We’re all about tile and stone because we are attending the Coverings show in Atlanta, GA today and tomorrow. Coverings is the ultimate tile and stone experience; with that in mind we wanted to explore a few amazing backsplash tile and stone applications.
Why we love it:
The gray marble brings a little bit of Tuscany into your kitchen.
Why we love it:
This colorful backsplash adds a thunderbolt of energy to this kitchen.
Why we love it:
The neutral color mixed with a classic herringbone pattern is the perfect match for any modern kitchen.
Why we love it:
The exposed brick backsplash creates a warm and rustic look to any country kitchen.
Why we love it:
Rustic and warm, this stone backsplash is the perfect accent.
Why we love it:
This pebble backsplash brings a touch of nature into your home while adding an incredible texture to your kitchen.
Why we love it:
The neutral tones are the perfect backdrop to any decor.
Why we love it:
It is reminiscent of the beautiful tile work found in the Middle East. Its light blue color is the perfect backdrop to keep it modern and fresh.
Adding a backsplash is a quick and easy way to update a space. They add that extra oomph to any kitchen, bathroom, bar, etc… With the Varatys Virtual Designer your shoppers can customize a backsplash with your products. They have the ability to fully interact with your catalog on multiple levels. Your shoppers can view your product families, scroll through each item and customize a scene applying our rendering technology. We offer a wide range of features and options. You can dazzle your shoppers with social media integration, use your own photo capability, tile patterns, eCommerce links, and so much more!
For more information tour our virtual designer or contact our team to set up a personal demo.
We’re days away from showing off our virtual designer at the Coverings show in Atlanta!
With the Varatys Virtual Designer, your shoppers can upload a photo of their home, prepare it, and immediately start applying your products for an instant home makeover. It also has a wide variety of tile patterns; perfect for our tile clients!
Shoppers can apply tile patterns to room scenes using floor tile, wall tile, and even mosaic tile. Adding a tile pattern gives a room interest and character, making it unique to the shopper. We’ve made it so easy that it just takes two simple steps!
Applying patterns is done in two simple steps:
1) First, shoppers can choose their desired tile in the “Select a Product” tab
2) Second, they click on the “Product Options” tab to scroll through and choose a pattern and grout color. (The tile sizes are listed in the tile pattern thumbnail.)
Tile patterns are just one of many tools we offer in the Varatys Virtual Designer to help assist you in closing the deal. Check out all the great features that we offer below! Click on an icon to learn more.
Embedding the Varatys Virtual Designer brings an added level of engagement to your website. It helps bridge the gap between their design dreams and your product. You can take your company’s product line from “that might be nice” to “that is going to look amazing in my kitchen”.
Let us know if you are going to be at Coverings! Contact our team to schedule a personal tour of the Varatys Virtual Designer.
We are thrilled to announce that Realstone Systems launched their Virtual Room Designer!
They not only have “Use Your Own Photo” but they are the first of our clients to adapt the brand new Shared Key User Registration.
Who is Realstone?
Based out of Troy Michigan, Realstone Systems provides a line of stone veneer products.
Realstone is recognized for their quality, natural beauty, and ease of installation backed by exceptional customer service. They also have a large range of panel and mat products complimented by corresponding accessories; Realstone provides a top-to-bottom solution for a complete installation of natural stone veneer. Contractors, masons, and DIY’s love Realstone for its quick, easy and clean application.
Realstone is proud to offer products that contain pre-consumer recycled content providing green benefits and possible LEED points. Made of reclaimed natural stone, the thin stone veneers are ideal for use by architects, designers and homeowners looking to incorporate responsible and beautiful materials into their projects.
“Use Your Own Photo”
Realstone has incorporated “Use Your Own Photo” into their Virtual Room Designer.
With “Use Your Own Photo”, their consumers can upload a photo from their iPads/tablets and/or desktop computers, prepare it, and instantly start applying Realstone’s products to create a personalized product scene.
"Use Your Own Photo" is the most coveted feature we offer. Below are a handful of the exciting benefits to adding it to your virtual designer.
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Consumers can upload a photo and apply your company’s products. Giving consumers “Use Your Own Photo” takes your virtual designer to the next level in customization.
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If your consumers are on a tablet, they can take a photo while in your virtual designer and use it immediately. You can’t find this level of flexibility anywhere else!
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Custom Photo Tools: We’ve developed a set of highly sophisticated tools that are easy to use and take your products to the next level in customization.
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By setting the “Point of View” your consumers can apply the correct perspective to your products.
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Multiple Device User Registration: Your consumers can create an account and access their photos on multiple devices. They can customize a photo on their desktop computers and bring it with them anywhere on their tablets!
Shared Key User Registration
Realstone is the first of our clients to adapt the brand new Shared Key User Registration. With Shared Key, a client can pass a unique user key in when launching the application, and the Virtual Designer will associate a user in the Varatys database with that “shared key” so that anytime the same user key is passed in that user can access their saved photos. This is ideal for clients who have their own user registration/log in process.
