Kitchen-inspired 60s Siematic 6006

The SieMatic 6006 is a tribute to the first kitchen brand SieMatic, which was presented in 1960. At that time was a sensation and became the most successful and popular in his time kitchen. Today back to be modern.

Its special feature is that in 1960 was a global innovation design handle in aluminium slat. The gently curved serifs doors and socket are equally unique.

New colors and metallic surfaces also granted to the original of the SieMatic 6006 his current single character.

SieMatic 6006 KM, a classic space kitchen which can be seen in Gunni & Trentino Madrid in general store Moscardó, 16.

Successful Design Seminar Series Gifts Donation To Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity

Submitted by Allison Harkins, Kitchen Bath Design Construction, on 2011-02-23.

Kitchen Bath Design Construction owner Lorey Cavanaugh, CKD/CBD, (on right) presents McKinley Albert of Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity with money collected from her Saturday seminars. Kitchen Bath Design Construction owner Lorey Cavanaugh, CKD/CBD, presents funds collected from her Saturday morning mini-design seminars to McKinley Albert, Development Officer-Private Grants, of the Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity. The first of these on-going series were held from October 2010 through the first part of January 2011 with a requested donation of $10 per person/per session to benefit Habitat for Humanity. During the 13 weeks of the series, over $500 was collected. The money collected will give support to the Women Build program of the Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity. Women Build is a national program that encourages women to volunteer for Habitat and make a difference in the life of a local working family. KBDC's mini-design seminars have started again and will continue through April with a new topic discussed each Saturday. For more information and to register please contact Kitchen Bath Design Construction at 860-953-1101 or go to kb-dc.com. To learn more about Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity, please call 860- 541-2208 or visit hartfordhabitat.org.

Marina Towers, Beirut - Interiors

Here are some pictures of a condominium home design located at Marina Towers, Beirut. Marina Towers is a prestigious residential project designed by the Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, a well-known architect firm in the Mediterranean. Marina Towers is approximately 150 meter high apartment building featuring ultra luxurious apartments with a huge living space.

The condominium featured here is a 5,000 sq. feet living space with an amazing view. Theinterior design of this condo apartment is done by Joe Serrins Studio. Interiors are done in contemporary style. In this part of the world, marble, gold and velvet are used lavishly to furnish a luxurious apartment. This apartment is furnished using simple furnishings and fabricsin a sophisticated and elegant manner. Ceilings and walls in every room are crafted skillfully. Craftsmanship blends well with the rest of the interiors in the room.

Living room has one entire wall of glass that gives amazing view of the sky and the sea below. The apartment is so high that you get the feelings as if you are floating among the clouds. Living room interiors are done in black and white, mostly. Sofas and chairs upholstery is very light shades of grey and purple. White tiled center table on black rug give amazing effect. Living room walls are decorated with the wall paintings of trees and flowers.

The apartment has a huge open balcony with a view of sea. Blue colored tiles of the balcony harmonize well with the sea. The balcony has multiple sofas and chairs with stuffed cushions. Different shades of purple and mustard yellow color are used for the cushions. They blend well with the colors of the sky.

Dining room of the apartment is equally fabulous. Oval shaped wood dining table is surrounded by the metal framed dining chairs. Light peach fabric is used for the dining chairs. It has vaulted ceiling with special lights. The dining table has matching candle stands as decorative pieces. One wall designed in blue with a wall decor is used as an accent.

Bedrooms are done in minimalist style. Master bedroom has dark brown back wall. Ornate side lamps and wall lampshade make the room look artistic. White and dark brown are the main colors used in bedroom design. You will find small dollops of sky blue here and there. Attached bath is designed using a mirrored wall. This makes the bathroom look bigger. It has a wash basin fixed on a long counter, towel rack and shower cubicle. Entire apartment is designed in an artistic manner using simple materials. The color pallet, lighting and placement of decorative objects make it look very elegant.

