Flooring The Consumer: Bringing The Bathroom Blogfest Home

Friday, November 02, 2007

Bringing The Bathroom Blogfest Home - Advice

Chandelier in ABC Carpet's 2nd Floor NYC ladiesrooms.

Another aspect of Bringing the Bathroom Blogfest Home at Retail is providing advice.

This National Floor Trends article from 9/24/07 on The three C’s for your showroom: Clean, Clutter-free and Creative (very creative) by Annette Callari makes wonderful suggestions on how to improve the look, feel and appeal of your flooring retail environment.

Annette writes: "Create a space that invites shoppers to explore. Use dramatic lighting and bold colors. Make sure there is a place people can sit comfortably and discuss their options. Eliminate clutter and craft a look that tells the world you are in the fashion business and you take great pride in your showroom.

Here's an interesting perspective: "Studies show that few people (maybe 20 percent ) can actually visualize “room-size” from what they see in a small product sample. So when you give them the opportunity to see an entire area decorated in a specific product, this is a huge advantage."

Hence the value in putting together vignettes for your customers as well as taking advantage of spaces like bathrooms to showcase new ideas.

In her article, Callari includes a picture of a beautiful bathroom vignette to "add a touch of elegance and give your customers ideas."

Note the anchor photo for this post. It's of the chandelier from the 2nd floor ladiesrooms in ABC Carpet in NYC. It's absolutely elegant and definitely adds an unusual detail to a bathroom.

These next two photo details come from Lewis Carpet One Floor & Home in the Chicago area. Note the attention to different surface treatments and details - from two separate bathrooms. They demonstrate exactly what Ms. Callari describes in her article.

The article offers very practical advice:
- Unclutter the clutter
- Optimize the space
- Add the right light
- Get a white glove

However, the best advice in the world is meaningless without feedback and reactions - especially as it relates to bathrooms.

Enter Elizabeth Hise, based in St. Louis. She is Channel Relations/Assistant Brand Manager for The Hughes Group and supports me for Wear-Dated and Ultron public relations. I have ever so gradually been exposing her to the blogosphere and am quite proud to have dragged her into the 2007 Bathroom Blogfest!

Here, Elizabeth offers reactions to bathroom experiences! She says:

"When I first heard about the Bathroom Blogfest, my immediate reaction was one of relief. Finally someone (or a group of someones, in this case) is paying attention to the importance of bathrooms in public places - especially places of business. Because of the size of my bladder (pea-like), I'm constantly visiting bathrooms everywhere, from restaurants to gas stations to malls. I feel that perhaps, I'm becoming an expert.

One of my most recent bathroom experiences took place at Monarch, a delicious (literally and figuratively) restaurant in St. Louis. Exquisite in both ambience and cuisine, Monarch offered a dinner I won't soon forget, and I visited the ladies room hoping that it wouldn't ruin my memories. Thankfully, the ladies room mirrored the restaurant--quiet, serene, bathed in candlelight, and smelling fresh.

Later that same week, I traveled an hour and a half outside of St. Louis with my company on our annual Getaway Day. We visited Chaumette Vineyards & Winery, located in St. Genevieve, Missouri. The ladies room was oh-so-spacious, with three separate toilet areas--not stalls, but actual rooms with locking doors. It was like having your own private suite. Clean and well-kept, the ladies room was also odor-free, and delightfully decorated with tasteful floral wallpaper, a full length mirror, and enough room to turn pirouettes.

But my favorite ladies room in recent memory was that of Niche, another restaurant in the heart of St. Louis' Soulard neighborhood. An new, upscale restaurant, Niche takes a minimalist approach to decor. It's small, with clean, crisp tablecloths and rows of cozy tables. Not only was the food amazing, but when I excused myself to the restroom, I found a little oasis, just as sleek as the restaurant in which it was located, and complete with REAL towels on which to dry my hands. They rested in a basket next to the sink, with another basket on the floor for used towels. Not only does this this prevent waste, but it makes my hands happy.

Thanks to all of those businesses who do bathrooms right!"

Thank you, Elizabeth!
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The latest posts in the 2007 Bathroom Blogfest:

From Jennifer Brite: Bathroom Round Up
From Carolyn Townes: Meeting in the Ladies Room - Part Deux and Meeting in the Ladies Room - Part Trois
From Stephanie Weaver: Oceanaire restaurant serves up a swanky bathroom
From Reshma Anand: On bathrooms and babycare rooms...Bathroom blogfest 2007
From Becky Carroll: Bathroom Blogfest: Door Signs
From Toby Bloomberg: Friday Fun: Which Floor Belongs To Which Loo?
From Dee McCrorey: Innovation In The Loo
From Claudia Schiepers: Bathrooms In Belgium

Participating in the 2007 Bathroom Blogfest are: