Room to Grow

While most business people believe brick-and-mortar success comes from “location, location, location,” there are actually many factors that go into creating an effective kitchen and bath showroom.

The fact is, it is not simply enough to make a showroom visible; it also needs to create a strong impression via an almost home-like experience, with unique merchandise that will invigorate a client’s senses – and sense of wonder.

Jeff Burton, president of San Francisco, CA-based The Bath and Beyond, noted in his “Legacy Lecture” during the recent South Florida Regional Meeting of the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association: “Everything in a showroom should be flexible. Walls should be moveable to allow you to change the daily appearance of your showroom.”

He also stressed: “We’re in the water business, so there should be running water, such as water fountains [in conjunction] with pleasant music.”

According to design experts interviewed by Kitchen & Bath Design News, other tactics that can be implemented include creating an experiential environment through technology, or setting up presentation areas for customers to view design portfolios.

Tom Kelly, president/owner of Eugene, OR-based Neil Kelly Design/Build Remodeling, adds: “Showrooms are like fashion. They should be up to date and edgy. However, they also need to be warm and friendly, with a receiving spirit.”

Hank Matheny, ASID, whose firm Haskell Interiors Design Collection in Cleveland, TN, earned first-place honors in the

“Showroom” category for the 2007 NKBA Design Competition, adds that full-room settings help greatly in this regard.

He explains: “Our customers tend to buy rooms, not products, [and] we would rather capture their imagination by showing everything in a room setting. It also helps people visualize how things will look in their homes.”

In order for a showroom to be deemed effective – and profitable (in terms of the return on assets invested into it) – it must reflect the firm’s best work, including products that a visitor would want to take home or that feature the ubiquitous “wow” factor.

That “wow” factor can also be presented in the form of a concept or marketing promotion, such as the aroma of home-baked cookies, plasma televisions that loop flashy design presentations, or airline miles to those that spend $5,000 or more at the showroom, as Burton does with his firm.

“We’re in the showroom business. That means we have to put on a show,” he concludes.

The Cozy Confines

Bill Wolf, CAPS, uses the tidy 1,000 square feet of space in his DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Greater Grand Rapids showroom, based in Grand Rapids, MI, to prove one point: Bigger does not always mean better.

“[Our showroom] lets people visualize products and the showroom as being part of a home. For instance, we have a red-and-black room that features a working fireplace with glass tiles in the surround that definitely has a ‘wow’ factor to it.”

He continues: “There is a nice flow in different areas. The fireplace room can also be shut off and be used as a private room.”

Wolf adds that his showroom relies on a wide selection of products that are accessorized and held together with a unifying color theme. To that end, the firm has incorporated subtle touches that will enhance interaction between staff and customers.

He explains: “There is a lot of variety that may not come to the eye right away, such as types of trims, or corners and drywalls, or crown moldings. Other items include pull-out drawer styles and lots of tiles and countertop differences.”

Wolf notes that eventually the firm would like to feature three styles of bathrooms – “good, better, best – where people can see each one rather than have someone talk about them.”

Currently, the showroom features a front area that works as the main showroom, and a back area referred to as the color – or selection – room, which separates the showroom into two parts.