The depth, though by no means the extent, of custom millwork options Columbus offers is showcased on a 120-foot-long display lining the back wall in addition to being incorporated into vignettes. The company has an array of knives in its manufacturing facility and can have a knife made to create or match virtually any trim design. Trim profiles are shown in white to keep the shopper focused on design rather than color.
While custom products are front and center, CWP offers a variety of standard cycles, as well, and is able to pack a lot more into the showroom than its spaciousness would lead you to believe. Behind the entryway vignettes are more traditional displays of standard CWP and Masonite doors, including operable four-sided displays and traditional rack systems. On the other side of the facility, behind the interior vignettes, are traditional flooring offerings and 11 stairway examples.
Finishing Touches
Tucked to the front side of the Columbus Wood Products showroom is Anthology Hardware, three rooms showcasing more than 40 brands of door and cabinet hardware. The selection ranges from builder-grade units to one-of-a-kind custom-manufactured pieces, including Baltica hardware, which is hand-crafted in Lithuania, and Zietta Clara handblown glass doorknobs.
While much of the Anthology display includes traditional wall racks, a center area features hardware samples in cases similar to what one would see in a jewelry store, lending importance to what Musuraca says is an often-overlooked product. “Hardware really has the opportunity to become the finishing touch, sort of the piece de resistance, the jewelry, the final touch to a house,” he says. “There are so many different products out there that can really finish [a door] off and make it something really special, and when someone walks into your house, that’s what they hold. What we wanted to do was to show people that there is some true value in spending a little additional money on your door hardware.”
When it comes to hardware, “It’s so hard for people to imagine and visualize,” says Michael Matrka, owner of a design.build firm in Columbus whose projects include million-dollar-plus renovations. Therefore, “when they can go and see and touch and feel it makes all the difference in the world.”
The touch-feel idea applies not only to the hardware, but also to the wood throughout the facility. Twenty species are featured in the door and trim displays–from the popular-in-Columbus poplar to more out-of-the-ordinary species like sycamore, wormy maple, cedar, and jatoba. “We’re seeing an increase in orders for other wood species because we’re now showing them,” says Rackoff. “What we’re trying to do is say, ‘Remember what wood really looks like.?'”
To further spark consumers’ interest, 15 of the species are featured in a special wall “exhibit” near the front entrance of the showroom, allowing visitors to read about and experience each wood type–by sight and touch–to gain a better understanding of their individual characteristics.
All In One
Adding to the high-end yet convenient appeal of the CWP showroom is the availability of similar venues nearby. CWP leases space in the building, called “Design Market Place,” to a kitchen cabinet dealer and to a high-end flooring dealer that also offers space for smaller builders to use to set up their own product selection design centers. Common areas in the building feature kiosks for displays from various building product vendors, as well as seating and work areas for visitors.
Though it’s still too early to know whether sales are up–especially in light of the cooling housing market–Rackoff and Musuraca report that the facility’s mission is playing out: It’s allowing contractors and homeowners to expand their thinking about what can be done to make their homes stand out. “As a result of the showroom, what we’re finding is that we’re doing more and more unique things, whereas before maybe the six-panel door really did command the majority of the market, now we’re taking that to the next level and doing a lot of custom products,” asserts Rackoff.
“What we’re trying to do is have a physical space where people can go look at handcrafted products, look at things that are unique to the market, look at things that you just can’t find anywhere else, and I think we achieved that,” says Musuraca.
Vital Statistics
- Company: Columbus Wood Products
- Year founded: 1981
- Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
- Number of locations: 1
- Number of employees: 110
- 2005 gross sales: $18.5 million
- Pro sales percentage: 85%
