If you’re thinking of remodeling an area of your home (including kitchen or bath projects), consider this: where you choose to purchase your surfacing materials might be just as important as what you choose. No matter if you’re looking for materials for countertops, islands, backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, shower walls or other installations, you always have choices about where—and what– you can purchase.
In this article, we’ll look at the differences between shopping at a big box store versus a specialty boutique.
Cookie Cutter or Custom: The Choice is Yours
Because big box chains can negotiate pricing based on volume, they’re able to offer lower cost to you, the end consumer. That might not be a bad thing if you don’t mind having pretty much what everyone else has. But if you are considering natural stone for your remodel or custom-built home, cost shouldn’t be your #1 driving factor.
How important is it to you– for your style choices and overall home look and feel—for your surface selection to be:
- Unique?
- Traditional?
- Contemporary?
- Rare or safely generic?
Then consider which stone surface store(s) can offer the price, quality, detail, and look that you want and your house deserves.
Boutique stores like IRG can offer you many beautiful and unique high-quality stones because for decades they have searched the world over for those specifications.
Natural Stone: Seeing is Believing
For a purchase as important as natural stone, you’ll want to see and select your stone from actual available sizes, not from small paint chip-sized swatches–big box stores rarely carry full-sized stone slabs. But at IRG, and other specialty surface retailers, you can walk up to a full-sized slab and more easily envision your final stone selection in your space – whether kitchen, bath, wall placement or other design feature.
Another important consideration is in-stock selection. Should you need more than one slab for your project (as with a wall covering or large counter), at IRG help is readily available and your choices can often be forklifted into an open area for better viewing. It’s difficult, if not impossible, for a big box employee to take time to work with you and your selections so directly, much less move 400-lb stone slabs for you to review.
Best of all, in an intimate showroom warehouse, you can reach out and touch the surface itself to see if your stone selection truly speaks to you and fills your senses with satisfaction.
The Shopping Experience
Crowded lines, long checkouts, packed parking lots sound familiar? Choosing a big-ticket item for your home is difficult enough without adding pressure and stress to the decision-making process.
Many big box stores can’t offer personalized customer service or a pleasant environment. Think about the experience you’d like to have and answer these questions:
- Once you’re inside the store, is it a relaxing and inviting space where you’re personally greeted and asked about your needs?
- Are the store personnel experts in stone and surfacing?
- Have the buyers in the store traveled the globe sourcing stone?
- Are you willing to wait? Volume may be available in a big box environment—but only if you don’t mind ordering and waiting for delivery.
Big box store employees may be tasked with stocking shelves, moving product through, or making sales so they’re focus is not on building a reputation or a relationship with a customer.
That’s why you’ll want to visit IRG.
Family Matters
Most natural stone shoppers prefer the personal attention and expert assistance that specialty stone shops offer. And, when your name is on the line, the customer is king.
IRG’s Owner Dilmohan Chadha has always had a passion for delivering excellent products with customer service to match. In 1986, my parents Dilmohan and Ameeta Chadha, began selling natural stone products and quickly became known across the Bay Area for remarkably high-quality natural stone. At the heart our Chadha Family business is the ethos of delivering the highest quality material, providing service to others, and maintaining a friendly atmosphere welcoming to all types of clients. I’m happy to be playing a role in continuing to grow our company legacy.
At the heart our Chadha Family business is the ethos of delivering the highest quality material, providing service to others, and maintaining a friendly atmosphere welcoming to all types of clients. I’m happy to be playing a role in continuing to grow our company legacy.