The Condominium Interior Design Balcony

The Condominium Interior Design Living Room

The Condominium Interior Design Dining Room

The Condominium Interior Design Sitting Area

The Condominium Interior Design Bedroom

The Condominium Interior Design Bathroom

NKBA Releases Design Trends Survey Results

What’s popular in kitchen and bath design? Survey says… February 18, 2011 If you believe what they say about the past—and this may also apply to the immediate past—being a good predictor of future behavior, then you may want to pay close attention to the results of the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s (NKBA’s) annual survey of kitchen and bath design trends. Participating in the survey were more than 100 designers who are association members and have designed kitchens and/or bathrooms during the last three months of 2010. Although the survey findings may not reflect activity in all parts of the country, several commonalities did emerge, indicating that changes in kitchen and bath styles are afoot in this new year. 10 KITCHEN TRENDS 1. Shake it up. Although the popularity of the Shaker style began in 2009, it truly gained momentum in 2010. By the end of the year, it overtook contemporary as the second most popular style used by NKBA member designers, which, given its versatility, may not come as a huge surprise. Here’s the breakdown: • Traditional is still king (76%) among surveyed designers, but its popularity has fallen slightly from last year. • 55% of survey respondents specified Shaker-style cabinetry. • 48% went contemporary. • 21% used cottage-style cabinets. Shaker door styles, such as this design from O’Neil Cabinets, are going strong. The company provides custom-grade product lines in a variety of styles and finishes. For more detailswww.oneilcabinets.com. Photo courtesy of O’Neil Cabinets 2. Maple is sweet. As 2010 began, cherry was the wood species of choice in kitchen cabinetry for NKBA member designers, with 78% of survey participants specifying it in their work (compared to 64% who selected maple, the second most popular wood). This year, however, those numbers are nearly reversed: • Cherry has fallen to 71%, while maple has risen to 76%. • Alder was used by 28% of designers surveyed over the last three months of 2010, representing a sharp decline from the previous year (39%). 3. Dark finishes. Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of finish toward the end of 2010: • The percentage of designers specifying dark natural finishes rose from 42% to 51% • Usage of medium natural finishes fell from 53% to 48%. • Usage of glazed finishes fell from 53% to 42%. • Fewer designers specified white painted finishes: 47%, compared to 49% last year. • Light natural and colored painted finishes remained fairly common, rising only slightly from the previous year: 24% to 25% for the former and 24% to 29% for the latter. • Distressed finishes dropped significantly from a year ago, falling from 16% to just 5%. 4. A place for wine and everything else. Homeowners still like to keep wine, but they may be less fussy about storing it at fine-tuned optimal temperatures. According to the survey, the inclusion of wine refrigerators seems to be on the decline, while unchilled wine storage is growing in popularity. With kitchen organization a concern for most, other types of cabinetry options remain more common, but even most of these appear to be experiencing a drop in favor. Here are the stats: • 51% of surveyed designers incorporated wine storage areas into their kitchens, up from 39%. • Tall pantries declined in use from 89% to 84%. • Lazy Susans fell from 90% to 78%. • Fewer designers used pullout racks: 71%, compared to 81% last year. • Appliance garage usage is also on the wane, falling from 36% at the end of 2009 to 29% a year later. This elegant kitchen from Huntwood Cabinets features stacked wall cabinets, glass doors, rich raised panel doors, classic crown moldings, and a prominent island with built-in wine cubbies. Photo: Alan Bisson 5. Solid showing. That granite and quartz continued their reign as the number one and number two in countertop materials may not come as a surprise to anyone. Solid surfaces as a clear third, however, may raise a few eyebrows (or not). Both granite and quartz essentially held their dominance from a year earlier, with the percentage of designers incorporating these countertop materials into their kitchen designs changing very little from a year earlier: • 89% of survey respondents used granite in their work, down from 90%. • 70% used quartz, down from 72%. • Laminate usage dropped from 21% to 17%. • More surveyed designers specified solid surfaces: 25%, up from 14%. • Butcher block usage increased, jumping from 7% to 12%. • Marble also had a surge in popularity, increasing from 7% to 14%. 6. Goodbye, color. Uncertain times can often lead to conservative behavior, which may explain why homeowners seemed to shy from color as 2010 drew to a close. The use of every color, except beige and gray, was either flat or down across the board from a year earlier. Even neutral browns have been deemed too bold by many clients. Worth noting: • Brown tones were used by 42% of designers as 2011 approached, down from 50%. • Whites and off-whites dropped only slightly, from 62% to 59%. • Grays increased from 10% to 16%. • Beiges and bones rose from 46% to 55%. • The only other colors to be used by at least 20% of designers were bronzes and terracottas, which remained flat at 24%. Clean lines and open spaces define this Houston kitchen designed by Cheryl Carpenter featuring Poggenpohl Teak Décor Lava eco-friendly cabinetry, a textured dark grey laminate. Photo: Miro Dvorscak 7. Bonjour réfrigérateur. While most types of refrigerators lost some ground in the last quarter of 2010, French door refrigerator strengthened its position as the type specified most often by NKBA member designers. Here are the cold, hard numbers: • French door refrigerators jumped from 67% to 78%. • Freezer-top refrigerators were only specified by 8% of designers as 2010 drew to a close, down from 10% a year earlier. • Freezer-bottom models fell very slightly from 60% to 59%. • Side-by-side units actually rose slightly from 46% to 49%. • Among smaller units, refrigerator or freezer drawers remained flat at 31%. • Undercounter wine refrigerators fell sharply from 50% to 36%, an interesting change given the increasing use of unchilled wine storage. Top: Liebherr’s 2060 series is available in freestanding, fully-integrated, and stainless integrated designs, providing consumers the opportunity to customize based on their preferences. 