Showroom

>>> Eheart Interior Solutions, Loveland, Colorado

Eheart Interior Solutions’ main floor features flooring, lighting and furniture vignettes.

Visitors to Eheart Interior Solutions’ 30,000-square-foot, airy showroom are greeted by an indoor waterfall and a sense that all their interior design needs could be met there, all in one spot. The two-story, contemporary space encompasses offerings ranging from flooring, countertops and cabinetry to window coverings, furniture and lamps, in styles that run the gamut from Southwest and transitional to softly contemporary.

The one-stop-shopping showroom has come a long way from its beginnings in 1979 as an 800-square-foot storefront in downtown Loveland, founded by Ken Eheart, who sold carpet, tile and vinyl flooring to area homebuilders. Five years later, Eheart moved to another location, expanded the business and hired recent Colorado State University graduate Brad Franklin to help with sales, ordering and the day-to-day aspects of running a small business.

“We always talked about offering everything a builder, designer or client would need to complete an interior,” says Franklin, who became a partner in Eheart in 1987 and now serves as its president. “We built this newest location in 2007 to do just that.”

The showroom’s soft, contemporary style is reflected in the building’s architecture.

Now with a staff of 17, which includes interior designers, Eheart Interior Solutions’ primary customer base is made up of custom and semi-custom homebuilders, who send clients in to choose finishes, fixtures and furnishings for their new homes. The showroom also serves architects, interior designers, developers and individual home-owners.

The core of the business--floor coverings--is displayed in the center of the showroom’s main floor. There, clients can find brands such as Stainmaster carpeting and Somerset Hardwood Flooring, plus numerous ceramic tile offerings and lines of commercial flooring for office, hospitality and healthcare applications.

The main floor also includes displays of window coverings, with Hunter Douglas being the featured brand, and furnishings, with lines such as Lexington, Brownstone and Bradington-Young arranged in vignettes. The second floor is devoted to a proprietary line of custom cabinetry, plumbing fixtures such as Kohler, Toto and Moen, and countertop choices that include granite, soapstone, DuPont Zodiaq and CaesarStone.

The upper floor is designated for kitchen and bath products.

A feature Franklin likes to point out is the showroom’s green-products section, where cork and linoleum flooring, natural wool carpeting and recycled-content products are showcased.

“Since we’ve been in business, we’ve definitely seen a shift in what our clients want,” says Franklin. “It used to be just neutral backgrounds--beige walls, beige vinyl flooring, white tiles. Now, clients want quality materials and lots of choices, and they’re interested in green products.”

Clients are also Web-savvy, Franklin points out, and the company’s Web site will soon allow them to purchase products online.

Thirty years after its founding, Eheart Interior Solutions remains, at its heart, a small business rooted in the community. Ken Eheart is still hands-on, serving as CEO. Both Eheart and Franklin’s wives are active in the business, as are other family members. “We are a unique facility in northern Colorado,” says Franklin, “and we intend to stay that way.” n

Eheart Interior Solutions, 2534 Business Park, Loveland, CO 80534; (970) 669-0288 or www.eheartdesign.com.