An Exclusive Look Inside Our Local Designer Showroom

Not too long ago, my team & I brought a client to our Designer Showroom during her home furnishing project. As soon as we stepped inside, her eyes went wide. I knew she could feel that magnetic pull of the endless options surrounding us.

Well, a few minutes later, she handed her baby over to me so she could be all in. Kennedi presented, they walked space to space studying and discussing options, & I bounced that sweet babe on my hip. Ha!

Funny? Yes, but also a real testimony of just how incredible our showroom really is. In fact, it’s hard to truly understand the draw until you walk in. 

I have the second best thing for you today: an exclusive look inside:

• How YOU benefit from trade-only showroom access
• What to expect from your experience “shopping the showroom” with us
• A beautiful tour of what’s inside (You’ll want to see this!)

Top 5 Benefits of Trade-Only Showroom Access

1 / Exclusive Access: Our local design showroom, KBK To the Trade is found right here in San Antonio and holds a treasure trove of home goods you can’t find anywhere else. Inside, our team has access to custom furnishings & decor from many to-the-trade product lines — lines that consumers cannot directly access. When you work with us, though, we’re your ticket in. & while many designers won’t take their clients directly into a showroom, we love bringing you with us & sharing the experience with you! 

2 / It Has Ev-e-ry-thing: Our showroom is our go-to destination for everything home furnishings. Along with new arrivals from High Point Market & best selling frames, the showroom is also stocked with rugs, leather, wallpaper, lighting, custom upholstery, and more. The showroom holds all finish samples & volumes of catalogs for us to use as a reference when designing your home.

3 / It Allows for Unbeatable Pricing: I love our relationship with KBK. Because they order at such high volume, when we source through them, we can offer the very best pricing possible on trade furniture. Again — for you! It’s a benefit that solo practicing designers miss out on. 

4 / It’s an Industry Leader: KBK is a great resource for our professional development – they host coffee & CEUs with vendors weekly, so we’re always on the cutting edge of releases & industry news. Yes, please!

5 / Gives You the Best of Both Worlds: Working with our showroom means that my intentionally small firm can achieve so much more than if we sourced independently. With KBK as a partner, we benefit from the tools and support team of a very large firm. Best of both worlds, right? They are the greatest at what they do, which allows us to focus on design — & you to reap the lasting benefits.

What to Expect When “Shopping the Showroom” With Us

When you choose the Shop the Showroom Add-On, we’ll hold our design meeting with you right in the showroom itself. I’ve noticed that when clients first walk in, they’re either overwhelmed and want to run & hide, or they want to stay forever. It is rarely somewhere in between! 

I totally get it — it’s incredibly impressive yet staggering. Fortunately, we know all the ins and outs of the showroom & we have a pre-planned customized agenda just for you.

1 / View & Test Our Options for You: We show you specific options based on your needs and desired investment level and invite you to sit-test each piece of furniture. Not only will we discover your preferences, but you’ll feel the quality of “better” & “best” options compared to retail. We can also instantly gather data for frame proportion preferences, the real key to comfort, helping us find your perfect sofa match quickly. 

2 / Make Your Selections: If you fall in love with a piece of furniture on the showroom floor, it can be purchased the same day (yes, this has happened!), but we mostly custom order. There are nearly an endless number of options when it comes to customizing furniture, so you will get exactly what you want and need, down to the tiniest piping detail or ¼ inch measurement.

3 / Receive Your Furniture: It’s smooth sailing from there – KBK will order, receive, inspect, & handle any potential damage claims for your items. Their storage facility will then hold your items in a climate-controlled, protected area for ultimate reassurance. And when you’re ready for your item? They will white glove deliver themselves, rather than outsourcing to a third party company that doesn’t specialize in furniture. Literally, nothing at all for you to worry about.

What’s Inside Our Local Design Showroom?

Ready to take a virtual tour of our showroom? If you haven’t been there in person with us (yet!), this is the next-best thing. Walk with me through each space…

Rug Gallery: This is floor covering heaven! The rug library is enormous with every option & price point and is constantly being updated with new releases. Organized by vendor, you’ll find everything from lower end polypropylene, to jute, to high end wool & viscose, and even outdoor rugs & luxury carpet. We can also custom order the rug samples we want to share if they are not already in the library.

Chair Gallery: This space contains a series of neutral frames from all the top showroom vendors so that you can go from chair to chair exploring the construction & evaluating the quality of each without aesthetic distractions. You can also test sofas with different seat depths and dining chairs to gain a grasp on your personal preferences.

Lighting: While the showroom displays various options, light fixtures are usually custom ordered. All finish samples, however, are available for viewing. The lamp gallery, located in the wallpaper room, showcases a variety of new options. Speaking of…

Wallpaper Room: I’ll admit, this is one of the more overwhelming spaces in the showroom. The sheer number of wallpaper options is enormous, but don’t worry. We will narrow down the books that best fit your design direction. Samples can be ordered to help with decision making.

Fabric Library: There are two amazing galleries within this library. The first is upholstery and is sorted by vendor. In addition to what’s on display, large books hold all the options possible, so we literally have every single choice at our fingertips. The second gallery is fabric for non-upholstery items, like pillows & drapery. We can order small samples of any fabric to send home with clients after our Shop the Showroom meeting.

Leather Room: A whole room devoted to leather? Yes! Who knew that leather came in so many colors? When you browse the selections, you’ll be able to do scratch tests and compare all the leather finishes available. There are seriously SO many. (Again, we narrow it down for you for stress-free selections.)

Finishes: Regardless of what you’re shopping for, every finish sample from sofa & chair legs to drapery hardware and wood samples is available to select from. It’s so important to see these finishes in-person, & the incredible scope of the showroom allows us to view them alongside fabrics and other materials to be absolutely sure they harmonize.

Vignettes: The whole showroom is set up in vignettes and moves constantly. This setup allows clients to see different seating arrangements, furniture, casegoods, & accessories in a realistic way. And trust me, it’s hard not to get inspired by all the eye candy.

Art: Strategically sprinkled among the furnishings, you’ll find paintings, drawings, pottery, & handmade goods on display. These pieces, created by local artisans, are all available for purchase.

Enhancing Your Home Project with Our Showroom

There are SO many reasons to love our showroom, right? We just can’t seem to stay away – we’re there on a regular basis, either presenting to clients or kicking off a project as a team. 

Yes, the vast number of options can be overwhelming, even for us! Sometimes it takes quite a few additional hours to work through a design puzzle & land on the right end result when the options are literally endless. (That’s why Shop the Showroom is an Add-On!)

So… are you ready to see the magic of our showroom for yourself? We can’t wait to show you around this very special place. Reach out to us here about your project & let’s get started.

Xo,
Shawna