DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Retail
- Seeing What You Sell
by Deborah Burnett
Home Fashion & Furniture Trends Magazine
The Emotional Appeal of STONE
As a self confessed ‘rock aholic’ I’m always fearful going through airport security checks; will I be caught…. again? When I asked the TSA agent if I was the ONLY one whose smuggled rocks set off security concerns, to my surprise, he said that commemorative rocks are regularly questioned because people will bring rocks home as emotional keepsakes. And, for a lot of homeowners, it’s the same need to emotionally connect with finished stone before it decorates their home. So when the next client says ‘this one looks great, but this slab speaks to me ’ encourage their sensitivity with :
STORY TIME - each slab tells a story, be it the country of origin or nearby local customs; by sharing the stone’s history you are making an emotional case for that particular slab and a reason to add additional stone areas throughout the residence
FEELS SO GOOD – encourage clients to touch and softly caress each slab and sense the unique emotion of each piece. And for sensitive individuals, they may be able to feel the piezoelectric effect of quartz crystals that are contained within certain slabs, via a tingling sensation felt throughout the body…. I know weird but true!
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Color Forecasting
Recently, 400 color and marketing professionals gathered to discuss, analyze, and dream about the weather, future geopolitical events and what Hollywood celebs will be doing in 2009 and beyond; it was the annual Spring Conference of the COLOR MARKETING GROUP and I was there. Okay, SO WHAT ? ….what does this have to do with my stone business? Well the answer is simple … EVERYTHING! For you see, it’s through the work of these folks that upcoming color trends are forecasted and every major construction industry pays attention because color drives sales and the RIGHT color sells better ! So here’s a sneak peak at what’s ahead so that you can gear up your inventory and sample department for the dramatic color changes coming your way.
For residential and hospitality projects, basil greens are fading fast so look for crystalline sea blues, muted aquamarines greens, pink based chocolate browns and coral based reds to come on strong.
Healthcare and commercial projects will see color continuing towards the new SEXY SUSTAINABLES with natural shades of pale terra cottas, stone based neutrals, copper based metallics and dramatic accents of deep blues and intense corals.
And for cutting edge retail and fashion forward commercial projects, look to China for an emerging palette of bright clear yellows, bold fuchsias, dark complex browns and a return to an updated mauve pink…sorry folks!
Selecting a countertop edge treatment for most homeowners is an ‘either or proposition’; either they go with ‘whatever is the cheapest’ or they leave the decision up to you. Unfortunately, this approach can be aesthetically lacking AND the showroom ends-up leaving money on the table. So why not consider getting into the clients true mindset by asking one simple question which would enable you to suggest the perfect profit- friendly edge treatment
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Living on the Edge!
What is your design intent for this room? (Please check only one)
To create a design statement
To get a new look without spending a lot of money
To design a style -savvy functional space
To WOW family and friends
All of the above
For those folks checking # 1 or # 4 go with an impressive double- stacked treatment, a unique Dupont edge , or the contemporary Hollywood. For clients selecting #2 or # 3, a Demi-Bullnose, simple Ogee or Full Bullnose would be a good mid- priced choice. And for those style- conscious homeowners selecting #5, please insist that the client show you scaled plans, finish schedules, and photographs/sketches of the cabinets, window treatments, and faucets so that you can work with them to customize two separate edge treatments for the same space.
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What just BLUE in???
A few weeks ago I was selecting stone for a client’s powder room and came across a fantastic sodalite 3cm slab. This vivid blue stone featured large inclusions of sage green and heavy veins of creamy greige; the perfect piece to transition between the current green/brown- based color palette to the coming blue /grey tones soon to sweep interior markets ….. if only the sales rep could visualize it! Unfortunately, this showroom doesn’t have a policy to educate its staff and work with upcoming color trends, so my rep was completely in the dark. Once informed, she lamented on how many sales could have been made…. had only she known. In fact, she told me how another sales rep had even persuaded a customer out of this expensive blue slab due to inaccurate color trend knowledge! So to avoid losing costly ‘color’ sales in your showroom, here’s a few suggestions:
Schedule regular ‘show and tell’ sales meetings to review current color directions and brainstorm about upcoming color palettes on the horizon… magazine clippings, fabric scraps and newspaper color forecasts make for great hands on learning and also open the door for discussion
Invite a COLOR MARKETING GROUP member in your area to present an annual color update including long range trends expected for your trade area; a perfect opportunity to also invite local builders, designers and potential customers interested in the hot colors blowing in next!
