Showing Off…Great Showrooms for Great Ideas

By Barbara Hobbs

Walking into Wilkinson Supply Co. is like visiting Wonderland. Photo courtesy of Wilkinson Supply Co.

Do you wonder what it would be like to change the style of your cabinets? How would a different bathroom light fixture fit into the decor? What would flooring in the garage be like? How good would the patio look with stamped concrete? Or did you just purchase a new home and are now faced with all of those choices?

Anyone who has ever bought or built a new home or taken on a major remodeling project knows how time-consuming and confusing the selection process for all the components can be. You find yourself faced with a myriad of decisions including flooring, colors, hardware, appliances, fixtures and countertops. And you have seen wonderful décor in magazines like Traditional Home or Southern Living and want to find that faucet, window treatment or cook top.

A KB Home consultant helps new home buyers pick carpeting. Photo courtesy of KB Home Design Studio.

To assist with these selections, many local builders provide showrooms where they display a large range of products from quality lines in the latest trends and cutting-edge styles. The personalized assistance of design consultants provide them not only with expertise in design and style, but also in the building process and budget planning as well.

Jane Meagher, President of Success Strategies, www.opt4success.net, a full-service design studio strategy training and consulting company, emphasizes the importance of a great showroom. “Leading-edge builders have invested into state-of-the-art design studios where buyers can have a fun and inspirational experience creating their dream home. Instead of having to traipse all over town going to a multitude of different stores, homebuyers can have the one-stop shopping experience of browsing in a professional design studio. It is viewed as a retail store, part of the builder’s brand promise, and an essential part of the home buying experience. Buyers can learn about product differentiation, product performance, design and style trends, and much much more so that they are armed with the knowledge they need to make the best possible decisions.”

One of several kitchen vignettes offered at the K. Hovnanian Home Design Galleries. Photo courtesy of K. Hovnanian Homes.

Making Life Style Choices
Inspiration will pop into the heads of home buyers as they walk through the kitchen vignettes and look at the many product and style choices at the showroom of K. Hovnanian Homes. One of the top ten homebuilding companies in America, their website states that “Our Home Design Galleries are state-of-the-art, interactive personalization showrooms that will make the process of design selection for your new home easier and more fun than you ever thought possible.”

Cyndee Nunn, Design Consultant, does just that. “We encourage them to get ideas here in a relaxed atmosphere. Our showroom is a buffet line where they choose what’s important to them. People are making lifestyle choices for a home they expect to occupy for the long term.” Wandering past their stunning kitchens, media room, a plethora of bath fixtures and into the flooring choices will delight any homebuyer.

Imagine the Possibilities
Both Martha Stewart and Disney figures greet you as you walk into the KB Home Studio. The KB Home Studio offers room décor whether you are a fan of Martha Stewart’s style or your child loves Mickey Mouse. These KB themed rooms can help homebuyers create dream rooms with custom paint, window and lighting options.

The KB Home Studio also offers a huge range of design features, many of them energy conscious for the environmentally savvy homebuyer. “We’re very proud of our Energy Star® designation,” said Mike McGivney, Director of Sales. “We offer many energy efficient, water wise appliances like the continuous flow water heater, an example of our “green” products.” The small wall-mounted container heats water as it passes through, eliminating the expense of heating gallons of water in a standard tank.

The KB Home Studio also features a tech area, coordinated with their partner, Brinker. The homebuyer can select security systems, distributed audio systems, computer networks, stereo and television networks, even nursery monitoring.

Buyers can “feel” what living in a Beazer home would be like in the Beazer Homes Home Design Studio. Photo courtesy of Beazer Homes.

Sitting Down at Home to Make Choices
Walking into Beazer Homes’ Home Design Studio is like entering your living room. Upholstered chairs sit on an oriental rug in front of a fireplace flanked by bookcases. Leading away from the scenario are kitchen vignettes and displays of cabinetry, fireplaces, flooring, bathroom fixtures and appliances.

Dianne Lovell, Design Studio Manager, meets with clients who have bought homes in one of Beazer’s communities to determine what’s important to them as they plan their dream home. Then the homebuyers walk through the showroom making choices from a list given to them at the start, showing the level of cost.

