We really love our hardwood floor showroom. Not only is it a great place to see amazing hardwood, it also is the place where many of our best customer relationships have started. We understand it isn't always easy to visualize how your dream floor is going to come together and sometimes you need to see the colors and feel the textures to really make the right choice.
It is because we believe so strongly in our showroom that we are going to change it. It has been over 11 years since our last major overhaul of the showroom and we think the timing is just right. While hardwood has a timelessness to it, when I think about interior design trends, furniture styles and innovations in our industry, it is amazing the change we have seen over the past decade.
We have been thinking about this for a while and after six months of planning we are ready to get started. Our plan is to showcase both products you have asked for and to highlight some you may not know so well. Our new showroom will include:
More widths and lengths
Most buyers are looking for wider and longer planks to create more spacious visuals and dramatic looks. However, we still do many standard floors which are usually matching up to existing floors.
More colors
Natural browns still top the list of popular colors but not as much as they used to. We want to showcase some of the latest color trends from unique browns and beiges to eye catching whites and greys.
Lower glosses
Less-shiny, low-gloss flooring is continuing to gain popularity. They are excellent for high traffic areas and really highlight the color and texture of the wood.
Prefinished options
While we are known at Ralph's as site finished experts, the world of prefinished hardwood has dramatically expanded in the past decade. We want to raise awareness of some amazing new products that consumers are asking for.
Hand-picked alternatives
We love wood and want to showcase select “wood like” products that have specific applications. A great example is vinyl wood flooring. It provides a beautiful wood look but has all the easy maintenance and water-resistance benefits of vinyl.
Over the coming months we will continue to update you on our plans and progress with the new showroom. We will blog about the process and post pictures. In a way it is a chance for us to show you how we approach our own flooring projects and given you a real sense of how we approach yours.
The showroom will be open while we do our updates and so you can come and check on us any time.
