Lew Gallo turned a woodworking
hobby into a hot home furnishing
business, outfitting countless Valley dwellings with minimalist designs from his uber-modern store, Haus.

Lew Gallo is fresh from a trip to New York, where he’s been scouting trends and mentally stacking his Phoenix store, Haus Modern Living, against the Big Apple’s best shops.
As a woodworker and retailer in the Arizona desert, he makes a pilgrimage every summer to Manhattan, a.k.a. the homeland of all things hip, now and not yet in Phoenix. It’s clear this latest trek was a good one; Gallo has the glow of a satisfying vacation and the spark of a new beginning. There’s good reason for that.
Haus just moved into a newer, bigger store at Biltmore Fashion Park, selling a wider selection of modern home décor and gifts. And Gallo just re-launched his own furniture line at Haus’ Scottsdale location after a prolonged drought due to all the mansions he’s been hired to deck out.
Gallo started making furniture in the Valley eight years ago, and in that time he’s honed a signature style. Nearly all of his minimalist designs – desks, countertops, bookends, benches – are made of wood. And his trademark method involves grafting pieces of scrap wood together, stacking one on top of the other until the layers of mahogany, burl, walnut and oak create intricate, purposeful patterns. To fully appreciate his craft, you must stand very close, examine the edges and run your fingers along the smooth finish.
“My mom always says the fat kid who wet his pants who no one wanted to befriend, I befriended,” he says with a laugh, reclining in a sofa amid the crisp, clean décor of his Scottsdale store. “I’m the same way with wood.”
In other words, woodworking is a party and everyone’s invited.
The result is furniture that is not unlike Gallo’s life: a complete amalgam. He’s a San Francisco native who lives in Phoenix; a hairdresser who became a cabinetmaker; a custom furniture designer who’s own house boasts – gasp! – a few IKEA staples, right off the factory line.
Gallo’s father and grandfather were weekend woodworkers, making furniture as a hobby in their spare time. They passed the craft along to Gallo, although his tastes were different from the start.
“We’re of Italian decent, so their furniture was always a little more gaudy. But handmade,” he points out.