8. Inducting a new cooktop. Despite being ubiquitous in Europe, induction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models in this country—at least not yet. However, survey results indicate that they are slowly closing the gap: • Of the designers surveyed, 70% used gas cooktops—a drop from 76% last year. • 41% of survey participants used electric cooktops, up from 38%. • 34% specified induction cooktops, up from 26%. • Single wall ovens are down from 46% to 42%. • Double wall ovens are up from 68% to 74%. • In addition, warming drawers are down from 49% to 42%. • Ranges are down sharply from 81% to 68%. Thermador’s Masterpiece Series 36-in. Silver-Mirrored Induction Cooktop uses exclusive component technology that is as responsive as gas and as convenient as electric. Photo: Thermador 9. Lighting lightens up. Despite its warm and often people-flattering glow, incandescent lighting continues its journey to obsolescence. • Only 35% of surveyed designers incorporated incandescent lamps into their work, down from 50% at the end of 2009. • Instead, they are clearly opting for more energy-efficient lighting options: LED (light-emitting diode) lighting has increased from 47% to 54%. • CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps), however, aren’t picking up any new proponents; their usage remained flat at 35%. • Halogen lighting is down from 46% to 40% over the past year. 10. Trashy designs. A greater emphasis is being placed on trash considerations in the kitchen perhaps as a consequence of an increased awareness of and/or interest in living greener. Does living greener mean living cleaner? It could… • 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include trash or recycling pullouts. • Garbage disposals were incorporated by 86% of designers, up from 75% in the previous year. • Trash compactor usage has increased from 11% to 18%. FOUR BATHROOM TRENDS 1. Quartz countertops. Just as quartz has come on strong in the kitchen, it continues to take away market share from granite as the material of choice for bathroom vanity tops. • Nevertheless, 83% of NKBA bathroom designers did opt for granite tops in a recent design—a decrease from 85% in the previous year. • Compare those numbers to the 54% who specified quartz vanity tops at the beginning of this year, which represents a decent increase from last year’s 48%. • By contrast, solid surfaces haven’t gained much popularity in the bathroom—they’re at 25%, up from 23%. • Solid marble has declined from 46% to 37%. • Cultured marble and onyx have increased from 12% to 19%. • No other material has even 10% of the market. DuPont Zodiaq quartz surface in Bianco Carrara. Part of the OKITE collection, Bianco Cararra features a white stone with gray veining. Photo: Shadowlight Group 2. A worthy vessel. Homeowners were still renovating their bathrooms at the end of 2010, as survey results indicate that designers were specifying more lavatory sinks across the board. Of all the different types of sinks, undermounts continued to dominate newly remodeled bathrooms. • 97% of surveyed NKBA bathroom designers specified undermounts in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 95% a year earlier. • Vessel sinks have become the clear second choice among designers: 51% of survey participants have specified them in the final quarter of 2010, up from 39% a year ago. • Integrated sink tops were also up from 34% to 38%. • Pedestal sinks were up from 21% to 29% • Drop-in sinks were up from 23% to 27%. 3. Green bathrooms. In this instance, “green” doesn’t mean “eco-friendly” but the color green. A year ago, green color palettes were used by only 14% of NKBA designers, but at the end of 2010, that figure had risen to 24%. For some homeowners, perhaps green is more relaxing. For the rest of us, neutrals seem to do the trick, as whites (and off-whites), beiges and browns are the three most commonly used color tones in bathrooms. • White and off-white palettes are up slightly from 57% to 60%. • Beiges are down sharply from 66% to 57%. • Browns have dropped from 48% to 38%. • Other common color tones: blues at 22%, grays at 21%, and bronzes and terracottas at 17%. Inspired by the delicate scallops of a seashell, Delta’s Addison Bath Collection in chrome finish brings a fresh, inviting look to the bath. Photo: Delta Faucet Company 4. Faucet finishes. According to survey respondents, satin nickel was a popular faucet finish in both bathrooms and kitchens. Does more need to be said? If so, here are the details: • In the kitchen, the percentage of NKBA designers who specified a satin nickel faucet rose from 41% to 63%. • In the bath, the percentage increased from 45% to 57%. • Stainless steel is popular in the kitchen, specified recently by 44% of designers, but less so in the bath: 16%. • Other popular faucet finishes in both the kitchen and bathroom are bronze and oil-rubbed bronze, polished chrome, and polished nickel.

