That’s It!

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Showrooms give you a chance to try out new equipment and get a sense of how everything from refrigerators to bathtubs might look and work in your home. They also can let you design an entire room, with the help of expertly trained staff, from tile to appliances and faucets to lighting.

Photo courtesy of Design Galleria

Design Galleria
Working with an interior designer, architect or builder always has its perks, and one of them is being able to visit the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) in Buckhead, where Design Galleria Kitchen & Bath Studio is located. Within 16 vignettes, the designers at Design Galleria have created kitchens that are classic to contemporary and everything in between.

Design Galleria completely designs each kitchen, making sure it is tailored to the clients needs. The primary focus is on cabinetry, and Design Galleria represents two lines: Wm Ohs, which has a traditional, Old World style often with distressing, and Downsview, which can be contemporary or more traditional and formal. Designers also take an inventory of clients belongings and can create special settings for them. For example, if a client has a teacup collection, a hutch can be designed specifically to display it. Its all about design, says Ric Parrish of Design Galleria. Cabinets are just boxes, its what you do with the box.

Once the needs and tastes of the client have been determined, the designers at Design Galleria create the layout, draw plans for the plumber and help choose the granite, appliances and whatever else is needed. We do it from start to finish, Parrish says. Design Galleria is in the process of expanding to include two bathroom vignettes in its showroom.

Photo courtesy of The Westye Group

The Westye Group
The Westye Group showroom in Duluth boasts 14,000 square feet of showroom space, including a live demonstration kitchen, eight kitchen demonstration vignettes and working showerheads in the bathrooms.

Sub-Zero wine storage and Wolf cooking appliances are two key ingredients in the kitchens at the Westye showroom. While Westye doesnt specifically feature cabinetry, flooring or lighting, these things are naturally included in the vignettes, so the staff can let visitors know where and how to get them. And while the showroom is still good for giving ideas, the vignettes dont necessarily determine what the kitchen in your home will look like. A lot of people see different things from one or two areas of the showroom, says showroom manager Vicki Stevens. These things can be mixed and matched to create a unique environment in your home.

The showroom hosts monthly product demonstration classes, which include cooking demonstrations and interactive group classes in an area with eight individual cooking stations. This makes the Westye showroom not just a kitchen and bath destination, but also a place to pick up a new skill. Souffl??, anyone?

Photo courtesy of Apex Showroom

Apex Showroom
Apex Showroom in Buckhead features 15,000 square feet of kitchen and bath vignettes designed to help visitors understand how the products will look in a home environment. They also have working parts, so its perfectly acceptable to test the water in the bathtub.

Apex Showroom, which has been in Atlanta for more than 70 years, became an autonomous subsidiary of The Home Depot about six years ago. The in-house consultants can assist in creating rooms with the look and feel the client desires while also maintaining the required budget. The process is simple. The optimal method of visiting a showroom is scheduling an appointment in advance, says regional showroom manager Jeff Boardman.

Boardman recommends bringing house plans, reviewing the builders standards for the plumbing and appliance package and understanding your budget. The appointment should take place as early as possible in the construction process to allow for material to be delivered in time for installation, he says. A second appointment might be necessary, but it definitely will be easier than driving all over town. Apex features plumbing lines like Kohler and Kallista and appliances from Sub-Zero, Wolf and Viking.

Photo courtesy of Waterworks

Waterworks
If you want to focus solely on the bathroom, Waterworks Atlanta, located in Buckhead, has more than 1,300 square feet of showroom space dedicated to the bath experience. Recognizable by the Empire tub in the window, Waterworks features vignettes that are changed yearly. All of the products are designed specifically for Waterworks and include fittings, fixtures, accessories, mirrors, lighting, surfaces and basically whatever you might need in the bathroom.

The designs range from traditional to transitional to modern and are available in a range of prices.The Waterworks products are sold together as a total bath solution. This ensures that whatever you choose will work together both functionally and aesthetically. So, even if you mix and match, you really cant go wrong.

At Waterworks, visitors can choose from hardware like fittings, fixtures and tubs as well as softer wares like tiles, stone and mosaics, textiles and personal care items. The showroom has been in Atlanta for eight years, but the family-owned company has been in the business of baths since 1978.

Next time you are thinking of remodeling or even just changing a few fixtures, try stopping by a showroom. After youve finished creating the environment you desire, youll have time left to watch a movie, be with your family or even take a soak in the tub!