View it, love it, buy it

Ask any interior designer what makes the biggest impact in a room, and most will tell you it’s the flooring. Flooring sets the tone for everything else. If it’s dated, drab, worn and weathered, no amount of trending throw pillows will save you.

The good news is that with advancements in materials, any flooring you install will be light years ahead of what it’s replacing. Super chic flooring can modernize your living space without the time and money involved in a total renovation. Beautiful is only the beginning.

I caught up with General Manager Mike Guhde, Jr. and Kitchen and Bath Designer Jillian Brickman—the dynamic duo who make up the design team at Guhde Flooring America & Design Studio—for some insights.

“There are so many types of flooring,” says Mike. “We take the time to find out about a client’s lifestyle to pinpoint the best fit. We ask a lot of questions. Do they have kids, pets, high traffic?”

Hard Surfaces

“While there will always be a place for carpeting, over the past several years hard surface flooring has edged its way up to becoming the most popular type of flooring we sell,” says Jillian. 

The manufacturing processes have advanced to the point where it can be nearly impossible to tell the difference between real hardwood and natural stone, with the increasingly sophisticated selections in laminate and luxury vinyl tile.

“Though wood can be durable, and there are clients who only want natural wood, the other selections are water- and scratch-resistant, making them ideal for beautiful flooring that can stand the test of time” says Mike. “They typically come with a lower price point, to work within a variety of budgets.”

Mike and Jillian travel to national trade shows to stay on top of emerging products and trends. He mentions a supplier they met predicted that the share of the market for laminate could rise from 10% to 50% over the next several years. 

Taking Away the Fear Factor

With so many choices available, it can be challenging to decide which is the best for you. Luckily for homeowners, there’s technology to turn the “I want that” feeling into a reality.

“Thanks to our room visualization kiosk called PXP, Product Experience Platform, we can upload a photo of a room to bring to life how a certain type of flooring will appear,” says Jillian. “The technology combined with AI allows us to experiment with more than flooring. We can play with different paint colors, cabinet finishes and countertop selections.”

She says people tell them the visualizer takes the fear factor away from the selection experience, while making the whole process more enjoyable.

With the expansive showroom loaded with product, it’s also fun to sit down with Jillian and Mike at the design table to put different samples together in person.

Made Close to Home

Helping homeowners choose flooring also means understanding where those products come from.

With concerns about tariffs, rising costs and global supply-chain issues, Mike and Jillian say many of Guhde’s flooring lines are made in the United States, helping provide greater pricing and supply stability.

“It’s like the farm-to-table movement,” he explains. “People appreciate things that come from close to home. All the manufacturers we work with have introduced more environmentally conscious options, incorporating renewable materials like compressed wood, rubber and naturally finished product with more sustainable manufacturing practices.”

Guhde Flooring America & Design Studio

7200 Center Street, Suite 100, Mentor 

440-639-1990

GuhdeFlooringAmerica.com