We are excited that we have received the Angie's List Super Service Award again for 2011!
This award is earned for providing outstanding service and maintaining an A average on Angie's List reports provided by actual customers.
Please log on to Angie's List and read our reviews!
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We have received the Angie's List Super Service Award for 2010! Less than 5% of the companies on Angie's List received the award in 2010.
Angie's List awards this honor to companies that have given outstanding service, maintaining an A average on Angie's List reports for 2010 and maintaining a good standing with the Better Business Bureau.
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Take a look at our showroom's new facade and awnings!
Our humble building really looks like something now! We even won the Outstanding Community Improvement award from the City Of Maumee!
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Harms was featured in this informative article recently published in The Toledo Blade:
Almost everyone would agree that the kitchen is the heart of the home, so when you decide to modernize your kitchen, you may approach it as open-heart surgery. Remodeling the kitchen tends to be one of the most invasive projects, so you’ll want to be ready for it emotionally and financially. Determine your budget, the extent of the remodeling and the style you want to achieve. Begin with a solid design.
Updating your kitchen can run the gamut from switching out the hardware and hinges of your cabinets to a complete gutting – possibly even knocking out walls – and a rebuild. Contract with a reputable contractor if you are not an expert do-it-yourselfer.
Selecting The Perfect Surface Cover
Since flooring is the base of the home and will determine your interior design path, it is important to consider all options before making any final decisions. Traditional looks of wood and brick add warmth to the home, and tile and stone incorporate elegance for contemporary tastes. Linoleum seems to be making a comeback because of its vibrant color palate
and sustainability.There’s such a broad choice of flooring material, it’s sometimes difficult to decide which is best for you and your lifestyle. Jake Harms of Harms Flooring Center has noticed an increase in the use of wood and stone products being installed in kitchens. He says, “There definitely is a trend to use more natural products but the appropriate flooring for a homeowner depends on their lifestyle. While wood may seem like a good option, customers with small children and large pets may want to consider laminate flooring due to its scratch and stain resistant properties.
“The use of cork flooring is also gaining in popularity in our area. Cork is warm, extremely comfortable underfoot, and it also has the ability to acoustically reduce noise typically found in kitchens. It is also one of the ‘green’ products we carry. We have noticed a trend that customers, especially designers, are looking for these environmentally sustainable products that can also improve health.”
Here are some insights to help you select the right floor for your “new” kitchen.
To emphasize the impression of light and space, use light or neutral tones; for warmth and intimacy, use darker shades. Strong color may be terrific in a small space, but overwhelming in a larger one.
Consider the finish of the floors as well. Higher gloss adds to a feeling of spaciousness, while a matte finish can have the opposite effect.
Since it’s not always possible or preferable to use the same flooring all over the house, by keeping the same tonal range, you can blend the kitchen flooring to match adjoining floor material.
Use your flooring to create the feeling of more space. For small spaces with many divisions, consider coordinating the look with a single floor. Large open spaces may need a larger scale pattern.
Consider The Cabinets And Storage Space
For many people, the simplest way to modernize the kitchen is to swap out the hardware and hinges of the cabinets and drawers. Replace old looking hammered copper knobs and hinges with a sleek stainless Bauhaus look or go from stodgy old Mediterranean to a fresh French Country look. According to Harry Roby of Hardware Unlimited, there are several considerations to keep in mind.
“First, decide what style you’re comfortable with — European, contemporary, urban or country,” he says. “What are the finishes on your cabinets? You’ll want to coordinate with the style of adjacent rooms.”
Harry offers more information: “When you change hardware, you may notice that your cabinets are now a different color, so be prepared to refinish them or purchase back plates. Another factor is that the older cabinets had three inches between the screw holes, and today’s knobs and pulls have a 3.75 inch span. I carry both.”
Since storage space is always at a premium in the kitchen, your project should consider what will make the kitchen work well. Large deep drawers make finding and grabbing pots and pans easy, and pull-out shelves provide effortless access. Adding an island in the center of a large space gives more storage and work space.
Instead of ripping out all your existing cabinets and replacing them with new ones, you may want to opt for cabinet refacing. It’s a more affordable way to get all the advantages of a major custom job, including better functionality and storage. You can always put in new countertops and new appliances.
What To Put On Top
To complement your new cabinets, coordinate your countertops. Select from ceramic tile, granite, laminates, solid surface and Corian. Granite is both elegant and impressive. Its natural beauty blends with most any décor, but it can be very expensive.
For many years, Corian has proved to be long-lasting, rugged and easy-to-care-for, as has laminate — from wood grains to solid colors to marble in a vast selection of 240 different color bursts, patterns and textures.
Ceramic tile is beautiful, heat resistant and practical, combining distinction with durability. Be sure it either blends with your flooring or presents an attractive contrast.
