With relocations to Texas on the rise, the upwardly mobile (or just plain mobile) have found a home furnishings solution in Nickson, a subscription-based service that leases everything you could need in your new home, from TVs to wine keys, pillows to plush sofas.
Nickson takes something painful and makes it painless by doing the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is submit your floor plan and take a style quiz, then Nickson curates a fully furnished and decorated home based on your space and design preferences. The company even moves everything in and sets it up before you arrive!
With his background in real estate investment at Goldman Sachs and Greystar, Nickson founder Cameron Johnson solved the problem of schlepping belongings between moves. It’s a cause that’s close to his heart after his “Army brat” upbringing, which was marked by relocations every two years, on average.
“Moving is probably among the top five most stressful events, along with divorce and the death of a loved one,” he says. “It’s time-consuming, costly and downright painful.”
Aside from relocations, this service is also geared toward people who operate vacation rentals, recent college grads or those who eschew committing to a particular design look.
Nickson was founded in Dallas in 2017. At a time when so many consumer goods and services operate on a subscription model, Johnson wondered why home furnishings were any different.
“Renting should go with renting, while owning can go with owning. All you need to do is show up with your suitcase,” he says. This model has been especially useful for the influx of people relocating to Texas for a new job or those who are trying out the Lone Star State in this work-remote world before making a commitment to stay. In fact, Nickson has blown up, so to speak. After launching in Dallas, the business is currently beta testing its services in Austin and Houston. The company became so in-demand there was a time when it ran out of furnishings. Johnson says they’ve gotten a lot more inventory since then.
Furniture rental companies have been operating for decades. So, the question is, what makes Nickson so popular? Well, it set out to be different from the start.
“Traditional furniture rental companies price their stuff by the item, which is very expensive if you need to furnish a whole apartment or house,” Johnson explains.
With Nickson, everything is included in a total package price. No item is too small: forks, light bulbs, ironing boards and extension cords are included. “We’re not object-oriented, we’re living oriented,” he says.
Customers sign a lease with Nickson for anywhere from three to 12 months, ideally the same length of time as their apartment lease. When they’re ready to move out, the process is as seamless as when they moved in. Monthly subscription payments are charged to the credit card on file, so you can set it and forget it. Best yet, Nickson offers a risk-free 30-day cancellation policy.
Some of Nickson’s happy customers include professional athletes from the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars. Johnson says they’ve sought out his service for the ease of use but also for the design chops that come with it.
“Traditionally, furniture rental companies have not been very design-forward,” Johnson says. By contrast, Nickson is a registered interior design firm. Johnson says he uses many of the same vendors as popular retailers like West Elm, CB2, Wayfair and Target.
“We source directly where your favorite stores source. We’re finding all of the trendy items and can procure them directly at cost,” he says, explaining that the savings are passed on to his customers in the subscription fee.
“We give you the furnished home that you would otherwise have to buy for yourself,” he adds.
Beautiful furnishings with a risk-free commitment—what could be better than that? *
Alaena Hostetter is a content strategist, editor and journalist who writes about art, design, culture, music, entertainment and food. She can be reached via her website alaenahostetter.com.
