By Cathy Kimmel-Srock
Review Staff Writer
Builders Custom Flooring has a lot to be proud of: being a family-owned and operated business, being a pillar in the small business community for almost 30 years and being a fixture in downtown Lake Orion for 10 years.
And now, they have something else to add to the list – being one of only 300 stores in the United States and one of only two stores in Michigan to offer YourHomeStyle, an innovative selling system that offers the customer a unique and simplified approach to purchasing their flooring, whether it be carpet, hardwood, laminate or luxury vinyl.
According to owners Dan and Debbie Burgess, the process starts with the customer taking a quiz that helps determine which of four lifestyles they fall under: Boho Chic, Studio Urbano, Classik Elegance or Cozy Casa.
“A lot of time when people come in they really don’t know the style they are looking for,” Dan explained, noting that this process helps to reduce the customer’s stress in making selections.
Paul Dominie, Vice President of Partnership Solutions for Beaulieu America, says the quiz was created by a retailologist and an interior designer. It aligns with the research that has been done recently with tribal activity, or the identification of belonging to a certain group. In this case, it is one of those four lifestyle groups, and it helps to identify the design elements that might align with the customer.
“About 40 to 50 percent of women that come in to start this process don’t know where to start,” said Dominie. “That test is a conversation piece that breaks the ice.”
From there, all of the products are coded into those lifestyle groups, helping customers make selections among hard and soft surfaces that maintain their sense of style and coloring.
“If you find a wood flooring you love but you don’t know what type of carpet would coordinate well with it, you can cross reference the carpet and the wood,” explained Steve Bevel, store manager and Debbie’s son.
“You can stay in the same category and everything will match rather than being a hodge podge that you came up with in your mind.”
“You can be your own decorator,” he added.
In addition to focusing on creating an ease and simplicity for the customer, according to Dominie, Your HomeStyle (YHS) really focuses on making the shopping experience right for women.
“Eighty percent of our purchases in the United States in floor coverings are either decided by a woman or have the influence of a woman, yet as an industry, we’ve never really talked to her properly,” he explained.
To mitigate that, Dominie said that a small team of women from Beaulieu America focused on determining what was “dysfunctional” about the floor purchasing process.
These discoveries drove this version of YHS, which was launched in the United States in April, and include stylistic and design choices down to the size and usability of the floor displays in the stores and even the size of samples.
Prior to coming to the U.S., versions of YHS have been offered in Canada for the past 14 years. In that time, Dan explains that only 100 dealers were selected to carry the design system. After 14 years, 99 of them still carry the system, with the 100th vendor having stopped only due to retirement.
This speaks to the quality of the product and the company, according to Dan, and he and his wife were pleased to bring Your HomeStyle to their customers.
“It puts the joy back into shopping,” said Debbie. “We just love the whole design element, knowing that everyone can be individuals and all have unique tastes. Everybody is at a different spectrum in life. You could be a young mom, you could be career-oriented, you could be single or raising a family, you could be an empty-nester. Your needs are all different, but you still have all those styling options within the same umbrella.”
For Debbie, it’s the passion for designing and their love of people that creates her excitement for YHS and everything they do at Builders Custom Flooring.
“We build relationships with people,” she explained. “It’s not just a sale. We live in this community, we work in this community, we play in this community. Building relationships is huge for us.”
These partnerships, love of community and business longevity are all part of the reasons that lead to Beaulieu America selecting Builders Custom Flooring as one of their Your HomeStyle authorized dealers.
“We are very selective,” said Dominie. “We want good retailers; we want retailers that have been in business, that support their clients and their communities. We’re very protective of our brand.”
“We feel privileged to have been selected to be a part of this program,” Dan said, noting that not only is he impressed with the experience YHS creates for customers in the store, but also on their website.
“I would be comfortable someone choosing carpet online now,” he added. “These graphics are phenomenal.”
According to Dominie, all of the YHS products are linked back to the website so customers can do additional research and explore further, but ultimately they want the customer to come to the store as it’s a tactile purchase and they can see and feel the samples, even walking away with some samples of their own to make their choices.
“There is a variety of things layered into our product approach,” he explained, noting that everything focuses back on the customer’s experience and offering “high styling at everyday value.”
To take the Your HomeStyle quiz for yourself, visit yourhomestyle.com and then take a trip to Builders Custom Flooring for products that match your lifestyle.
They are located at 11 S. Broadway in downtown Lake Orion and can be reached online at builderscustomflooring.com or by phone at (248) 814-9663.