The Final Touches
The furniture and accessories for your kitchen are the final touches that will bring your kitchen totally together. Furniture may include a kitchen table and chairs, stools for the island, and maybe a loveseat, if there’s room. What you decide to do with the lighting and appliances conspire to make your kitchen unique. There are a myriad of small touches, such as tablecloths, cushions, and centerpieces that will give your kitchen its own style.
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New Homes Magazine recently profiled Harms in their publication.
HARMS FLOORING CENTER: NOT JUST A CARPET CENTER ANYMORE
By Alan AbramsTimes and fashions in floor covering have changed since 1959 when Jim Harms opened a floor covering store – The Harms Carpet Center – on Glanzman Road in South Toledo. Over the next decade, he began building the company's reputation for service and quality while he was working out of a small 800-square-foot showroom. In 1969, Harms quadrupled his floor space when he moved the store to a 3,200- square-foot site in the Colonial Village Shopping Center at Key St. and Heatherdowns Blvd. That store would be home to Harms Carpet Center for the next 17 years.
Harms' son Randy, who today is president of Harms Flooring Center, joined the firm in 1970. While the store was in that location, Randy and Jim decided to open another location, a 3,200-square-foot remnant store, appropriately named The Remnant Place on Tedrow Rd. As the company continued to grow, it eventually outgrew the Colonial Village location and, 18 years ago, moved to their present location on Key St. in Maumee. "Because we now had 12,000-square-feet of space on Key St., we consolidated both stores and moved the remnants along with the carpet rolls into the middle of the building. The front of the store was our showroom, the middle was our in-stock department, and the back was our cutting room," recalled Randy Harms.
Today, as a result of the store's extensive remodeling project, the entire facility on Key St. is now completely dedicated to displaying flooring products. “Customers have always come to us for our large selection of carpet styles. Carpet has always been a major portion of our business but we expanded into other areas over the years. Today we have almost every floor covering product available,” said Harms.
Harms leads the local area in terms of selection and sales of area rugs. Their area rug department contains hundreds of colorful and attractive rugs from more than 25 of the leading rug manufacturers in the world.
The newly expanded ceramic tile section is filled with displays of manufacturer's products as well as installed examples to provide customers with ideas for tile patterns. The former cutting room in back is now a showroom catering to customers interested in vinyl and linoleum products. Another department is devoted to natural products such as wood, cork, and bamboo. The laminate showroom highlights name brand laminate flooring options. Randy Harms was pleased with the overwhelming customer response to the showroom expansion, but he still saw the need for a locally owned cash and carry store that would provide a viable alternative to the national home improvement stores. After careful planning and preparation, Harms opened Midwest Flooring Outlet on S. Reynolds Rd. near Glendale Ave. in March 2003.
Concerned about the quality of service customers receive, he staffed it with floor covering experts to put the store yet another cut above the competition. "Midwest Flooring Outlet carries an all encompassing floor covering selection with an emphasis on quality carpet and vinyl remnants," said Harms. “Our store has a large selection of easily installable flooring products. You can take it with you or we will help arrange for installation. We want to be the destination for home remodeling projects.” "In addition to our regular running line inventory, we buy short rolls, top of the line closeouts, and factory liquidations. That allows us to offer first quality materials at very discounted rates,” explained Harms.
That's one of the hallmarks of dealing with Harms Flooring Center. Not only does Randy Harms look for good buys, he enjoys finding great values and passing them on to his customers. His years of experience have enabled him to recognize and select such products. There are four Harms family members active in the company. Just as Randy joined his father Jim (his mother Betty was the company's bookkeeper), Randy's sons Steve and Jake now work at the company, as well as Jake's wife Susan. Steve came to work for Harms Flooring Center in 2000 and Jake the following year. Jake has a solid and impressive business background in marketing for a Chicago-based firm and as an information technology specialist in California's Silicon Valley.
But family extends to more than those who bear the Harms name. Randy is particularly proud of his other 12 employees and the company's installers, "some of whom have been with us for 35 years. We have 12 crews and that includes vinyl, carpet and ceramic installers. And they are reliable. We live by our calendar. We'll be there when we say we'll be there. “At Midwest, we treat the do-it-yourselfer with a small bathroom job the same as if he were doing his whole house. We are here to provide a service and that means we treat our customers with respect," said Harms. "At Harms, we're not just looking to sell somebody flooring. We try to establish a friendly relationship with our customers so they will want to come back and see us for additional flooring needs.
We provide customers with answers to their flooring questions based on their particular needs, such as type of area, traffic pattern, and whether or not there are pets. We want to sell them the right product for their particular lifestyle. There are so many flooring choices these days that we feel it is our responsibility to provide customers with as much information as possible,” Harms said. "It takes years to learn a reasonable amount about floor covering. Our family has a commitment to our business, to retaining business, and to giving customers the best possible service. We are committed to keeping abreast of the latest trends and technologies in flooring through ongoing staff education and training," said Steve Harms.
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Harms Carpet One
1007 Key Street
Maumee, OH 43537
419-891-0900
