know who you are

There are really two sides to Wilson Lumber.  There’s the side that most people know, that is, that we sell building materials to pro’s who are building and remodeling homes (although as frustrating as it is, most people don’t know that we sell a whole lot more than just lumber).

But then there’s the significant side of our business where we sell to homeowners.  Now most of our interactions with homeowners (at least in dollar volume) is with what you might call larger ticket items.  Replacement doors, decks, cabinets, etc.  Hence, our tag line “way more than lumber”.

    

Anyway, recently we have discontinued all electrical, plumbing and paint products (well, almost all).  It’s not that we didn’t enjoy selling this stuff, or even that we didn’t make money at it.  The problem was that we were not excellent at it.  And we believe that if you cant be excellent at something, you just shouldn’t do it.  Also, we realized that people don’t need us for that kind of stuff.  And we are perfectly OK with that.  It gives us more resources, energy and space for the stuff we are excellent at.

As if that is not enough, I attended a conference recently where I saw this particular study by the Farnsworth Group that I’ve previously written about.

Basically, professionals depend on us for Lumber, Millwork and Building Materials.  (I must admit, I thought lumber and millwork were building materials.  I guess they meant stuff like siding, brick, gypsum, etc.)  So, as we are excellent at those things, that is where we focus our resources.

You might notice on the study that only 3% of pro’s made their last paint purchase at a place like Wilson’s.  And only 15% for electrical and 4% for paint.  I guess I’m now wondering why we kept that stuff around as long as we did.  O well, hindsight is 20/20.

If you need any lumber, millwork or building materials, give us a call (256-852-7411) or visit our website.  And if you need electrical, plumbing or paint, we can refer you to someone excellent:)

Building, Home and Remodeling Show Time

Well I cant just show you pictures of all the great stuff in our booth!  Then you wouldn’t have enough need to go see it.  And Huntsville’s Building Home and Remodeling Show is always worth going to see.

I’ll give you an overview.  Door specials on replacement steel unit’s INSTALLED, special pricing on Iron Doors, Window displays from Andersen Windows and Ply-gem, both with a wide breadth of product offering, decks, siding, Shower Doors, Cabinets and Closets.

And believe it or not, we did all this without cluttering the booth up, it’s pretty impressive.  Definitely one of my favorite booths ever.

So what are you waiting for?  The show’s open now.  Come on down!  Like I said, it’s always worth going to see.  Just do me one favor, don’t go see our competitors while you’re there:)

Now that’s a home office!

Oh, I use my home office as much as any other regular guy I suppose.  Do a little studying, log in to work on occasion, I even keep my guitar in there.

My problem has been that we’ve neglected that room “until we save enough to work on it”.  So as a foundation, here is where I had been doing my home office-ing:

I show that so you will know how cool I am as evidenced by the John Denver songbook on the table to the right.  Now, it’s not that there’s something wrong with a simple desk and filing cabinet.  On the other hand, it’s certainly not all that functional and definitely not warm or creativity inspiring.

So my wife and I finally decided to give our Cabinet and Closet department a shot at designing something.  Now I said that we were going to wait until we saved up enough.  Turns out, it wasn’t very expensive.  At least not what we thought it would be.

We met with Amy Hardy here at the store and told her what we needed (three file drawers, a couple of cabinets, large counter-top area, etc.  Boy, did she go way beyond what we expected.  So, long story short, here is the outcome:

Yeah, big change (sorry about the poor photography).  It’s called Freedom Rail and it’s from Organized Living.  Other than how awesome it looks, another great thing about it is how versatile it is.  Anytime I want to move things around, I can just lift it off the upright and move it.  Way cool!

I hate to brag but in this case, I was the perfect guinea pig for a blog.  We can do this in your home as well.  Give Amy a call at 256-852-7411 or visit us at wilsonlumber.net.

why didn’t someone think of this sooner?

Every morning I stand in the closet staring at the same shirts that have been hanging there for the last year as if a new one is going to appear.  Or at least hoping one jumps up and says, “Wear me today! I’ll look great with those pants.”

It will probably come as no surprise to you that it never happens.

Anyway, when the decision is finally made, I then have to make the trek to the laundry room to turn the iron on, then go waste time somewhere while it heats up, then eventually back to the laundry room where I hope I haven’t been away so long that the iron has auto-offed on me.

