Find Your Wonder
with Western Home Journal
“The thing is, I don’t want to be sold to when I walk into a store. I want to be welcomed.”
-Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of Retail, Apple, Inc.
Retailers obsess over creating a consumer experience each season and winning customers to build brand loyalty. While our industry is focused on longevity and timelessness, there is an aspect of seasonal retail that permeates home design. Pantone announces a Color of the Year, vendors launch seasonal collections of products ranging from tile to fabrics and paints, and interior designers head to North Carolina’s High Point Market several times a year to learn about the newest products and trends.
Although COVID-19 boosted many e-commerce businesses – Amazon reported a 200% profit increase during the pandemic – there is nothing that can replace shopping in-person at a brick-and-mortar store, particularly when it comes to one’s home. Touching fabrics, seeing the scale of furnishings in real life, and feeling a design aesthetic are most purely experienced in person. WHJ welcomes you on our showroom tour of three Park City designers offering a unique in-person experience that cannot be missed:
+ Transitional aesthetic from Elegante Interiors & Design
+ High-end tile and stone from European Marble & Granite
+ Handmade beds and bedding from The Bed Room
“Design is always evolving and changing, so we have to stay ahead of the curve and always be ready with new products and innovations in order to keep creating fresh, relevant, and creative spaces.”
–Branda Northrop, Founder, Elegante
Elegante
Elegante Interiors & Design offers extensive experience with the personal touch of a boutique showroom. Whether the firm is designing a mountain retreat away from home or a full-time residence, Elegante creates a transitional style that will work well with each client’s lifestyle. It is a full-service interior design firm offering space planning and 3D design rendering, custom-made furnishings, furniture, accessories, art, and turnkey services.
Elegante approaches every new venture as a creative collaboration between clients, architects, and the team of designers. The firm believes that the spaces it designs should reflect each client’s personality. This method allows Elegante to create one-of-a-kind environments as it strives to realize their clients’ visions and exceed their expectations.
Elegante recently moved the showroom to Newpark in Park City, where clients can experience a design aesthetic that is a perfect blend of organic elements and sophisticated luxury. Founder Branda Northrop moved to Park City in 1999 and has been evolving the services her studio offers over the past two decades.
“We specialize in helping clients see past an existing layout to envision something more stunning and functional,” she says. “Design is always evolving and changing, so we have to stay ahead of the curve and always be ready with new products and innovations in order to keep creating fresh, relevant, and creative spaces.”
Branda works with clients across the country. She routinely attends Market four times a year and uses her eye to bring unique pieces into Elegante’s showroom. Her personal connection to her clients is her main focus. She listens closely to their needs, establishes a working design, and delivers a quality product. She leads her team of designers with a passion for Park City and the growing community. She celebrates the beauty that she is fortunate to experience daily and believes each day is a new opportunity to deliver the best design possible. “We believe that each person has style and it’s our job to bring that style into their homes,” she states. “We believe that beauty is everywhere!”
“We believe that each person has style and it’s our job to bring that style into their homes. We believe that beauty is everywhere!”
–Branda Northrop, Founder, Elegante
In addition to art, accessories, and custom furnishings, Elegante carries rugs, bedding, tile, and textiles. The firm displays a full lighting line and also has a kitchen with high-end appliances from fellow Park City business European Marble & Granite, quartz countertops fabricated by Caesarstone, and custom cabinetry by Utah’s Teerlink Cabinets. “We’re collaborative by nature, and we worked with many different companies to bring our showroom to life. As designers, it’s very satisfying to bring our relationships full circle by working with our trade partners,” Branda shares.
Collaboration is key to Elegante’s process and to its design aesthetic. “I just got back from Market and for the first time after 20 years I found a vendor that made me feel exactly what I want people to feel when they visit our showroom,” Branda says. The showroom was from Verellen, a Belgian-inspired luxury craft maker of upholstery, lighting, and case goods that are made in the U.S.A. “There was lighting, wood-cased goods, rugs, fine art, and a candle line. Together, they created an experience based on a specific look. Usually, several elements will speak to me but from a buyer’s standpoint, the showroom reminded me of the feeling I strive to create at Elegante when you walk through our doors and experience our one, cohesive design plan,” Branda adds.
