Top Showrooms: Elmwood Design Centre
Elmwood Design Centre was created to simplify the design journey.
According to the full-service design centre, gone are the days of traveling from showroom to showroom. Elmwood Design Centre has consolidated all the essentials for major builds or renovation projects in one convenient location.
Leveraging over 50 years of experience managing six Home Hardware retail locations, Elmwood envisioned creating the first and only full-service exterior and interior design showroom in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
The Elmwood Group is part of the Home Hardware cooperative. Founded by the Leger family in 1974, the group now owns six Home Hardware locations, one door manufacturing plant, one furniture, appliance and outdoor living location, and the Elmwood Design Centre.
With a clear vision in mind, Elmwood partnered with BMF to create a design centre that provides a hands-on experience for customers, allowing them to see, touch, and feel everything necessary to bring their dream space to life—all under one roof.
Based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, BMF is a renovation partner for independent retailers across the United States and Canada. From store planning and design to the supply and installation of innovative merchandising systems and displays, BMF offers a turnkey solution that creates great in-store experiences for customers while driving increased sales and profitability.
Elmwood said it benefitted from BMF’s expertise in designing and installing “hundreds of beautiful and customer-centric retail environments.” The result of the partnership transformed a vision into a reality.
By incorporating Elmwood’s concept and passion into the planning process, BMF crafted a cutting-edge 4,500-square-foot showroom featuring interactive displays and life-size samples of windows, doors, siding, kitchen cabinets, countertops, faucets, vanities, and more.
Elmwood’s showroom actively encourages customer engagement, inviting them to interact with products, explore samples, utilize visualizers, and consult with their talented team of design consultants and industry experts to make decisions with confidence.
“What sets us apart from our traditional Home Hardware locations is our ‘service first’ approach,” said Jon Stephenson, director of marketing & design operations at Elmwood Design Centre. “We want our clients to come in for their appointment and ‘feel’ the personalized experience from start to finish.”
The team at Elmwood includes five designers: one lumber & building materials design consultant, three kitchen design consultants, and one interior designer.
Stephenson says the Elmwood Design Centre is the link between the “building” phase, and the end result.”
“What I mean by this is that often in the past, builders would have their own set of plans, ideas, and process to build someone’s dream home,” Stephenson explains. “The client would often feel left out in this process with very little control over some of the important choices.”
But Elmwood says it believes that building a dream home or renovating a living space should be a memorable experience where the customer actively participates in the process. “We want you to feel confident that you were part of the important decisions. We’re here for our clients every step of the way,” Stephenson says.
But Elmwood’s focus is to make a more lasting connection between all of the parties in one of the most important moments of someone’s life; building their home. The Design Centre allows the client to confidently take part in the process of building their dream home, and the contractors are able to do what they do best: build.
“It’s important to note that a big part of our business is supplying contractors with everything they need for these types of projects,” Stephenson notes. “However, the end result being the home and homeowner, is our lifetime customer.”
“These are the people that shop our stores every day for products to fix or upkeep their home, and they often come in and see us for helpful advice,” Stephenson adds. “So, we wanted both of our target clients to work together seamlessly so they all become Home Hardware customers for life.”
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