Benjamin Moore’s interior paint was awarded the top spot for consumer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates.
This is the fourth time and for the third year in a row that Benjamin Moore & Co. has received this award. They received an index of 800 on a 100-point scale performing particularly well in the categories of application, durability, product offerings, and design guides.
J.D. Power and Associates basis satisfaction with paint brands by evaluations from customers who purchased and applied interior paint during the past year. It measures six key factors: application, product offerings, durability, price, design guides, and warranty/guarantee. In addition to paint brands, J.D. Power and Associates also rates paint retailers across five key factors: facility, selection, staff, services provided, and sales/promotions.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, “Application continues to be the most important driver of satisfaction with paint brands at 25 percent. Satisfaction with retailers is driven primarily by store staff (27%).” More than 6,800 customers who purchased and applied interior paint within the last 12 months contributed to the 2013 U.S. Interior Paint Satisfaction Study.
We are very proud of our Benjamin Moore roots and all that they’ve accomplished! Check out the full press release from J.D. Power and Associates.
Earth Day is quickly approaching and we wanted to bring attention to some of the amazing efforts that our clients do every day to help save the environment.
Every year Earth Day takes place on April 22nd. It marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. (Earth Day Network)
Our clients offer environment friendly products designed to be kinder and greener to our world.
Benjamin Moore offer’s their Green Promise® to designated paints that are eco-friendly and environmentally friendly. They meet and exceed the strictest industry standards, while also delivering the premium levels of performance you expect from Benjamin Moore.
Green Promise® Paints:
Aura: The Aura line is Benjamin Moore’s premium interior paint. It’s available in any color, it’s eco-friendly, low VOC, and has low odor.
Natura: Virtually odorless and available in any color, Natura paint is one of the greenest and safest paints available in the market. In independent third party testing, Natura paint has the lowest total VOC emissions of any national paint brand tested.
ben: ben by Benjamin Moore, offers great value with all of the performance qualities you expect from a premium interior paint. ben is a low VOC, low odor coating that is available in any color.
Waterborne Ceiling Paint: Available in any color, Waterborne Ceiling paint is low VOC and low odor.
Eco Spec WB: Eco Spec Waterborne paint by Benjamin Moore, is one of the greenest paints for commercial projects available in the market. Eco Spec Waterborne paint has zero VOCs in both its base and colorant, so it remains zero VOC even after tinting.
Eco Spec Silver: Zero-VOC Eco Spec WB Silver paint by Benjamin Moore, combines the superior properties and performance of Eco Spec WB with the benefits of antimicrobial additives including pure elemental silver to provide a mildew-resistant coating. According to Benjamin Moore, Eco Spec WB Silver is the first paint in the United States to use this form of pure silver in its formulation. This product continues to demonstrate the premium green commercial properties of Eco Spec WB, including zero VOCs in both its base and colorant, so it remains zero VOC even after tinting.
Regal Select: Regal Select by Benjamin Moore, has low total VOCs and low odor. It is an environmentally-friendly paint that joins Benjamin Moore’s growing family of Green Promise products.
Formica Flooring offers GREENGUARD Certified exotic wood looks without hurting the planet or your pocketbook thanks to laminate flooring. Made in South Carolina, they look like real exotic Blackwood, South American Mahogany, Peruvian Walnut, and Caribbean Jatoba. Formica Flooring uses a highly efficient manufacturing process that minimizes the impact on the environment and brings you the look of exotic hardwood floors without harming any real exotic or endangered wood species. GREENGUARD Certified contains low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Boral offers environmentally friendly products in today’s marketplace. From Cradle to Cradle Gold certification for all of their domestically produced clay products; to their most vibrant and complete line of CRRC rated cool roof colors. Boral leads the industry in sustainable design and provides a wide variety of LEED point opportunities most other sloped roofing products cannot match.
Boral domestically produced clay tile products are the only tiles in the world to receive the prestigious Cradle to Cradle Gold certification from MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry). Cradle to Cradle certification gives architects the confidence that Boral Roofing products and company policies are truly sustainable and that Boral is an active steward of our environment.
Refresh® Paints by Dutch Boy, is the first and only paint with Arm & Hammer® odor eliminating technology that beautifies and reduces odors at the same time. It is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® available in interior and ceiling paint.
Eternity Flooring offers green solutions through innovations. Eternity Floors has become one of the industry leaders by giving back to the environment and ensuring the very highest manufacturing standards. Laminate floors do not retain allergens or dust mites, making them hypoallergenic. No waxes, polishes, gooey detergents, or abrasive cleaners are ever needed for our earth friendly product.
