The Design Expo - Flooring Center of Bowie

This company was so easy to deal with - very flexible. We purchased our hardwood flooring from another company but they were not only willing to install they were willing to answer some questions that came up during the actual purchase of flooring from this other company (to include exactly how much I needed to purchase, etc.). The hardwood looks great. Another example of their flexibility - I changed my mind on how I wanted the tile laid out the night before the installer was arriving - not a problem. I love my tile floor. Lastly, we were having our driveway done too. The driveway contractor showed up on the day they were trying to finish the tile. They seemed unfazed by the confusion that created.

Bowie is far from our home, but we drove to the Design Expo on the advice of Angie's List members. Gene was as helpful and knowledgeable as we'd been told. Even though our request was simple - replace white carpet in one room - he took the time to thoroughly explain our options and came out to our house to preview the samples and ensure we picked a good match. The installers arrived on time and completed the work in an hour or two. Their English wasn't strong, but we didn't need to communicate - they knew what to do and everything went smoothly. We've had the carpet for about 10 days, and it looks great. The only hitch was that our move-in date was pushed back twice for reasons outside our control, and Gene had reschedule our installation twice. He ended up charging us more the second time because he'd had to break sub-contracts. I'm not sure if this is standard, but we also understood. We'd certainly recommend them to other clients.

I called Design Expo and asked to speak to Steve based on other reviews I read here. When I mentioned I was referred by Angie’s List, he said the List has been good to him and his company and that he would give a “special price” for Angie’s List members (yay!). I went to their store in Bowie and choose a few tiles with Steve and his associates help. I appreciated that they let me know the value of a certain tile that I liked and said that though it was nice, they wouldn’t recommend that sort of investment in the space where the work was located. This made me trust them as they were not trying to upsell. They gave me three samples to take home and match to my space and a follow up date for measurements was set. Steve came over and took the measurements a couple days later and priced everything out for me. We then scheduled the installation for the following Saturday. He informed me of the person’s name who would be coming to do the work. I called Steve back because I had a concern about how level my floor was and he said though he did not see anything when he came to take the measurements but that I could feel free to work out a deal with the installer. I did work out the deal with the installer but ended up having to pay $40 for floorboard from Home Depot because my cement subfloor was low grade. I also paid an additional $50.00 to the subcontractor for labor so an additional $100.00 above the price given to me by Steve. All in all, the floor was in in a day and it was perfect. The installer did not seal the floor because he said it would cost extra but informed me that I could get sealer on my own for $10 at a hardware store and do it myself. It was not entirely obvious to me that Design Expo subcontracts work to smaller name flooring companies so I suppose there is a premium for not going to directly to the source but I am sure that is standard as a “finder’s fee” so you can be assured of the quality of work. Materials cost about $250.00; Labor was $600.00. I am pleased with what I got and would use them again.

I met the store owner, he gave me lots of helpful tips on what to choose and why. He also gave me some tips on how to save money on my purchase. One of the store owners came to my home and gave me an exact amount for the job. The workers arrived on time and called before they came to inform me that they were on the way. They covered or moved furniture and were very careful. On the second day, they worked to complete the job, cleaned up, put most of the furniture back and even cleaned up outside! The floors look fantastic, better than expected!

I had previously used this company to install porcelain tile in my kitchen. Because my prior experience with this company had been so good, I decided to go back to them when I needed to install hardwood flooring in another house. They provided excellent advice in assisting me in picking out the flooring and worked with me to schedule installation. On the scheduled day, the installers arrived and got to work. The floors look great . . . better than I anticipated. The owners, Gene and Scott, really work hard to satisfy their customers. I will use them again and have referred them to others who are just as pleased as I am.

They did a great job. Gene and Scott, the owners, were very helpful and patient in assisting me in picking out a quality carpet within my budget. They are very good about letting customers take samples home before making a decision. The installation is flawless, and I have gotten many compliments on the carpet. I will use them again for my flooring needs.

The salesman came to our home right after we called, the work was completed within 10 days or so.

