Santec Faucets provides custom-designed plumbing fixtures that bring refined class to your home

Santec Faucets are based out of California. They design and manufacture unique, one-of-a-kind plumbing fixtures. Estate and Designer are the two different product lines that they offer. Abbey Design Center has chosen to become a distributor of these faucets because we are committed to providing excellence and quality to our customers.

“Fluid Imagination” – the motto behind Santec Faucets

Santec provides a balance between art and technology. Their philosophy is “Fluid Imagination,” which represents their company’s brand image. They believe in the free flow of ideas and that’s what sets them apart. Their goal is for their products to exceed the expectations of quality, design and functionality.

These faucets will enhance your bathroom and kitchen experience. They have several  contemporary offerings. Although, both the Estate and Designer Series offer traditional, transitional and contemporary styles. Within each collection, you’ll find styles for wall sinks, showers, bidets, and tubs.

Santec prides itself on the craftsmanship of its products, the use of solid brass and engineering techniques for form and function.  Now you have many stylish options when you chose Abbey Design Center to remodel your kitchen, bathroom or bar. We will help enhance your home with top of the line faucets. Why settle for anything less? Let Abbey Design Center improve your home today!

Spring savings start with National Karastan Month!

Today begins that twice a year promotion at Abbey Design Center called National Karastan Month. If you are unfamiliar with the promotion, it is the opportunity to save on one of the world’s most exclusive and luxurious carpet and area rug brands. As the only authorized Karastan dealer in Loudoun County, Abbey Design Center has welcomed loyal brand fans from near and far for this semi-annual savings event for decades. Abbey is one of the select few authorized Karastan dealers in Virginia. Our installers have been trained as Karastan Certified Installers. As an authorized dealer, our customers are assured of a top quality installation of Karastan products and an intact valid warranty from Karastan.

During National Karastan Month, customers can save up to $1000 on new carpeting. Depending on the style, Karastan customers can receive a $3 or $5 rebate per square yard of luxurious carpeting during this promotion.

Here are the specifics!

• $5/square yard rebate on Metropolitan and Wool Carpet
• $3/square yard rebate on SmartStrand, Wear-dated, Stainmaster
  & all other fibers
• $1/square yard rebate on Karastep Reserve 1.0 or Reserve 2.0 cushion

Let Abbey help you save!

Furthermore, these rebates come on top of Abbey’s best pricing on Karastan carpet. You’ll want to check out our super special during National Karastan Month on Beautiful Destiny, Thai Silk for $4.90/square foot. This style is a 100% Kashmere Nylon carpet, a premium Karastan nylon fiber crafted for outstanding performance and durability.  A color that will surely fit any home’s décor. With Abbey Design Center, you’ll receive the best advice from our team of expert designers. We’ll guarantee your satisfaction with all our remodeling as well as Karastan carpet needs! You’ll want to see all the soft and luxurious Karastan styles in our Leesburg or Sterling showroom before making your final choice. So measure your rooms, start calculating the savings and live beautifully with Karastan!

Spring Cleaning for Northern Virginia

Spring has been an aloof guest again here in Northern Virginia. Each time we opened the door to check on its arrival, we were greeted with a mélange of snow, rain, sleet and heavy winds with nary a speck of sunshine. This kept most of us hidden indoors for weeks beyond our liking, but some adventurous types just can’t be contained. They’re out there anyway — planting peas, pruning trees, running races, mountain biking and generally trying to enjoy nature. Loudoun County has much to offer for outdoor activities, but bringing the great outdoors inside during springtime can also bring unwelcome dirt and mud in our homes. Now is the time to act; now is the time for Spring cleaning!

Spring cleaning has been a ritual for many cultures dating back centuries, especially those with colder climates transitioning to warm days of Spring. We certainly qualify this year! It is the time to see our homes in the sunlight and scrub the winter’s dirt away for a fresh start. According to a recent Leesburg Today poll, 10% of readers said Spring Cleaning was their favorite thing about Spring! Our vote is for flower blooms, yet we’re still waiting on those. So while we’re waiting, we’ll start on our Spring Cleaning.

Tips & Tricks for a Proper Cleaning

There are many tips out there on how to do an efficient Spring cleaning job. To feel like you’ve accomplished a true Spring Cleaning, you’ll want to tackle window cleaning, kitchen and bathroom cabinet cleaning and floor cleaning. We suggest enrolling your spouse and children for all of these cleaning adventures as a family bonding experience. Everyone makes the dirt, so everyone should help with the cleaning, right? And even Abbey Design Center might play a small role in your Spring Cleaning this year. As flooring specialists for more than 25 years, we know keeping carpets clean can be a challenge. For this reason, we give a gift of Abbey Design Center Spot Cleaner to every flooring customer when we come to install new flooring. You can use it on your carpets or upholstery any time of year. But we suspect you may need it most, right now. Happy Spring!