Behind architectural steel and glass walls sits the in-house design studio. Customers shopping the retail floor can peer in and watch the team at work. Two walls of shelving display a plethora of samples used during consultations. Creative fabrics and rug samples hang from the walls inviting clients to touch them and examine them closely before making selections. A desk wraps around a 10-foot by 5-foot counter that serves as a home base for design meetings. A TV casts Elegante’s 3D renderings from a computer to a larger screen where the team can discuss layouts with clients. The space is set up so clients can understand their home plans and dial in the details. “We all function around having the samples at our fingertips,” Branda says. “The design center makes it much easier for us to have everything we need in one section of the showroom.”
“Our showroom offers a level of transparency and availability of product so clients can see our process from start to finish. We strive to make them happy.”
–Branda Northrop, Founder, Elegante
The new showroom was built from the ground up and solidifies Elegante’s flowing design aesthetic that celebrates wide-open spaces characteristic of Park City homes. The space is fresh and innovative, and showcases what clients can conceptually expect when working with the studio. “Our showroom offers a level of transparency and availability of product so clients can see our process from start to finish. We strive to make them happy,” Branda says.
Indeed, the showroom is a beautiful expression of how Elegante taps into the potential of a space and transforms it into something fresh, relevant, and creative. When they found this location, it was essentially a shell of commercial space. Branda recalls it was offered as two suites and was unfinished – the ground was still gravel. Today, the two suites are joined together as one 4,900-square-foot area that is fully finished and furnished. The mood is set and customers are warmly invited to experience Elegante.
At the new showroom, customers can expect to be greeted by Katie Christensen. Katie works with clients from the retail standpoint, answering questions and learning about their needs. Katie may then connect clients to designer Branda Northrop, Kelly Padjen, or Jessica Ryan, who is Branda’s daughter and does the studio’s 3D renderings that enable clients to more fully visualize their projects.
Elegante creates cohesion between a mood, a furnished space, and a cozy feeling. Customers are immediately immersed in that concept from the moment they walk through the door. The showroom is the purest example of the firm’s ability to select pieces from different aesthetics that vibe together and deliver the cozy feeling one gets from a well-appointed, tastefully curated space.
Ultimately, the showroom is a place where customers will realize they want to bring Elegante’s transitional aesthetic into their own spaces. Branda has led her firm for over 20 years and understands the history of Park City and its design perspective. She also leads Elegante to bring a fresh and innovative eye to each project. “It’s very compelling to see the design process work out and that it can be painless and not intimidating,” Branda says. “We believe in letting the process unfold.” That process – like the mood that Elegante conveys – feels like home.
European Marble • Tile & Friends
For a quarter of a century, European Marble & Granite has been designing and installing unique stonework that inspires clients in a rapidly changing industry. The company is known for excellent customer service and its employees are driven by loyalty and dedication. Some of them are now second- and third-generation members of families who have worked at European Marble & Granite for 26 years.
It is the personal attention to detail, from design to crafting to installation, that sets European Marble & Granite apart from other stone companies. Their mentality of providing excellence at all costs allows them to exceed clients’ expectations. The team’s pursuit of excellence is motivated by co-owner Kathleen Fuhriman, who has been involved in the business for over two decades.
Kathleen’s background in interior design led her to bring her clients to European Marble & Granite, where they could create stunning and memorable stone pieces for their homes and offices. In 2001, Kathleen brought her 24 years of design experience and a growing fascination with stonework to join the European Marble & Granite family as an in-house designer and sales representative. In 2011, she and Joshua Crook took over operations and became co-owners.