Links referenced within this article National Kitchen & Bath Association’s (NKBA’s) http://www.nkba.org www.oneilcabinets.com http://www.oneilcabinets.com Thermador  http://www.thermador.com

Find this article at:  http://www.kbbonline.com/kbb/news-and-features/NKBA-Releases-Design-1629.shtml

NKBA Design Award Finalists

Hackettstown, N.J. - The National Kitchen & Bath Association announced the finalists in the 2011 NKBA Design Competition, honoring the best kitchen and bath designs of the year. “The NKBA, along with our sponsors, is proud to offer member designers from across the country the opportunity to be recognized for their level of skill in applying innovation and creativity to kitchen and bathroom design.” – David Alderman, CMKBD, 2011 NKBA President

Sponsored by GE Monogram, HGTVPro.com, Kohler, ServiceMagic, This Old House, and Waypoint Living Spaces, the 2011 competition honors the top three designs in each of ten categories, among the nearly 500 entries received. The winning designs will be announced at the Design Competition Awards event on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 during the NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show  at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Small Kitchens

• Chris Novak Berry; St. Louis, MO
• Rose Marie Carr; Ramsey, NJ
• Dana Jones, CKD; Long Beach, CA

Medium Kitchens

• Elina Katsioula-Beall, CKD; Pasadena, CA
• James E. Howard, CKD, CBD; St. Louis, MO
• Anastasia Rentzos, CKD, CBD; Mississauga, ON

Large Kitchens

• Cheryl Hamilton-Gray, CKD; Carlsbad, CA
• James E. Howard, CKD, CBD; St. Louis, MO
• Jane Lockhart; Toronto, ON

Open Plan Kitchens

• Chris Novak Berry; St. Louis, MO
• William Landeros, CKD; Denver, CO
• Terri Schmidt; Delafield, WI

Powder Rooms

• John Mills Davies, CGBP; San Diego, CA
• Ines Hanl; Victoria, BC
• Holly Rickert; Ridgewood, NJ

Small Bathrooms

• Ellie R. Baker, CKD, CAPS, CGP; Brier, WA
• Scott Gjesdahl; Lynnwood, WA
• Victoria Shaw, ARIDO; Pickering, ON

Large Bathrooms

• Lori W. Carroll; Tucson, AZ
• Holly Rickert; Ridgewood, NJ
• Victoria Shaw, ARIDO; Pickering, ON

Master Bathrooms

• John A. Granato II, CKD; Syracuse, NY
• Elizabeth A. Rosensteel; Phoenix, AZ
• Christine Salas, CKD, CBD; Calgary, AB

Showrooms

• Artur Leyzerov; Toronto, ON
• Areti Tanya Rentzos; Mississauga, ON
• J. David Ulrich, CKD; Ridgewood, NJ

Printable version may be for personal use only. Content may not be duplicated, re-used or otherwise replicated without expressed, written consent from RDBMagazine and/or the original author/source.

Provided by RDBMagazine - A Cygnus Business Media site

Allmilmo Featured at LivingKitchen at IMM Cologne

by GKelly on February 15th, 2011

IMM Cologne showcases the home interiors of the future. Suppliers from Germany, the rest of Europe, and all over the world present their latest products in this international event. LivingKitchen made its world premier at this year’s showcase focusing on all aspects of kitchen design. Allmilmo, Kitchen Designs’ new cabinet line, had a beautiful booth at the expo. (See photos below. Click the thumbnail to enlarge.)