High-End Kitchen Countertops – What’s Your Preference?

The look and feel of stone is so popular, nearly all kitchen countertops we install are either natural stone granite or quartz composites. The natural stone, granite, continues to be the leader in countertop choices at Abbey Design Center, but quartz composites are becoming more popular than ever. Here are some reasons these two are the leading choices for countertops and the features that differentiate them.

Granite

Granite is igneous rock formed by the earth. Hundreds of granite color patterns reside in countries throughout the world. Due to supply in the country of origin and economic and political forces, certain types of granite become available and unavailable over time. Available types get transported as slabs for countertop use. Slabs will vary in size but are usually less than 10 feet long and 5-6 ft wide. The thickness can be ¾ inch or1 ¼ inch thick.

Because granite is natural stone, each slab is unique and will have different variations of the color pattern which makes them one of a kind – and beautiful! Most kitchens require a visible seam to install at some place in the countertop where two cuts meet. Additionally, rich, dark granite patterns can complement certain kitchen themes, like having a rustic kitchen. Granite stains and requires proper sealing for long wear. New sealer technology is especially effective and permanent so it does not need to be repeated. However, cracking or chipping can occur if there is trauma to the countertop, but it is not all that common.

Quartz

Quartz products like Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone, are man-made composite products using natural quartz stone and resins. These products then form various colors and patterns. Some patterns will look very similar to stone and some will appear monochromatic and solid. Since these products are man made, monochromatic color options are available that are not found in granite, i.e., white, lime green, tangerine orange. These color and solid pattern options provide a more contemporary element to rooms, and offer a strong advantage over granite.

Fabricated slabs of quartz products come in similar sizes to granite slabs and are even heavier since quartz is denser. Although, there are seams in quartz counters as well, they can be better hidden to be virtually unnoticeable. Quartz has the advantage of being slightly more durable than granite. It’s also maintenance free, but can be susceptible to fading in bright sunlight.

Other Things to Consider…

Your budget and time window is definitely something to consider for a project like this as well. Granite prices can vary more widely and some color patterns in ready supply are substantially less expensive than any type of quartz surface. Also on granite’s side is the timeframe to fabricate and deliver a countertop. Available granite can be cut and finished to your specific specifications (fabricated) faster than quartz can be fabricated.

Either way you go, granite or quartz countertops can be unique and beautiful in your newly remodeled room! With a little help from Abbey Design Center, we can transform your kitchen countertops into something grand. Come in and see the hundreds of granite and quartz options we have for your new countertops and many other design applications.

Flooring Health Risks – Lumber Liquidators’ Exposed

This past Sunday night, the CBS news magazine, 60 Minutes, aired an investigative story about flooring health risks and the illegal levels of formaldehyde in Lumber Liquidators’ wood laminate flooring sold to residents of California. The laminate flooring sold in Lumber Liquidators’ stores exceeds the California Air Resources Board Phase 2 (CARB 2) maximum level of toxic formaldehyde by up to 20 times the allowable amount. The World Health Organization suggests a cap for formaldehyde emissions at 0.042 ppm; the CARB 2 cap is .05 ppm. The CARB regulations are set to become law nationally this year.

Cutting costs but cutting corners

The glue used to create the wood composites under the laminate cover is primarily responsible for the high levels of formaldehyde in Lumber Liquidators’ products. These products were manufactured in China where 60 Minutes’ reporters interviewed plant managers who verified the products were produced for Lumber Liquidators and not CARB 2 compliant; although their product packaging falsely indicates they are compliant. Plant managers revealed that they could make CARB 2 compliant products for Lumber Liquidators, but it would be costlier. Because Lumber Liquidators was able to offer their laminate products at a much lower price than any other competitor, they were able to double profits, increase their sales and their stock price. But at the cost of considerable flooring health risks.

This revelation in Lumber Liquidators manufacturing and business practices affects tens of thousands customers in homes in California alone who now have to be concerned about the health effects of their purchase and eradicating the danger from their homes. There may hundreds of thousands nationwide. Of course this is a case of a corporation acting illegally by passing off its products as safety compliant, but also of buyer beware. No buyer would have been able to know the formaldehyde level of Lumber Liquidators products and their non-compliance with safety standards unless they had them tested. But, there are a few simple things customers can do to help protect themselves.

Learn what to look for

When buying flooring, there are several things you can do to protect your home and your family. First, smell the product and compare it to similar products from different manufacturers. This will give you a good idea which products may be more harmful. If it has a strong noxious odor, it likely has a higher level of formaldehyde. Second, ask the salesperson to confirm that the products are compliant with the law and for specific VOC data by providing you information from the manufacturer. Third, buy from reputable manufacturers and retailers. Reputable manufacturers will have this information. And finally, if the price is much lower than any other competitor, be skeptical about its quality.