“We prioritize collaboration and seek feedback in order to get it right. If a particular selection is not in the showroom, we’ll get creative and source it.”
–Nichole Stevens, Showroom Manager, European Marble & Granite
European Marble & Granite recently opened a new showroom in Park City. That showroom joins the company’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, a facility that is adjoined by a large slab yard with thousands of stone slabs and a cutting and fabrication shop that employs many of the company’s employees. Every week, trucks deliver stone from importers located in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and California. Each morning at their SLC location, trucks with finished stone creations are loaded for install, on projects in the greater Salt Lake area, Park City, Sun Valley, Jackson, and other locales. While the Salt Lake showroom is an industrial destination where many designers and architects accompany their clients to make selections, farther up the canyon, homeowners, designers, and contractors are welcomed into a more intimate environment that emphasizes their fabulous tile selection.
“At the present moment, we’re seeing a lot of interest in color, particularly with green.”
–Nichole Stevens, Showroom Manager, European Marble & Granite
European Marble & Granite’s Park City showroom is located in the same shopping area as Whole Foods in Kimball Junction. The Park City team is led by Nichole Stevens, the showroom manager, who has 15 years of retail management experience. Nichole loves collaborating with clients and takes great pride in ensuring that everyone receives the best experience possible.
European Marble & Granite’s 2,000-square-foot Park City showroom is open to the public. Customers experience vignettes that flow from wood floors to tile to high-end plumbing fixtures, vanities, and mirrors. The assortment includes natural stone and handmade ceramic tile. Along with Studio Il Bagno’s high-end European brands including Robern mirrors and Bainultra tubs, and exquisite wood from Signature Floors, the showroom treats homeowners and the trade to a luxurious design experience whether one is decorating a legacy home or a vacation property in Park City.
“Our showroom is beautiful and user-friendly, but the quality of our people who work for us is most important. We are so fortunate to have them on our team.”
–Kathleen Fuhriman, Co-Owner, European Marble & Granite
Nichole says, “We prioritize collaboration and seek feedback in order to get it right. If a particular selection is not in the showroom, we’ll get creative and source it.” Each member of the sales team has interior design experience and uses it to help clients define their goals, a skill that comes in handy, particularly when homeowners are not working with a contractor or designer. When working with the trade, the in-house design services team leverages its product knowledge to assist a designer working toward his or her client’s vision.
Nichole has an exceptional awareness of market trends and the overall stone and tile industry. “At the present moment, we’re seeing a lot of interest in color, particularly with green,” she says. “We’re introducing it through glazes in handmade ceramics, in metallic dimensional tiles with texture – such as natural stone – and also in antique glass mosaics with patterns and textures.” The showroom assortment is hand-selected for their clients and they receive new additions monthly.
With a revival toward the farmhouse modern aesthetic, the team is seeing more interest in converting the dark browns traditionally associated with rustic mountain design to lighter colors, grays, and whites. Nichole says, “For many years, Park City style gravitated toward granites, limestones, darker bronzes, and browns. As people modernize their homes, their color schemes are shifting darker to the black side of the spectrum.” Kathleen adds, “At our Park City location, we tend to have direct homeowners come in. Nichole and our team know the trends, listen to the client’s needs and budget, and help design toward that vision.”
Product knowledge is a huge part of being able to help clients. Customers will find clearly labeled samples throughout the showroom. They’re easy to read and have critical information such as sizes, prices, and technical data about the material such as whether it can be used outside or in a shower. With a clientele approaching 60% trade and 40% homeowners, the showroom is a library of inspiration.
Education is a key component of European Marble & Granite’s business. The team has ongoing product trainings and design lectures to bring the freshest ideas to clients. The Park City showroom is launching a “lunch and learn” program that invites interior design firms to the showroom to discuss products and services.
The illuminated letters on the Park City showroom marquis introduce the showroom as European Marble Tile & Friends, an inviting name for a business with an established history of serving the greater Salt Lake area for almost three decades. The “friends” are decorative plumbing and hardware firm Studio Il Bagno and award-winning custom and historic hardwood flooring craftsmen, Signature Floors.