Remodeling set to surge thanks to low turnover, run-down foreclosures

By PAUL OWERS

With the economy starting to recover, consumers feel better about spending again - and that spare cash is going back into their homes. Home remodeling is on an upswing after the industry's worst slump since at least the early 1960s. Scores of foreclosed properties need a ton of TLC, prompting buyers to renovate those tired or tattered spaces. Many other homeowners want to improve because they don't plan to move - either by choice or by circumstance. Some love their homes but say they'd be more comfortable living there longer if they had new kitchens and baths.

Others are caught in the housing conundrum, unable to sell and move because they owe far more than their homes are worth, a particular problem in areas where housing boomed, then tanked. As a result, they're investing in new floors, replacing windows and doors, and making other changes as they wait for home sales and prices to rebound. "A lot of people are saying, 'We're here for the long haul now,' " said Bill Feinberg, president of Allied Kitchen & Bath in Fort Lauderdale. "My showroom has been nonstop busy. We're getting big orders on a consistent basis."

An Allied client, Ilana Mosser, recently completed a renovation to her Coral Springs, Fla., home she bought in 2002. Mosser said the house "had good bones to it" but the decor was dated. So she and her husband, Ken, gutted the kitchen, ripped up the tile, renovated a bathroom, removed the popcorn ceiling and added hurricane-proof windows, among other changes. Their goal: Make the house an oasis, a place where they and their 13-year-old daughter, Valerie, would want to stay for 15 years or longer.

"Who's going anywhere?" said Ilana Mosser, 44, a headhunter for physicians. "I want Valerie to come home someday and say, 'I want to have an engagement party here.' " Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies last month issued a report that revealed the nation's home improvement market, at nearly $290 billion in 2009, stands to benefit from a post-recession glow of sorts. The report predicted that spending on home improvements would increase at an average 3.5 percent pace in the next few years. Nationally, consumer confidence has reached its highest point since May. And a recent survey from the University of Florida indicates that Florida residents appear more willing to reach into their wallets than they were over the past few years.

Residents without equity in their homes are raiding their savings accounts and embarking on more budget-friendly upgrades, remodelers say. For many, though, financing remains an issue. Banks have been reluctant to lend during the past few years, preferring instead to boost capital amid the recession. But Ward Kellogg, chief executive of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Paradise Bank, said he expects banks to start lending more in the next year.

Low home appraisals have been the biggest hurdle in qualifying for home equity loans, Kellogg said. One way to remedy that: include the value of the improvements in the appraisal. "That will help get the loan done," he said. Before starting a remodeling project, a homeowner must get a building permit. Mike Fichera, Boca Raton's building official, said homeowners have been going after lucrative tax breaks and other rebates for energy-efficient upgrades to windows, doors and air-conditioning units.

"I've never seen so many air conditionings get changed out," Fichera said. Remodelers and contractors say they have noticed a definite trend in moving less and renovating more. Scott Whiddon, president of Causeway Lumber Co., a Fort Lauderdale institution since 1939, said South Florida homeowners are making far fewer home additions and are more interested in replacing features. With the collapse of the home-building industry in recent years, more contractors are available and looking for remodeling work. Allied's Feinberg said he gets roughly five calls a week about job opportunities.

Barbara Gunning bought a four-bedroom Boca Raton home in 2009 and decided to renovate it last year.
She and her husband upgraded the swimming pool and added hurricane windows, customized closets and renovated the kitchen. They also improved the landscaping and extended the patio. "This is it," Gunning said. "This is our retirement home."

Real estate appraisers and other industry professionals caution homeowners to make smart improvements that will boost property values and attract buyers when it does come time to sell, whenever that is.
Solid wood cabinets, stone countertops, up-to-date appliances and under-cabinet lighting are features that almost all buyers will appreciate, remodelers say.

But forget about especially bright or odd-colored paint. And a homeowner can shell out $20,000 to $25,000 for a swimming pool, but it won't add nearly as much value to the house.
Still, Frank Smith, owner of J.F. Smith Design & Build in Fort Lauderdale, said that when it comes to renovations, homeowners shouldn't worry about adding resale value and guessing what future buyers might like.

"You're doing it for your own enjoyment," Smith said. "That's where the real value is."

Poggenpohl-Boston Receives 2010 Best Showroom Customer Service Award

 

BOSTON, MA  (Marketwire) -- 02/08/11 -- Poggenpohl Boston is pleased to announce they were recently awarded the "2010 Best Showroom Customer Service" Award by Ted Chappell, President of Poggenpohl U.S., Inc.