But there’s hope for people like me, observe:

  

Ironing Boards in the Master Closet!  Are you kidding me?  If your closet has electrical outlets, a new and growing trend is to place an Iron-Fix ironing board into your space. It can be done behind drawers or it can hang on the wall.

  

They’re really not that expensive, they save space and they’re easy to use. They pivot 180 degrees so it can fit in tight spaces.  In the pictures above, you see how it hides away in what looks like a drawer.  So, no more hanging the ironing board off of a door which is noisy and inconvenient and wears out the door hinges.  No more walking to the laundry room every morning.  No more wasted space in the laundry room.  If only it would lay my clothes out for me…

To see one in action come by the store and see us (we don’t have any irons so don’t plan on pressing any shirts).  To read more about it go to hafele.com.  Actually, their whole website is full of really cool stuff so take some time there, then come by here or see even more Storage Solutions from us on the web.

The Arc

Nope..not Noah’s Arc, not an animal shelter, this is about The Arc of Madison County.

At the beginning of January, I was asked to select colors for The Arc of Madison County.To be honest, I had to do some research on what The Arc was actually about! It is important to select colors based on the purpose of the space – so i began to research… At The Arc, they help and give assistance to individuals who have disabilities. They have numerous classrooms devoted to teaching and helping any individual. There are music rooms, art rooms, and learning rooms. Their plan was to select colors for the entry and hallways, gather paint supplies, and find volunteer groups to paint the space.

After speaking with the staff, we began selecting colors. I brought in about four different color palettes and we ended up going with my favorite – Blue, teal and a warm beige to easily brighten up the building. We could not end it there. We offered to gather a group together to join in on the painting. Our group came in after the first one. We painted, ate pizza, and were treated to some delicious cupcakes!

When you enter the building, you arrive in the foyer. It has a few seats and you are directed toward two doors. One leads you to the offices, and the sliding doors lead to you the hallway and classrooms. There are a few seats, but other than that…it was just a basic white cinderblock room. To add some warmth, I chose a tan with a hint of yellow from Valspar. “City Block” #40076, http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/explore-colors/color-selector/index.html?screen=swatchScreen&colorId=100878#

The Hallways (where WLC Painted) were long and had a few areas where it branched off. There is a handrail that continues throughout the entire building. We used this as a divider for paint colors. “Whispy” went on top ( a light but bright blue) and “Teal Escape” was chosen to go below the railing.

We had the opportunity as a company to give some of our time back to the community. I think we all left that night knowing that  the members of The Arc would be happy with the paint color and revised hallways. Below are a few painting photos.

 

I am in the back “trimming” but really looking out the window for the stray kittens. Pat was rolling but really complaining about the Pop music that was playing. Although I’m pretty positive he jammed out to a Miley Cyrus song, “Party in the USA.”

Lindsay, Grace and Greg trimming out the walls. I am also positive I heard Greg singing along to a few of the Pop songs that played!

Ryan repping Wilson Lumber and trimming. Between Ryan and Greg they pretty much trimmed out the ceiling for us! You can see the “Whispy” color on the wall to the right of Ryan.

Successful New Years Resolutions

Am I too early to blog about New Years Resolutions?  I don’t think so.  I went to Wikipedia and looked them up and here is what I found:

I even found this image:

That’s all well and good, but then I read this:

A 2007 study by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail

Ouch.  If I may, I’ll suggest that it’s because most of those “resolutions”, stink.  Improve finances?  Become more organized?  What does that mean?  A better goal would be to have x dollars in y account by z date.  Or as for organization, learn x about Microsoft Outlook and connect my phone calendar to my home calendar by a certain date.

Or better yet, meet with one of the organization specialists at Wilson Lumber by the end of January 🙂  “What’s that?” you say, “organization specialist at Wilson Lumber?”  Yes, I say.  Have you considered what you could do with your closets past simple wire shelving or a wood shelf with a rod?  How about something like one of these?

  

Or have you looked in your garage lately?  Does it need help?

  

These pictures only show a couple of options.  To see what we can do in Laundry Rooms, Pantries, Home Offices and a whole lot more, you can go to wilsonlumber.net or shultestorage.com.  (Schulte is changing their name to Organized Living so I’m not sure how long the website will be named that.)