I came to Design Expo with a floating cork floor I wanted installed, which I had ordered from a company in Texas. Unlike many other stores, Design Expo was willing to bid on the job even though not all of my materials would be purchased from their store. Gene discussed the job with me over the phone and called the cork source to make sure he could work with the product. Then he visited my home and gave me an estimate, and his thoroughness during that visit gave me a good feeling that they knew what they were doing. His price was slightly better than the other estimates I'd gotten, and the body of work he proposed doing was more in line with my expectations than the others. Once I had chosen Design Expo, I ordered the cork and set an installation date with Gene. We waited until the cork arrived for me to pick out tile to match for the laundry room and entry way. Even though this caused quite a few repeat visits to the store, both Gene and Scott were completely helpful and patient and answered many questions. Installation went very well. The installers showed up on time and worked efficiently and professionally. We did have one small mishap in the laundry area that was quickly remedied, and Gene and Scott both worked with me to make sure all was well. There was a slight language barrier with the installers, so I tended to pass my concerns through to Gene or Scott when I had them; they handled all that with good grace and took care of following up with the installers when necessary. The floor installation was done in two days. Another day was devoted to application of a polyurethane finish, which also went smoothly. The floor is beautiful and looks just as I had hoped. My only slight criticism was about some very minor cleanup at the end of the installation, and a few details that I felt Gene might not have communicated clearly in advance to the installers, but overall I'm entirely pleased with the job from start to finish.

We visited the showroom with a good idea of what we wanted and Gene gave us a ballpark estimate (that turned out to be spot on) and a sample board. He came out to measure and helped us select a stain. Our preference was to have the work done rather quickly and he was able to schedule the installation within a week. They ordered the wood and delivered it to our house in a few days. They do use subcontractors for their install, but I was very pleased. The installers called to say they were running about 30 minutes late, then arrived exactly when they said they would (I didn't care, but I appreciated the call!). They got straight to work and were done in about 6 hours. They worked really hard and seemed quite meticulous about laying out the floor. They moved all of the furniture for us and put it back when they left. They also cleaned up everything - just left me with a lovely new floor and the small amount of extra wood that was left over. Gene and Scott are great about communication - they call you and make sure everything is right - they even called the night of the install to make sure we were pleased. I look forward to working with them again!

Very fine, they were easy to work with, able to install quickly. They came when they said, finished when they said and did very good work.

I had already decided to use Carpet One and to get bamboo floors installed in the living/dining rooms and dura-ceramic floors in the foyers and kitchen. I was concerned about the price Carpet One quoted me and what seemed to me to be the rather haphazard method they had of measuring my floor space (like they were rounding up - a lot) so I decided to get another estimate before finalizing the deal with Carpet One. When I called Design-Expo, Scott immediately put me at ease. In the first place, he answered the phone without putting me through a voicemail marathon. He indicated appreciation for my inquiry since with the economy slowdown, excellent value was more important than ever. When I went to the showroom, he showed me floor samples and inquired why I had my heart set on bamboo. After telling him my reasons, he asked me to consider other options such as eucalyptus flooring. I had never heard of it, but when I saw the samples, I thought it was beautiful. The store also had a very liberal borrowing policy for the samples, so I took several home. While I wanted flooring that was eco-friendly, my first priority was really durable flooring. Both the dura-ceramic and the lyptus flooring seemed to meet my needs very well. I also appreciated that Scott was able to work out a financing plan with me that was 12 months, same as cash. Best of all, the measurements quoted were more exact (and smaller) that what was quoted by Carpet One and the total price was substantially less than what was quoted by Carpet One. I had lots of questions, since I had never had a project like this done before and Scott patiently answered all of them. Around installation time, Scott brought the wood floor over for seasoning at an appointed time. He was punctual and again, very efficient. On the day of the actual floor installation, the team showed up exactly when expected (catching me a little off-guard :-) ) and they got all of the installation done in one day. It has been one year since the installation and the floors look just as beautiful today as they did when first installed. I have had absolutely no problems. I love my eucalyptus floors - they are so much more beautiful than the bamboo floors I thought I had wanted and they are more durable. I have recommended Design-Expo to others since I have been so happy doing business with them. For my next floor project, I plan to call them - they were terrific!

This company is fabulous. I found this company on Angie's List and went in to discuss flooring. I had found the tile at a distribution center, and was looking for a company to install it. Gene and Scott, the owners, are fabulous. They spent a lot of time with me discussing options and working with me to get the price where I wanted it. On the scheduled day, the installers showed up on time and immediately got to work. They first took up two vinyl floors in the kitchen, as well as a ceramic tile floor in the powder room. They did an excellent job installing the tile and grout. They also had to remove and reinstall appliances (refrigerator, oven, washer & dryer) and a toilet and sink, which they did without incident. They also cut off doors and installed shoe molding. They worked tirelessly to get the floors installed in the two days we had scheduled. On the first day, the installers were working until past 9:00 p.m. They were very neat and took great care with our home. They finished by spending time getting up the dust on the floor. We have referred this company to others, who have used them to install floor tile and hardwood flooring. I plan to use them again.

These guys know more about carpets than you could ever need! Their knowledge and professionalism got us to buy--the installation (even offering to touch up some paint on the baseboards!) will insure we go back.

