Why Use a Design Center?

This question comes up a lot in the purchase of a new home. Twenty five years ago you would buy a home and pick one of four colors of carpet in the sales office and a design center wasn’t really needed. Builder’s options and Homebuyer’s demands have changed the whole scope of our industry and created the design center concept as we now know it. Design centers sometimes have the perception of being expensive. We disagree. We might be more expensive than some of the retailers you see up and down the street, but in our industry there are many, many flooring dealers. Some are reputable, many are not. The flooring business is a very easy business to get started in. As in any other industry there are people in business solely to undercut their competition and make a quick sale, often with different products than we offer. Most of our suppliers have earned a reputation for servicing the builder trades exclusively, and don’t deal with most retailers. We find our pricing to be very competitive with the small number of quality flooring firms in the marketplace with one very important difference—we are a design firm as well as a flooring sub-contractor. You meet with a designer, not a salesperson. We are not a retail store and do not service walk-in traffic. We know what we can do best, and that is to service the building community exclusively and effectively by knowing their product—your new home.

So why use Residential Design Services? Because we are committed by contract to provide the interior flooring and option design for your new home in a timely manner with some of the best warranties in the industry, while having a professional interior designer assist you. Sometimes the process of selection for your home’s interiors takes numerous visits and many hours of one-on-one meetings with a designer. This is in addition to the hours of behind-the-scene work to order and schedule the materials and labor to assure a quality installation. This benefit alone—having a professional interior designer’s help with the creation of your interior—is a major factor that should be considered.

How often have you walked into a very expensive home and asked yourself “What were they thinking?” Obviously some expensive materials were used but the whole design lacked continuity or even taste. Some people have a real knack for design, but many do not. Some money can be saved buying the stone here, the carpet from another store and the window treatments from someone else. But will it look like a model home? When friends come over will they ask who designed it? Will they comment on the tasteful décor? Is the design of your interior even important to you? These are all questions you should consider before you schedule your first visit with us.

Your meetings with a professional interior designer are included with your purchase through RDS. Check around what an interior designer might cost you to design your home and supervise the installation exactly the way it was intended. Or, consider the time it will take out of your busy schedule to meet the crews at the house, check the materials and make sure the installation meets the manufactures guidelines for warranties. Are you trying to coordinate the installation right after close of escrow, and have your home completed before move-in? Or are you planning to select standard flooring and then schedule installations after move-in? Also consider your builder’s warranty when a toilet is pulled for installation and is reset by an outside sub-contractor and a leak results. How about paint touch-up after the installation? Will you be happy with the paint used on the last job, or would you prefer the exact color and brand the builder used the first time. We’re not trying to scare you, just relating some very common frustrations we hear repeatedly.

Whatever your decision, at least come visit us for your first appointment and let us offer some professional design advice. We are confident you will find value in what Residential Designto Services has to offer.