While Guhde Flooring America reimagines its current showroom, a temporary boutique experience awaits
By Patricia Nugent
When it comes to reinvention and reimagination, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and begin from the beginning, take things back to square one.
That’s what the Guhde family, of Guhde Flooring America, has decided to do in renovating their showroom. By the time you’re reading this story, they will have temporarily closed the doors on the store on Mentor Avenue in Painesville Township and be moved and fully operational in their gorgeous new digs on the first floor of the Platinum Center at 7200 Center Street in Mentor, less than 10 minutes away.
“It was a tough decision,” says Office Manager Monica Guhde-Rosa. “We realize that doing a complete overhaul can cause a disruptive experience for our clients. Over the years, we’ve done renovations to the building here and there. This time, to best service them, we’ve decided to go all out and temporarily move our operations into a new showroom while the current one is being transformed.”
Sales Manager Shawn Rosa reports that in the new space, they have brought over lots of displays and hand-picked the most on-trend samples of their best sellers.
A fun perk of being in the Platinum Center is that the Guhdes actually laid all the flooring and tile work there, so they can take clients around to show them how different products look. The by-appointment boutique experience will pair clients one-on-one with a designer for the ultimate in concierge service.
Taking a Keen Look at Functionality
“The renovation of our showroom presents a series of moving targets,” explains Shawn. “Temporarily moving operations allows us to take a real look at the functionality of our space and what best suits the business. We are in the process of re-evaluating every inch of space. For instance, there’s a lot of warehouse space here. Maybe that will change. We’re still hammering out the details. All we know for sure is people can look for the reimagined space to reopen in 2022.”
Monica points out that the focus on building and maintaining relationships with their customers—which have been growing since her grandfather founded the business back in 1957—are the biggest reason for the new showroom.
“This has been one of our busiest years ever,” she says. “While it’s been a challenge to keep up with the work, it’s also been an opportunity to innovate, to rethink our workflow, and to come up with new ways to serve our customers.”
Locking in to Today’s Pricing
“I know a lot of people are disappointed in the longer than usual wait time to get their renovation jobs started,” says Shawn. “And that might make them put off meeting with us now to begin the planning and design phase. But I recommend locking into today’s pricing rather than waiting. If we can at least order your materials now, you won’t have to pay higher prices in a few months. We’re being told by our suppliers that the rising costs of materials will spur price increases in the near future. And I don’t think they’ll be going away anytime soon.”
In addition to kitchen and bathroom renovation, which is their bread and butter, Shawn and Monica report they are also renovating basements this time of year, and doing smaller makeovers, such as fireplaces and work-from-home office spaces.
“We’ve made it our business over the years to expand our offerings beyond flooring,” she says. “We carry everything needed for a room transformation, from flooring and cabinetry to countertops, tile and hardware.”
Guhde Flooring America is temporarily located on the first floor of the Platinum Center, at 7200 Center Street in Mentor. Call 440-639-1990 for an appointment or visit GuhdeFlooringAmerica.com for more information.