Natchez &8212; A love for fine linens began early in life for Louise Peabody, as both of her grandmothers had antique linens she admired.

Her interest turned to business 20 years ago, and now she has brought her business home to Natchez.

Intimate Home opened two weeks ago at the corner of Main and Commerce streets, where Peabody has moved it from a prestigious Magazine Street address in New Orleans.

As in the New Orleans store, the owner has assembled merchandise designed for &8220;overall comfort in bed and out of bed,&8221; she said.

&8220;People are familiar with my linens,&8221; she said. &8220;I&8217;ve done national advertising with Yves Delorme and Peacock Alley.&8221;

The name of her store is reflective of intimate spaces in the home. Her linens and accessories are designed to enhance those spaces.

&8220;You spend half your life in bed. My goal is to make that as comfortable and luxurious as possible,&8221; she said.

Peabody opened her first linen shop in Covington, La., which at that time was on the verge of an economic boom. &8220;I have ridden ups and downs of economies,&8221; she said. &8220;But I focused strictly on beautiful linens and items that surround the bedroom and bathroom. I opened this shop 12 years ago.&8221;

She sells beds and specializes in bed design. There also are towels, bathrobes, candles and bath products, among other items.

But what entices many people to her store are the monograms. &8220;They are turn-of-the-century hand-guided monograms,&8221; Peabody said.

The Natchez native opened Intimate Home on Magazine Street, then moved it three years ago to a second address, 4121 Magazine.

&8220;That was the best shopping block, an up-and-coming area with coffee shops and spas,&8221; she said. &8220;We were beginning to get people traveling in their private yachts from all over. Movie stars and rappers were shopping with us. Then came Katrina.&8221;

The hurricane disrupted her life but left the shop virtually untouched. &8220;We boarded the windows and gated the doors and had no damage,&8221; she said.

The same was true of the home she and her husband, Ben Ledbetter, owned in Covington, La.

However, the hurricane displaced her clientele. She began thinking about moving it and decided it was the right thing to do.

&8220;I already had planned to move home soon but had not planned to move my business,&8221; she said. The linen shop and her second business, My Room, a children&8217;s store in Covington, were doing well. She hoped to begin slowing down and thinking about retirement.

&8220;But here I am back full steam,&8221; she said. &8220;I bought this building and will do an apartment upstairs to lease.&8221;

Returning to Natchez has been exactly what she needed, Peabody said. &8220;I feel grounded.&8221;

Sales already are good. During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, sales exceeded what she did during the same days at both of her Magazine Street addresses in the past.

Despite the hectic pace of getting settled into a new location and into the home where she grew up, Peabody looks forward to a more relaxed way of life and pursuing old and new friendships.