As one of the friends sharing showroom space, Studio Il Bagno offers an exceptional selection of faucets, mirrored bath cabinets, vanities, and plumbing fixtures from domestic and European sources. Since 1979, their emphasis has been on design, originality, and long-term functionality. “Park City is a satellite location for us that previews our larger showroom in SLC. It serves as an inspirational place to spark ideas for our designer clients who are specifying high-end items and conveniently meet with them without having to head down the canyon,” owner Wayne Fereday says.
Collin Barrus of Signature Floors echoes that sentiment. “Built upon decades of both technical expertise and interior design savvy, Signature Floors is committed to providing the highest quality materials and craftsmanship for our clients. From family bungalows to spacious mountain retreats, our clients appreciate the benefits of our ground level expertise. This showroom partnership greatly enhances our client experience from start to finish – we all share the same commitment to quality that has been our foundation.”
For decades, European Marble & Granite has worked frequently with Il Bagno and Signature Floors. “They seemed like a great fit,” Kathleen explains. “If a person were to come in to look at fixtures, he or she might also want tile showers and wood floors.”
Relationships between the friends drive the showroom experience, just as relationships define European Marble & Granite’s business. “We readily answer questions and lead revisions to define the project. Then we knock ourselves out to make sure the job is done and installed perfectly,” Kathleen says.
Kathleen recounts a story from many years ago that sums up the essence of the Park City showroom. “Before I was involved in this business, I was helping a design client who wanted to remodel his auto showroom,” she shares. “I put together a fancy – and expensive – proposal. He said, ‘No, I’m not spending that much money on a showroom, you have to cut back. It’s not about the showroom, it’s about the people.’ Over the years, I’ve learned there was truth in his perspective. Our showroom is beautiful and user-friendly, but the quality of our people who work for us is most important. We are so fortunate to have them on our team. I’m grateful for all 92 of them every day.”
The Bed Room
A change is happening. More and more people are discovering the luxury side of sleep and the importance of an exceptional night’s rest. Entertainers and athletes such as Drake and Cristiano Ronaldo are two high-profile people who have made the news for spending $400,000 on their bespoke Hästens beds. For the team at The Bed Room in Park City, quality sleep is a way of life and a path to a different level of comfort. “For as much time as we spend in bed, it’s worth considering what we’re exposing our bodies to,” says Kadan Bradley, one of the three co-owners and founders of The Bed Room in Park City. Together with his two business partners, Brandon and Brady, they offer luxury mattresses and bedding to clients interested in prioritizing their health through sleep.
The Bed Room’s new Park City showroom focuses on luxury mattresses and linens and offers a vastly different experience from what one might think of at a traditional mattress store. Customers are immersed in the hand feels of bedding and linens and can explore custom options for everything from bed support to furniture leg size, headboards, fabrics, and down fillings. The Bed Room caters to people who are serious about getting luxurious sleep. As Kadan points out, “Park City is a place where you want to be well-rested and that starts with a nice bed.”
The Bed Room’s team is kind and genuinely concerned with clients’ sleep health. They’ve been in the bed business for 11 years and are well-versed in the trends and products available on the market. The new showroom is 3,000 square feet and is located in Kimball Junction just off of I-80 in the New Park shopping center. Twenty different bedscapes exist on the retail floor and invite customers to touch, feel, smell, and experience. Beds are dressed in beautiful linens that are refreshed on a weekly basis. A gift shop sells candles and other self-care items. The showroom is open to the public. Kadan mentions – slightly hesitantly – that once someone experiences the world of luxury sleep, it’s very hard to go back to their old bed.