“I educate them about the options and help them make their selections fit into their budget,” said Lovell. “Coordinating choices is important, too, making sure the features they select go together.” Shannon Robinson, Mid-Atlantic Regional Marketing Specialist, agrees. “We use this as a tool for inspiration for our homebuyers, and the end result is a happy homeowner.”

Enhancing the Customer’s Experience
Andrea Little, Director of Marketing and the Expression Gallery, beams as she shows you around the exquisite D.R. Horton showroom. She ought to. She designed the area from the ground up with a designer’s perspective as well as that of a home buyer. Arranged in sequential order, the showroom features everything for the exterior choices of a house to all the traditional interior choices—and more! A children’s area includes a TV with a Playstation, videos and assorted games. A “man room” features comfortable chairs and a big screen TV for spouses who rather sit out the selection process—or where couples could go for some privacy to discuss their choices.

Men will delight in the garage section where there are displays of storage cabinetry, floor coverings, hardware, generators and a central vacuum display. Other showroom sections include fireplace options, stair railings, window coverings, closets, laundry rooms, bath and kitchen vignettes, and interior finishes. Just walking through the areas exposes the customer to the variety of floorings used in each section.

Unique ideas pop up at every turn in this exceptional showroom. Bathroom displays include the different heights available for vanities. For homeowners who bathe their dogs in their soaker bath tubs there are faucet sets that include a spray. Closet organizers display storage possibilities for bedroom closets.

“We focus on the parts of the home that are important to them,” said Little. “For some that’s the kitchen, for others it’s the bath, for still others it’s a myriad of details. We want our customers to have such a good experience here that they will recommend us to their friends, even buy their next home from D.R. Horton, too. We’re looking at the long term effects of this service.”

Independent Design Centers also Spark Inspiration
Whether building or remodeling a home, homeowners and homebuyers come to independent design centers filled with displays of unique products and consultants who share their creative vision for their project.

Walking into Wilkinson Supply Co. is like visiting Wonderland. Your first step inside brings you to a fabulous display of vessels in copper, stainless, metal alloy, ceramic and glass. Nearby a dark blue British store front leads to a display of Czech & Speake plumbing fixtures. It’s easy to tell you’re not in Kansas anymore!

“Our products really catch the eye of buyers,” stated Tradd Yancey, Marketing Manager for Wilkinson, a company that has been providing quality home décor products for over forty years throughout North Carolina. “Most of our lines are European, tried and tested abroad, but lesser known in the United States. They are unique and have a quality in both style and manufacture that will last.”

If a homeowner falls in love with something too expensive for his budget, their showroom consultant can find a less costly version for the item in another line or adjust the rest of his choices for the room so that he can keep this dream item within his total budget. “Not all our products are high-end items,” Yancey pointed out. “Our builder’s room displays a variety of choices in standard grade items that are of good quality and unique in design.”

Supplier to both builders and homeowners, Stock Building Supply recently launched their Dream Kitchen Program which caters to the remodeling homeowner. Photo courtesy of Stock Building Supply.

Many buyers are sent or brought in by builders or home designers. However, there are also lots of walk-ins among Wilkinson’s customers. “Consumers have become a lot savvier,” observed Yancey. “They’ve done their research online and in home décor magazines. They walk in asking for specific products they’ve found—even with pictures in hand.”

Jamie Fussell, Sales Manager, Triangle Cabinet Division of Stock Building Supply agrees. His company has been serving the Triangle Market for over 70 years, offering building materials and specialty products reflecting the latest trends and the newest offerings. “Our customers are more informed than ever before. Today’s kitchens are not just about storing away the kitchen utensils, but more about style and functionality.” To this end, they have recently launched Stock Building Supply’s Dream Kitchen Program which caters to the remodeling home owner.

Design Studios are Full of Ideas
Inspiration is just waiting around the corners of these showrooms for you as you make product choices for your dream home. New ideas, new combinations and new products will expand your horizons. With the assistance of a design consultant who can help you modify your choices to fit both your budget and overall design these showrooms are like walking into one big candy store.

BARBARA HOBBS IS A FREELANCE WRITER