Back to basics: McCabe Lumber opens a showroom with a simple, streamlined design and organized product displays

Prosales, Dec, 2004 by Julie Y. Weber

Prior to designing its Loveland, Ohio showroom, McCabe Lumber set several objectives for designer Pete White mad White Design & Production: create a McCabe brand experience; establish two distinct entrances for builders and consumers; and maximize the use of products in realistic settings.

Making an investment of $720,000 in 2003 to design the 15,000-square-foot showroom, White and McCabe managed to accomplish a uniform floor plan that consistently highlighted the McCabe brand. Product display areas for categories such as windows, exterior doors, and hardware feature similar layouts that include introductory display panels, work areas, vendor-specific literature pockets, and product samples. McCabe-branded graphics and colors are carried throughout for consistency, while a magnetic panel system holding category and product information simplifies the design.

In addition, the company created a "Dream House" area in the showroom, which offers real-world settings complete with furniture and home decor to create an in-home, finished feel. As planned, the showroom features two entrances to separate trade counter sales from a more formal consumer entry point. The facility's linear layout controls the flow of customers through a succession of product clusters and organizes the space while creating optimum visibility.

By simplifying layout and creating a template for information and samples, McCabe has maximized product display while maintaining its branding identity. According to Jeff Tepe, McCabe vice president, the showroom also brought customers' clients in directly for product selection, creating new opportunities for upgrades, an element that had been missing. "The [homeowners] see more capabilities of what they want to do to their homes and upgrade to a nicer selection," he says.