, and the furniture inventory was liquidated through closing sales.
Where Columbus Shoppers Find Similar Value Now
If Rhodes appealed to you because of accessible pricing on full room sets with in-house financing, the Columbus market has several current alternatives worth comparing.
Rooms To Go, which has a showroom on Morse Road in northeast Columbus, occupies a similar positioning to what Rhodes once held: room-bundle pricing, frequent promotional financing, and a broad selection of complete sets rather than mix-and-match individual pieces. A queen bedroom set there typically runs $800 to $2,000 depending on material and style, and the store actively promotes zero-interest financing terms on purchases above a threshold (confirm current terms in store, as promotional periods change seasonally).
For shoppers who want something closer to the independent, locally owned model, Gaskins Furniture has operated in Columbus for decades and carries a range of mid-priced upholstered and case goods. The buying experience there skews more personal than a chain showroom, and the staff tends to have longer product knowledge. It suits buyers who want to talk through specifics rather than navigate a floor layout independently.
At the higher end of the Columbus furniture market, Arhaus at Easton Town Center and Restoration Hardware at Polaris Fashion Place both serve a different buyer entirely: design-focused shoppers with budgets starting closer to $1,500 for a single upholstered chair. Neither competes with what Rhodes was.
For buyers primarily motivated by price, Big Lots carries furniture at the low end of the Columbus market, with sofas frequently priced under $400 and occasional clearance pieces significantly lower. The tradeoff is limited durability and minimal selection depth on any given visit.
Who Should Know This History (and Why It Helps)
If a parent or grandparent mentions buying furniture from Rhodes in Columbus, they likely purchased from one of the city's suburban locations during the 1980s or 1990s. Some of that furniture, built to reasonable mid-century commercial standards, is still in use in central Ohio homes. Estate sale buyers and antique dealers in Columbus occasionally encounter Rhodes-era pieces, typically solid wood case goods and upholstered frames that have held up over decades. The Ohio Antique Warehouse in Hartville (a roughly 90-minute drive from Columbus) and several multi-dealer antiques markets in the Short North neighborhood occasionally surface mid-century American furniture from brands of that era, though labeling by original retailer is inconsistent.
Practical Note for Current Shoppers
There is no Rhodes Furniture to visit, call, or order from. The brand has no successor operation and no online presence that leads to a functioning retailer. If you are furnishing a home in Columbus on a mid-range budget with financing as a consideration, Rooms To Go on Morse Road is the closest current analog in terms of format and price positioning. Hours at most Columbus furniture retailers run roughly 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, though confirming directly before making a trip is worth doing, particularly on holidays.