After choosing the wood and the carpet, it was about 10 days before it was installed. The whole installation took 2 days. The staff who work with Scott are excellent and take pride in their work. Scott couldn't be any more helpful and it is obvious that a quality product and a satisfied customer are his main objective. The hardwood floors look elegant. I will definitely use Design Expo in the future.

I felt that they were very friendly and very professional. They showed up on time to do the work. If needed I would hire them again.

It was a very positive experience from start to finish. They called to let us know when the carpet came in and installed it in a timely manner. They worked with us to schedule the installation since we had a busy schedule. They installed the carpet neatly and efficiently in a very professional manner and cleaned up after they were done. No damage resulted from the installation to the trim or the walls. We would highly recommend them to anyone.

They had very low-pressured sales. They came to our home and gave us a good estimate. We were very satisfied with the price and the product. The installation went very well.

Scott came out to give me an estimate on my living room and dining room. It was such a decent price that I had him give me an estimate for the MBR and sitting room. The installers came out. It took 2 days to complete and they showed up late both days. All in all, great company and Scott is wonderful to work with. Certainly recommended.

I found them to be reliable and professional. They were ready to follow my lead on what I wanted them to do. They arrived on time and did a good job. They vacuumed when they were finished.

They were very patient through my decision-making process as I went back and forth between tile and hardwood for this project. I took home numerous samples and finally selected a hardwood. They worked around our schedule of getting the foyer painted first and removing the vanity and toilet from the powder room. The crew arrived at 10 as promised, and worked all day to complete this project in one day. I felt that the workers were a little rough, dropping the material and bumping walls, etc., but basically they did a good job and we are mostly pleased with the results.

When we were researching a new floor for the kitchen, I checked with Angie's List for dealers in our area. From beginning to end this experience was great. I spoke on the phone to Gene Burton to find out their hours. They would be closed by the time I got to that side of town, but he said they would be willing to stay open if they knew I would be coming (big plus!). I told him that I'd make it another time so he wouldn't be late for dinner. When I arrived the next day I met Scott and told him I was interested in replacing a kitchen floor. He showed me some options and I settled on the Duracermic floor. Gene came by the house and took measurements. He was very nice to my dog (another big plus!). Within two weeks I had my floor. The installers came and were very professional and on time. They removed the old floor and underlayment, put down new underlayment, tiled and grouted the new floor. I couldn't be happier! The whole experience is one of the best I've ever had. I never once felt pressured or hurried. And everyone loves the new floor! The grout lines are straight and the tiles are even. I recommended them to my sister who was in the market to replace her carpet. She too had a great experience and her carpet looks fabulous. I'll recommend them anyone and when we replace our carpet, we'll go straight to them without looking at any one else. Our experience was that good. And the Angie's List coupon was a nice touch.

They were very attentive and knowledgeable in the store. When I mentioned that we found them on Angie's list, they were willing to give us special pricing, which I believe was cost plus 10% (an unheard of discount!). I would definitely visit them again when I need carpeting.

Initially, we dealt with Scott who was very helpful and easy to work with during the selection process. He gave us an Angie's List discount and was quick to return calls and answer questions. In all, it was about a twelve hour workday for the two installers, and it included moving furniture in the rooms as they worked. Domingo and Xavier were courteous and very hard working. They arrived on time and worked continuously. In spite of the long hours, they did a meticulous job from beginning to end.

Gene and Scott are the best. After finding them on Angie's List, I went to the store many times before figuring out what I wanted. They always encouraged me to take home flooring samples (carpet and laminate) so that I could get a better feel for how things would actually look in my house. They worked with my budget when it came to product and installation -- they made recommendations, but never used high-pressure sales tactics. The work would have started on time, but an ice storm and lack of power in my house delayed things (even still, their installation team arrived on the day they were supposed to and considered buying a generator to complete the job!). The work was rescheduled for the following week and finished a bit late due to shortage of materials, which was quickly corrected and installed just 2 days later. I will be using the Design Expo for future projects and recommend them highly!

I went to Design Expo based on the positive Angie's List recommendation. Scott was knowledgeable about laminate flooring - not in any way pushy as to which product to choose, but providing helpful recommendations in terms of products. We set up an appointment for an estimate: he was prompt, efficient, and gave a very fair price for the job. Scott called to let me know that the underlay for the laminate tiles was only available in the more expensive of two formats, but gave it to me for the lower price, since that was what he'd quoted. The installers arrived late, but called on the way to let me know when they would arrive. The two installers worked hard, carefully, and consistently. The job was completed in almost exactly the time Scott had estimated (or a little quicker), and the floor looks great! Only small snafu was that they set up a compressor in the narrow front hallway, and condensation splattered on the walls, but the installers cleaned this up satisfactorily.