Abbey Design Center sells laminate flooring from only reputable manufacturers such as Armstrong who have been issuing compliance statements and reports since the 60 Minutes story aired. See Armstrong’s statement here. Some laminate is produced in China, but made to be CARB 2 compliant. All hardwoods we sell are harvested and manufactured in the United States or Canada by highly reputable companies; all carpet we sell is manufactured in the United States by highly reputable companies. Abbey Design Center has always been committed to quality and name brand products at a fair price. Abbey is committed to making your home not only beautiful, but safe your family.

Selecting the Right Remodeling Company for Your Home

If you are considering any type of remodeling job on your home and don’t want to tackle the job yourself, you will need to look around for a remodeling company. But what’s the best way to select the right one for you? By doing your homework, of course. In order to feel comfortable embarking on a project that will occur in your home and affect the look of your home you will need to invest a little time to make sure you hire the right company. You may have a few companies in mind already, but we suggest you consider these recommendations in your selection process.

Referrals

This is probably the best way to narrow down the best remodeling companies for your project. You can ask your friends and neighbors who have had similar work done who they used and how they enjoyed the experience. If you are coming up empty or need additional candidates, likely you will go online to find companies.

You’ll want to look for reviews about companies on third-party websites. Read those carefully to find customers who did the type of work you are looking to do. In many cases, as a registered user of a site, you can contact other users who have reviewed a company and ask more detailed questions about their experience and even see pictures of their work.

Credentials

If looking for referrals is first on the list of requirements for finding the best remodeling company, credentials is second. The company you select should always have quality industry credentials. This includes being licensed and insured in your state. Ask the remodeler to see their contractor’s license if you are wary.

In addition to being licensed and insured, you should look for credentials from individual associations, like the National Kitchen & Bath Association or the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. These are official stamps of quality for each association showing the remodeling company meets specific standards for membership and is a participant in the industry.

Interview

Finally, make sure you interview your top choices. Write your questions down and ask each remodeler the same questions. This way you can compare their answers later and ensure you get all the information from each potential remodeler. Spending time to ask detailed questions will also give you a sample of their communication style, which will be important during the project. You’ll need to understand each other clearly to make the process go smoothly. You’ll also want to know how and when you will receive information (email, phone call, etc.) during the project. Asking these types of specific questions will help you choose the remodeler that will meet your expectations. And of course you will have an emotional feeling about each candidate you interview. You should feel comfortable and excited about the remodeler you choose.

We are confident if you do your homework you will make the right choice. And we certainly hope Abbey Design Center makes the top of your remodeler list.

Houzz about that!

It’s been said, ‘A picture says a thousand words,’ and there’s no better example than the website Houzz. Its amazing remodeling pictures say leaps and bounds about the quality of Houzz’ dedication. Additionally, its awards also portray a standard of excellence for any business. Once again, Abbey Design Center is immeasurably proud to win the Houzz Service Award of 2015!

History of Houzz

Houzz.com started just a few years ago by a couple planning a remodeling project. They found themselves surrounded by disorganized stacks of magazines, pictures, samples and referrals from friends. They knew there had to be a better way to organize the planning of home remodeling projects, products and professionals. Their experience was the inspiration behind the design and launch of houzz.com.

As a complete remodeling company, we discovered houzz.com in 2013 and jumped on the platform to showcase our remodeling work. The structure of the site was appealing with its straightforward approach to showcase projects by uploading pictures and providing brief product or process descriptions.  The site features only high quality ‘After’ photos for browsing but allows us to include project ‘Before’ pictures to demonstrate the depth of the project and the designers’ aesthetic and functional creativity from start to finish. Houzz has accumulated millions of photos bringing remodeling consumers from around the world flocking to houzz to find ideas for their homes, by saving photos to Ideabooks. Customers can share their Ideabooks with local professionals like us, who can assess their taste and plans quickly.

The Houzz Service Award

Houzz also provides consumers with reviews of professionals, giving consumers detailed information of customer experiences –enough positive reviews and the professional earns an annual Best of Houzz Service Award. With more than 50 reviews and a 5-star average rating customers have been honoring us with feedback on their remodeling experience with Abbey. In 2014, we received more than 40 reviews on houzz.com. So, drumroll please . . . for the second year running . . . Abbey Design Center has earned the Best of Houzz 2015 Service Award! This award is special to us; it keeps our business growing by providing that inside story from each customer who wants to share his or her story about the Abbey Design Center experience. For that, we are very grateful and thank our customers and houzz.com for being there to say those thousand words every minute of every day.