The Cross Pollination Effect: How Decor Addict Is Building a Destination at MacGregor Village

May 14, 2026

One year in, Anitra Tanner’s design studio is proving that a space with soul can change the way people think about home.

When Anitra opened Decor Addict at MacGregor Village last June, she wasn’t just opening a store. She was making a statement about what retail could feel like: layered, globally inspired, full of intention, and impossible to rush through.

A year later, that statement has landed.

Customers walk in and say, “I want my house to feel like this.” They come back, and they bring their friends. They come for a candle and leave thinking about their living room. And increasingly, they come back with a design project in hand.

That’s the Cross Pollination Effect in action, and Decor Addict is one of its clearest examples at MacGregor Village.

A Vision That Started Before the Space

In AB&B’s Beehive Philosophy, every tenant is carefully selected not just for what they offer, but for what they contribute to the ecosystem. The right mix of tenants doesn’t just fill square footage; it creates a community. It draws people to a place, creates reasons to return, and builds the kind of energy that makes a property feel alive.

Decor Addict was chosen because Anitra brought something MacGregor Village didn’t have: a destination for design.

Her concept, a retail studio blending globally inspired home décor with interior design services, fills a gap in the market and a gap in the experience of the center. Customers who come to the store discover the other businesses around them. The cross-pollination flows in every direction.

“MacGregor Village has such a unique energy because it feels genuinely connected and community-oriented,” Anitra says. “There’s a strong sense of support between businesses, and customers really value shopping local and building relationships with the people behind the brands.”

A First Year That Exceeded the Vision

Decor Addict opened in June 2025 with a mission rooted in design, storytelling, and creating spaces that make people feel something. The first twelve months delivered on that mission, and then some.

The business was featured in Cary Magazine in October 2025, an early marker of community recognition that validated what Anitra was building. She launched commercials on WRAL stations, extending her reach well beyond the foot traffic of the center. Most recently, she hosted a Sip & Shop experience for Mother’s Day, an event that brought new faces into the store and gave the MacGregor Village community a reason to gather.

But perhaps the most significant development has been the natural evolution of Decor Addict into a full interior design practice.

“One of the most exciting things has been watching Decor Addict naturally evolve into both a retail and interior design brand,” Anitra shares. “Clients are coming to us for spaces that feel elevated, layered, collected, and deeply personal rather than cookie-cutter or overly trend-driven.”

She’s worked on everything from apartment styling to full-home concept development, and the referral cycle has been organic. People walk in, experience the store, and want that feeling in their own homes. The product and the service reinforce each other.

Arriving at a Milestone

On June 13th, Decor Addict celebrates its one-year anniversary. For Anitra, the milestone carries real weight.

“Reaching our one-year anniversary feels surreal in the best way,” she says. “Decor Addict started as a vision rooted in my love for design, storytelling, and creating spaces that make people feel something, and now we’ve built a physical destination where people come not just to shop, but to be inspired.”

The first year brought the full range of what entrepreneurship demands: excitement, humility, exhaustion, and reward. It also brought clarity about what the market wants.

“More than anything, this milestone represents proof that people are craving spaces and products with personality, soul, and intention,” Anitra reflects. “What makes me most proud is that we’ve built something that feels genuinely different.”

That difference is felt the moment you walk in. In a retail landscape where differentiation is hard to sustain, building something people remember long after they leave is no small achievement.

What the Next Year Holds

Year two brings focus on brand awareness, deeper community engagement, and continued growth in the design client side of the business. Anitra is building a team, expanding her services, and doubling down on the tenant community that MacGregor Village has helped cultivate.

The store itself remains the anchor, a living portfolio of what’s possible when someone who loves design is given the space to build exactly what they envisioned.

“Decor Addict is where globally inspired design, soulful storytelling, and unforgettable spaces come together to help people create homes that feel collected, elevated, and uniquely their own.”

MacGregor Village is proud to be part of that story.

Decor Addict is located at MacGregor Village in Cary, NC. Visit them in-store or follow along on social media as they celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 13, 2026.


Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Anitra Tanner for sharing her story and her vision, and for building the kind of business that makes MacGregor Village a destination worth returning to.