One Stop Shopping

You can easily waste hours driving to tile showrooms, visiting appliance stores, roaming through granite yards and wandering around plumbing outlets.

But at the end of the day, it's not uncommon to find that your colors don't blend, your fixtures don't match, the ceiling treatment won't work with the crown molding and the pretty tile you fell in love with has been discontinued.

"Building a home is so emotional, so stressful and so time-consuming," says Christine McKinlay of John Cannon Homes. "The process can become a nightmare. For most people, their home is the most expensive purchase they'll ever make, so each decision becomes critical."

Doug Denning of Nohl Crest Homes says the problem is exacerbated by seemingly limitless options.

"There's just so much out there for the consumer," Denning notes. "The choices are overwhelming. People want to build a beautiful home, but they're confused by the sheer enormity of the task and bombarded by choices. They don't know where to even begin."

Consider, for instance, the seemingly simple selection of handles for bathroom cabinet doors and drawers.

Do you want pulls or knobs? What shape do you prefer? Would you like those in wood, brass, chrome, polished nickel, pewter or bronze? Shiny or dull finish? How about antiqued or oil-rubbed? Wait, we have others in ceramic and glass.

Would you like the name of a local artist who hand-paints knobs and handles? Oh, and we can special-order novelty knobs. Do you like antiques? We know a salvage and restoration guy.

You need time to consider? Fine, but this is only the powder bath. You have three other bathrooms after that.

Aware that buyers were being buried under an avalanche of options, savvy local builders have created one-stop design centers to ease the hassle factor.

Here, neatly assembled in one location, is every element your home will ever need-with samples you can see, touch and feel and qualified designers to hold your hand through the entire selection process. No more forays to warehouses and supply centers across the bridge. No more waiting for the salesperson to finish up his submarine sandwich and answer a few questions.

While each design center is unique and each builder operates a bit differently, here's how the process unfolds at Beazer Homes, a national company that builds in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

As soon as the client signs a homebuilding contract with Beazer, he or she is assigned a designer. In fact, Design Center Manager Kathy Cowan says construction can't even begin until the client has an initial meeting-usually lasting between two and four hours-at Beazer's facility.

During that first meeting, the client describes what he or she envisions the new home will look like while the designer asks dozens of questions and takes notes.

Some clients find it helpful to walk back through the company's models, taking note of any details that seem especially appealing.

Beazer also invites its new clients to leisurely "Browser Nights" at the design center, where they can ponder various products, finishes, paint colors, cabinet styles, roof tiles and pavers in a no-pressure atmosphere.

"During that first meeting they discuss it all, from appliance options and plumbing fixtures to air conditioning systems and tile for the backsplash," says Cowan. "This allows our designers to get a handle on buyers' wants and needs."

Clients will continue to meet with that same designer throughout the process. "We believe it's crucial to maintain the relationship," Cowan says. "This designer knows this buyer, and also knows the home."

Cowan adds that such an approach also ensures that the correct products are ordered, thereby reducing the delay and expense caused by errors or changes of heart.

Beazer insists that every person whose name is on the contract be present during any Design Center sessions. That's why designers must be equally capable of sketching floor plans and mediating conflicts.

"Oh yes," says Cowan. "Designers have to play psychologist all the time. We see husbands and wives get very upset every so often. But our designers are experienced enough to know when to excuse themselves for a moment and when to step in and suggest a compromise."

At John Cannon's 4,000-square-foot design center in Lakewood Ranch, clients are often surprised to find that one third of the choices to be made have to do with the home's exterior.

"They have to select roof tile, driveway materials, patio and porch pavers, pre-cast or natural stone, exterior lighting, an elevation and a paint color for the exterior before we ever get to the interior," explains McKinlay.

"We break up the selection process into at least four sessions requiring three to four hours apiece, and it is exhausting," she admits.

But, she adds, when you compare the time clients spend in the design center to how much time they would otherwise spend shopping in multiple locations, "we can realistically promise to cut their investment of hours by two-thirds."

Plus, McKinlay says, design center pros can head off costly mistakes.

"Let's say, for instance, someone wants stone floors," she says. "Well, stone floors require special framing that's raised slightly. If traditional framing is already in place, they can't have the flooring they want without ripping everything out. So it's too late."

Nohl Crest Homes invites its clients to make a day of it at the design center-literally. They're urged to hire a babysitter for the kids, tell their designer what they'd like brought in for lunch and be prepared to settle in for an eight-hour session.

"They begin on the outside of their new home and select pool and patio products, and they don't stop until every faucet, knob and square foot of carpet is chosen," says Denning.

The want-list then goes to Nohl Crest's estimating department, and clients learn the economic impact of their choices.

"Some decide to shift budget items around, a sort of robbing Peter to pay Paul solution," Denning adds. "Others are happy with their initial choices, and still others want to upgrade everything."

At Nohl Crest, Denning emphasizes, designers are not paid on a commission basis. Therefore, clients receive the same professional attention regardless of what they spend.

The company also encourages clients to do their homework before attending that intense, day-long decision siege.

"Our niche is building semi-custom homes," Denning says. "So we offer a great amount of choice. When clients have done the research and already have a pretty good idea of what they want, the process goes much more smoothly."

Through the design center concept, it's clear that clients save time and energy while enjoying the benefit of professional design guidance. But what about builders? What's the upside for them?

"When you create an exciting retail environment for people, you increase the likelihood that customers are going to buy," says Albert Sanchez, president and co-owner of Gibraltar Homes. "Customers will spend anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 on upgrades and enhancements, and that's a good thing for us."

A second reason for builders to create their own design centers is the need for speed. The faster a builder can move a client from contract to closing, the better for business.

When selections are made before the first shovelfuls of dirt are turned, then delays are reduced, quoted prices remain valid and last-minute changes are avoided. Deadlines can be met, budgets aren't compromised and customers don't get cranky.

Finally, says Sanchez, design centers allow semi-custom builders to stay competitive in a market where consumers in every price range are clamoring for a more upscale product.

"The client has a great deal of choice and the quality is very high, so they feel as though their home is customized," he notes. "But they will ultimately choose from what we offer. And that gives us the ability to work within the budget, and to make that all-important bottom line."