The four-member Boston design team, led by Rosemary Porto, was selected from over 30 Poggenpohl kitchen design studios across the U.S. for their exceptional customer relations and dedication. Poggenpohl-Boston is well-known in the region for engaging with clients to create custom, innovative kitchen designs uniquely fitted to each client. Their approach emphasizes design with a "lifestyle" approach -- with the end result being an individual kitchen space that enhances the client's quality of life.

"We are very excited about this award," states Rosemary Porto, Sales Manager and Senior Designer at Poggenpohl Boston. "We offer an extraordinary product so we need to be sure our customers' experience is just as extraordinary. Our team is totally committed to making each customer their number one priority. We listen, create and follow up on each and every project. It's a strategy we're proud of and one that really works. This award validates what we do."

Poggenpohl is the world's leading luxury kitchen cabinet brand with over 30 showrooms across the United States. Established in 1892, Poggenpohl is the world's oldest kitchen cabinet manufacturer with worldwide headquarters located in Herford, Germany. The Poggenpohl product line has a strong global presence and is available in more than 70 countries.

Poggenpohl Boston is located at 135 Newbury St. in Boston, MA. To contact the showroom directly, call 617-236-5253 or email at info@boston.poggenpohl.com. For further information, visit http://www.boston.poggenpohl.com/.

Women In Architecture Speed Mentoring

title:	Women In Architecture Speed Mentoring
CES LUs	Self Report
date:	3/22/2011
time:	6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
location:	Poggenpohl Kitchen Design Studio, 230 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia PA 19106-1241
organization:	AIA Philadelphia Women In Architecture
cost:	Complimentary
registration:	Required - Register Online
email:	pat@aiaphila.org

Women In Architecture Speed Mentoring

A social event similar to "Speed Dating"; the Women in Architecture Committee is providing an exciting and informative environment for women in the field of architecture to interact with one another. Each attendee will spend 20 minutes with 3 other practitioners of varying experience levels and switch to another table round. There are 3 rounds total scheduled for the evening. Women are encouraged to serve as both the mentor and the mentee by offering advice, sharing experiences, and discussing career goals. There will be a reception at the beginning and the end of the event to encourage discussion.
This event will be sponsored by Poggenpohl Kitchen Design Studio. Advance registration is required. There is a limited number of mentor / mentee for this event.

Boosting Sales Through Store Design

By Jim Dion

Can you really create an atmosphere that makes customers want to buy? The answer is a resounding yes. The atmosphere of a store is made up of not only the merchandise being sold but also of what we call “peripherals,” components of color, music, video, aroma, lighting, signage, cleanliness, and the one most often forgotten, the attitude and appearance of the staff.

Consider that the act of buying is very complex, and for many purchases it involves all of the senses: vision, hearing, touch, smell, and for some purchases, even taste. A good atmosphere is a feast for all of the senses, complemented by employees who are dressed appropriately and are genuinely happy to greet customers as welcome guests.

First Impressions 
The first thing your customers see is the front of your store. Most retail stores have windows that are used to both showcase products and provide a glimpse of the interior of the store. Windows should tell a story. The window is the place where you can create a seasonal display, show a special offering or share anything that tells the customer about the quality and value of the products carried within.

The store entrance should be easy to enter and inviting. If customers have to work to get through heavy doors or, even worse, locked doors with buzzers, they are much less likely even to browse. And remember, once you get them to browse, you are halfway to the sale. 

Take three steps into your store. Three steps get you past the decompression zone, the space in which the customer is decompressing from the outdoors and paying little attention to items or displays. The area just beyond the decompression zone is prime real estate. Most customers will be exposed to that area but not all will venture further into the store, so that first third of the space is very important. Research has proven that roughly 90% of customers will turn right upon entering a store, so pay special attention to this space. The saying, “You only get one chance to make a first impression,” is true of this first exposure to your store. Make it count by loading it with your best products and your most interesting and interactive vignettes. Also, make sure this area has visibility to a location within which customers can relax and plan their projects. 

The cash wrap area, which many stores call the service desk, should not be located in the prime real estate area. Instead, it should be toward the back of the store, and associates should be discouraged from hanging out there rather than interacting with customers. With the desk at the back, the customer sees the store as more of a showroom than the retail space.