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WE before ME
Face it; when it comes to looking out for number one, we can’t help it! We’re the first to find
our name on a list, we can zero in on a zinger aimed at our kids with supersonic speed, and
when it comes to stone, it’s the first thing in a room we notice. But is the stone- centered
approach the best to take when a client asks…what do you think? In other words, when
recommending stone materials, finishes, edge treatments, movement patterns, and
colorations, are we sometimes blinded by the stone itself to the exclusion of other decorative
elements included in the project? For without considering all aspects of the complete design
package, including adjoining areas not even receiving stone treatments, we will be taking a
myopic me- first approach that ensures a design “OOPPS” rather than a stone ‘WOW’.
Afterall, uncovering the furnishing style in adjoining rooms can prove useful in helping us to
determine stone movement patterns, edge treatments, and slab color in the project area, while
knowing the location and direction of ALL available natural light is useful in avoiding glare and
color shift on our new stone installations. So when it comes to recommending the best stone
for the project, remember to put your personal interests last, in order for stone…to finish first!
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An unexpected touch of ....GRAY
Who said that surprises don’t happen anymore in this fast paced high tech world anymore ? At this past COLOR MARKETING GROUP annual Spring Conference we were all in for a surprise when the final day arrived and the one color that stood out as the next big thing barreling down the trend pike was not even a color! Instead of a well defined hue, the next color trend expected to hit within the next 19 months was a tone of brown based grays…yep that’s right, GRAY. Already we are seeing it in couture fashions from Europe and even in the store windows of high end decorative accessory design firms. So what does this mean for the architectural and residential stone industry? Well get ready for a quick about face and start brushing off the pale gray and blue based stones because they will be coming on strong in just a few months depending on where your shop is located. Traditionally, the East coast, California and trendy areas of the South would see the color years before the heartland but those guidelines are starting to crumble fast with the heavy influence of imports from quick time China. Also, instead of taking years to overturn the current color trend, the new gray will be able to mix with existing palettes even the still popular sages and brown currently hot in the mid section of the country…. so in a nut shell, be prepared to enter into the new trend of GRAY !
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Is POLISHED PASSÉ?
Every morning when I brush my teeth, the same question arises … who’s that looking back at me? Surly, that sleepy eyed middle age gal is not me, afterall, I’m still 26! Well, as they say, mirrors don’t lie: they just reflect what’s already there; much like polished countertops in our kitchen! So it’s no wonder that most aging baby boomers are opting instead for natural stone countertops in a matte or honed finish. With the emergence of the sophisticated dull finishes favored by the younger IPOD generations, the resulting muted reflections of both the homeowner and the surrounding materials is then elegantly filtered without the harsh reality of wrinkles, glaring overhead light fixtures, and distorted images floating mysteriously deep within the countertop surface . Wow …what a mouthful!... but enough said; polished is dead, so get over it and move on up to the timeless appeal of non-reflective design savvy. With a honed or matte finish, natural unpolished stone can become our much needed connection to the global concern for GREEN, as well as our ticket to greater sales, by offering the client a fountain of eternal youth and a modern, trend setting, stylish stone countertop with everlasting appeal.
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The heavy weight of design excellence
Here are the facts: Most top notch designers are sticklers for color. Most granite slabs vary in color: therefore, the best way to select granite is for the designer to view the entire slab in natural light …but here’s the rub: no way to provide accurate color sampling throughout the lengthy design process except for small ‘hard to visualize ‘ stone cuttings weighing in at 3- 5 pounds each! So when you consider that design pros are dependent on a mountain of product chips, cuttings, and samples all in an effort to color coordinate the overall project, it’s no wonder that so many designers are now specifying engineered stone… could it be that the smaller, lighter weight, and consistent colorations of engineered stone samples are driving the trend? If so, then a touch of old fashioned chivalry and an updated supply of oversized granite samples throughout the process could be all it takes to ensure that natural stone products are specified… and installed! It’s as easy as:
#1 Contacting design pros for current projects
#2 Identifying current color palettes that they are specifying
#3 Arranging for a showroom van to visit the designer’s office or job site outfitted with hefty 18 x 18” mini- slabs selected to compliment their specified color palettes … who knows, with regular visits and color updates, granite and natural stone could be specified in more areas than originally intended!
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