The showroom is also open to designers and architects and is meant to serve as a place for education and planning. Designers can purchase through The Bed Room’s trade program, and they can also send their clients directly to the showroom to pick out their beds and linens. “We discovered that people needed a place to go to experience what luxury sleep looks and feels like,” Kadan says. “We pride ourselves on the feedback we’ve received that it just feels good in our store. Nobody likes the typical mattress buying ordeal because of seedy sales floors and gimmicky POP. Here, we focus on creating an immersive experience that celebrates sleep.” Experiencing the product is unquestioningly the focus at The Bed Room. Although they ship products across the country, the company intentionally focuses on an in-person buying experience for people in Park City and its surrounding areas.
“For as much time as we spend in bed, it’s worth considering what we’re exposing our bodies to…Park City is a place where you want to be well-rested and that starts with a nice bed.”
–Kadan Bradley, Co-Owner & Co-Founder, The Bed Room
The Bed Room is the only retailer in Utah that sells Vispring and is one of only three places in North America that carries Harrison Spinks. For the uninitiated, Vispring and Harrison Spinks are two brands of British handmade beds. Kadan explains that bringing Harrison Spinks in was a journey and he is excited about the relationship with the farm-to-bed label. “These beds are made on a farm in York,” he says. “They weave their own fabric and use wool from sheep they raise. They grow their own hemp and flax, their materials are 100% recyclable, and their farm is a zero carbon emissions outfit. Nobody makes beds like the British. They’re of the highest quality and we’re excited to see what they’re developing now.” Kadan, Brandon, and Brady will have that opportunity to learn about new products when they visit Harrison Spinks’ farm this summer.
Kadan admits that while he and his business partners have a passion for quality sleep, they do not possess the “designer touch.” Instead, their team provides the eye and talent for bringing the products to life. Customers can expect to get to know Annie – the manager of the Park City showroom – the sales lead whom people come to visit at the store even when they’re not in the market for a new bed, and Lori – a Park City transplant who is especially talented at helping people make their beds the central focal points of their beautiful bedrooms.
“Don’t blame the sheets when it’s not their fault!”
–Kadan Bradley, Co-Owner & Co-Founder, The Bed Room
Working with The Bed Room feels akin to enlisting a sleep consulting service. Education is a key component. They tailor their recommendations to the individual, correct misconceptions one might have about the bed industry, and readily discuss sleep tips. For example, despite popular belief, everyone does not necessarily need a firm mattress. A 5’2” 100-pound person does not require the same resistance from springs and support from a mattress as someone who is 6’7” and 300 pounds. Additionally, customers will be advised on natural and hypoallergenic options because those tend to be the best quality products. Kadan debunks another common sleep misconception that products can be labeled as down even though they are composed of just 20% down and the rest filler feathers. True 100% down does not have filler that compresses or pokes through. It can be cleaned and lasts forever.
A final education point revolves around linens and The Bed Room’s advice to avoid using a down alternative comforter. The material is plastic-based and will disintegrate and hold heat. Kadan mentions that he’s seen people purchase beautiful duvets made with Giza cotton from the finest mills in Italy, but when placed over a down alternative, the sheets are just not as enjoyable. “Don’t blame the sheets when it’s not their fault!” he heartily defends. Although they are primarily a bedroom-focused store, The Bed Room also offers bath linens and towels from many amazing lines, as well as towels, beautiful nature-inspired rugs, and robes from the world-renowned Portuguese line, Abyss & Habidecor.
“Our team is interested in helping our customers live well and that starts with sleep,” Kadan says. “Everyone in our company is health-conscious and well-informed in multiple avenues of holistic lifestyles. We educate ourselves by reading, listening to podcasts, and approaching our work from a genuine love of sleep and wellness. When people have sleep problems that begin to affect their health, we work to get them on a good bed. But we also look at their whole environment and how we can assist in significantly improving the quality of their sleep experience.”
“When people have sleep problems that begin to affect their health, we work to get them on a good bed. But we also look at their whole environment and how we can assist in significantly improving the quality of their sleep experience.”
–Kadan Bradley, Co-Owner & Co-Founder, The Bed Room