Vignettes
Room vignettes are the equivalent of mannequins in a fashion store. The mannequin is the most important fixture in a fashion store because it helps the customer see how the merchandise will look on a body. Clothes that are folded on a shelf or simply hanging on a hanger do not inspire customers to buy. The mannequin has the ability to display a complete look with shoes, belt, jewelry and other accessories. This not only makes the main products look better but also encourages the sale of additional items. 

In flooring stores, vignettes accomplish the same task. They show the customer how the entire room or area will look with differing floor and wall treatments along with the accompanying furniture and fixtures. Having row after row of displays featuring differing tiles and stones does not inspire a customer to buy because they cannot picture how it will look in a real home situation. 

Layout 
The next step in creating an atmosphere that makes the customer want to buy is to make sure that the store layout is logical and easy to follow. All vignettes of one type should be grouped together: kitchen with kitchen, bath with bath, and so on.  Also, wherever possible, make each of the areas truly functional. Have a working kitchen with a coffee machine and bake cookies a few times a day. Have functioning refrigerators and dishwashers in your kitchens and working washers and dryers in your mud room vignettes. Local appliance stores may be willing to give you these products for free if you post some signage promoting their store. You may also want to create kitchen and bath vignettes within their locations as well. 

Partner with furniture stores to have comfortable couches, chairs and home accessory pieces throughout your store to make each vignette as lifelike as possible and to encourage your customers to get involved with the spaces. From these vignettes, customers will get ideas for using tile and stone in ways that they never thought of, and, as an important bonus, a browse of the vignettes will keep them in the store longer.

Color and Light
Think about the lighting and colors in your store. Yes, it is difficult when you are presenting vignettes to keep the colors complementary and the lighting focused on each area, but you have to do so. Do not put competing colors next to one other. When planning displays, use one strong color with subordinate colors. Too many strong colors used in combination create confusion, whereas one strong color used with subordinate colors will create a refuge for customers. There are wonderful fluorescent spot and floodlights available today with color balance equal to halogen lamps. In addition, these new lights use one tenth of the power and generate almost no heat. Each area should have the appropriate light level: kitchens should be super bright; bathrooms should be mood lit; mud rooms bright; living rooms mood lit.

Color and light affect depth perception. Choose lighter color tints and floodlights to deepen the space, darker colors and spotlights to shorten. Choose colors that have the right impact on your customers, despite what the fashion of the moment is. Warm colors like orange, yellow and red increase mental alertness and stimulate. Cool colors like blue and green have calming or sedative effects. Bright colors can make customers uneasy if there is prolonged exposure to them and can also divert attention from merchandise. Cooler colors can prolong a customer’s stay, which is exactly what is wanted.

Music
I highly recommend that you play music because a silent store is not an inviting store. The music should reflect the expectations of your target customer. For example, if your target customer is women ages 35 to 55, you would likely not feature rap music in the store. Recent research suggests that 63% of customers shopping in a store with appropriate background music purchased more than they had planned. The same study concluded that softer music slowed the customer’s pace, again resulting in sales increases. Video and graphics should also reflect the tastes of the primary customer segment.

Cleanliness and Organization
Above all, the store must be neat and clean. Nothing should be out of place nor should there be any dust or dirt anywhere. When customers see small details that indicate that the store is not paying attention to its atmosphere, they question everything about the store. A president of an airline once said, “Customers are amazing. They flip down the snack tray and see a coffee stain and then question the engine maintenance!” And, yes, it is true. Customers will make judgments about your store based on very tiny details. 

Never forget, your store is not being compared only to other flooring stores. It is being compared to every other retail store that the customer has been in over the past few months. You compete with the best retailers in your community, and your customer does not cut you any breaks because you are a flooring store. Your staff should be dressed appropriately, more formal than casual to reflect the quality of the store and the professionalism of the staff. 

And do not forget the most important room of all. You need clean, working washrooms for your customers. The bathrooms should reflect the attitude of the store. They should be spacious, surgically clean and serve as a showcase for your products. Remember, it is these small details that will impress your customers. 

The Silent Salesperson: The Sign
Another important component of a retail environment is the signage. People respond to signs that speak to product or service benefits. To which sign would you respond: “The color goes all the way through the tile” or “Want to save 20 minutes of your life every day?” I would suspect that the latter is more likely to get your attention as it speaks to a benefit that many customers can relate to. Consider every sign in your store. Is it engaging the customer on an emotional level, or does it read like a manufacturer’s specification sheet?

Customers rarely just fall into a store. They come for a reason. If you make the retail space tempting and inviting, they will buy.