So, this years resolution is to meet with one of our designers, come up with a budget for the project, and get it done.  Easy, right?

Seriously, if you’re interested come by and see Amy or Linda.  Call us at 256-852-7411 or see us on the web.

what drives me nuts is…

You know what drives me crazy?  How some people use their blog to shamelessly promote Christmas gifts at their store.

Not that it applies to me of course.  I mean, what in the world would a lumber company have that would be a good Christmas present anyway?

It’s ridiculous.  Blog’s are for relevant, helpful information.  Not some dumb advertisement for selling stuff.

Besides that, there are plenty of websites out there to find gifts, we don’t need another one pushing stuff in our face.

I don’t know.  The only thing I could think of that would be worse is if a blog finished with a small “collage” of pictures trying to give hints for people to come and buy stuff.

Nope, none of that shameless “self-promotion” here…  By the way, did I mention that if you ever would need anything you’d call us at 256-852-7411?  Or I suppose you could see our website at wilsonlumber.net.

i hate painting

Now when I say I hate painting, what I really mean to say is that I hate painting.  I tell people that me painting is proof of how much I love my wife.  There is no-one else on earth I would paint for (well, OK maybe Mom, but I would probably ask for some Peach Cobbler in return).

Why is this important?  Well, I had to show my devotion to my wife, via painting, this week.  This is the first opportunity I have had to use the Valspar Medallion paint that we stock at Wilson Lumber.  Holy moly!  That is good stuff.  I only put on a second coat out of a sense of obligation.

Now, was I clear enough on how I feel about painting?  I want to be sure because you must understand that for me to say I am impressed with a paint is a really big deal.  Before now, I just considered paint to be like communism.   Its all bad, just different level’s of badness.

Oh, I don’t know.  This is most certainly the worst sales pitch ever.  But if you’re like me and must paint, why don’t you give us a try?  And if you like painting (and I know some of you crazy people do), I can’t imagine how you’ll feel about it when you use it.

If we can help you out (by providing paint or some other home item), give Mike Wallace a call at 256-852-7411, or visit our website.  Happy painting!

FACT – Cabinets…

FACT – Cabinets are not the easiest part of construction or remodeling your home. Dwight Schrute may not have said that just yet on the popular TV show, ” The Office,” but surely he agrees. He did say this, “I am faster than 80% of all snakes.”

OK, back to cabinets….

Cabinets are so complex that I cannot fit everything into one blog post. There are so many options that have to be considered at the beginning stages (layout design and finishes). Then the decisions vary from door styles to cabinet components. Like the amazing pull out drawers that makes finding the sauce pan so much easier.

Kith Cabinet Components

When you think you are about finished with the over all design and interior components – do not forget the exterior options as well. How about some glass inserts to showcase your favorite dinnerware or add some color to your kitchen with stained glass.

There will be more posts following this one about finish options, door styles, cabinet components, countertops, and islands. Sadly, those chicken curry bites topped with a seedless red grape are all gone and won’t be around for the next blog post. They were all eaten at our Open House!

All images were taken in our showroom in Huntsville, AL. If you have any questions or would like to come by and see us, you will find all of our contact info and directions at www.wilsonlumber.net .

Frame It Out

Yes we frame out homes, but did you know we also frame mirrors?

Such an easy upgrade to your bathroom or any room in your home.  If you are  needing just that one extra special touch, frames can make a difference.

When selecting the frame for the mirror (or artwork!) the overall size is VERY important. Might need to repeat that… the overall size (mirror and frame) is very important when selecting frames. It would not be wise to put a 1.5″ – 2″ wide frame on a 48″x42″ mirror. First, think about the scale. A thin frame on such a widespread mirror will barely stand out. Second, The weight of the mirror (even with the mirror installed to the wall) will be overbearing on such a thin frame.

For the 2012 Showcase Home I had originally decided on a 1.75″ wide frame. After going out to measure for the overall size, I quickly learned that frame was too thin. Luckily, the frame I had originally chosen came in a thicker size (shown below) and happens to be one of Kendall-Hartcraft’s most popular frame.

The images shown above are all Kendall-Hartcraft frames.

They have a variety of framing options and the styles range from your basics to decorative and detailed. Whatever you want they will have it! (white, black, bronze, silver, tan, etc.)

Leave a comment or Call us for questions!

256-852-7411