Hanwha L&C Surfaces is committed to being a pro-environment company creating eco-friendly products for the marketplace. They are leading the quartz industry as a greener and highly sought after LEED product, through our environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
Sofap Paints offers their new line called Permoglaze Aqua. This line is compliant with European Union regulations regarding volatile organic compounds (VOC) for a lesser impact on the environment. Products in this line are: Permoglaze Aqua Prime, Permoglaze Aqua Varnish, Permoglaze Tradition Sandy Expressions, Permoglaze Tradition Grains of Art, Permoglaze Tradition Sandy Expressions, and Permoglaze Tradition Magic Feeling.
Shaw partners with suppliers that are committed to sound ecological practices. Shaw takes on the challenge to find beautiful products that are sustainably produced. They strive to use companies following sustainable manufacturing procedures.
Tile: Four of Shaw’s tile collections are manufactured with conscientious environmental practices in mind and contain up to 40% post-industrial recycled content. Shaw’s eco-friendly tile collections: Lunar, Metropolitan Slate, Petrified Hickory, and Brushstone.
Hardwood: EnviroCore is Shaw's high-density core board made from recycled post-industrial wood fiber. It is made in the USA with wood harvested from well-managed domestic forests. EnviroCore is found in Shaw's Epic products and uses 50% less newly harvested wood than convention 3/8" engineered flooring.
Get involved on Monday to celebrate Earth Day! Every effort helps create a greener environment.
Before and after photos are essential to anyone in the building industry. They shatter the glass ceiling of what is possible to anyone looking ahead at doing a remodel. Seeing proof that other homeowners took on similar challenges and overcame obstacles to make their design dreams come to life are inspirational.
Major publications such as Country Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and Southern Living showcase before and after photos on a regular basis. Not only does it appeal to homeowners but it also markets interior designers, the products used, installers, and in some cases architects.
Having a before and after section on your website is essential. It not only showcases your products but also your loyal customers and anyone who worked on the project. It gives them an opportunity to show off their hard work and generate some social media buzz for your company. Soon all of their friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter and Pinterest, and email contacts will know your brand and have a link to your website. It is quite amazing to think how fast and how far social media sharing can take your company and build some quality inbound links.
Just as before and after photos from a past project can be an inspiration to homeowners; so can the before and after room/home scenes in a virtual designer. With our Platinum Package, your website users can upload a photo of their home, prepare it, and instantly apply your products to give their room/house a fresh new look. They can transition their carpets to hardwood or vice versa. Thus, instant inspiration is achieved.
Your website users can email, print, and share their after photo with their followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. It is a pretty handy tool to have on your website in addition to the before and after photos submitted by your customers.
Do you currently have a before and after section on your website? We’d love to hear from you on how much website traffic it generates!
We are excited to announce four user registration options for the Varatys Virtual Designer!
Having the right registration option selected is essential. If you select No Membership; your users won’t be able to save vs. if you have the Login option then they can save on multiple devices. Depending on which user registration option you have affects your users directly.
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No Membership: This is the only option available in our silver package.
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Simple: This option uses a browser cookie to allow a user to save photos.
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Login: This option uses the Varatys user database.
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Share Key: This option is designed to be used with an external user database. This is ideal for clients who have their own user registration/log in process.
In our eBook you will learn more about each option and how to convert registration in your Varatys Virtual Designer. Download our eBook to learn more!
Develop your own design center!
Home décor style blogs are all the rage these days. From Apartment Therapy to Style Me Pretty Living; consumers are looking for home inspiration across the web. They are pinning their favorite images, developing new inspiring home ideas, and seeking resources to help them make their home décor style dreams come true.
Embrace the trend and bring a design center to your website! Your website can become a one-stop-shop for all your consumer’s needs.
With a design center on your website you can:
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Boost Consumer Engagement
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Increase Product Awareness
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Offer Educational Resources to Your Consumers
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Embed and Market a Virtual Designer
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Repurpose Great Blog Content
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Develop a Deeper Relationship with Your Consumers
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And So Much More!
Download our eBook to find out how you can create your own design center in five steps!
March’s numbers are in and it was a great month for our clients and the Varatys Virtual Designer.
The Varatys Virtual Designer had over 25,000 total user sessions that clocked an average of 14 minutes that was spent engaging in our client’s products. Over 450 Tweets, Facebook Shares, and Pinterest Pins were created spreading an impressive social buzz! Pinterest is by far the most used social feature on the Varatys Virtual Designer.
Consumers deeply engage in products and services across all social media platforms. They want to ask questions, give feedback, and share with others. Social media has become a faster and more efficient way to spread word of mouth advertising.
A virtual designer creates a personal experience on your website. Potential customers can go online and build a relationship with your company and products. It services your customers 24/7, assisting them in their design process and offering a wide range of data on your product catalog. The Varatys Virtual Designer had over 1,400 projects saved, 350+ projects printed, and over 250 projects shared via email.
Bridge the gap between your user’s design dreams and your product. Take your company’s product line from “that might be nice” to “that is going to look amazing in my…”. Knowing what products to place and when to place them comes down to understanding analytics. Have a well-educated mindset about your market will take the guesswork out of the equation.
To find out more about the Varatys Virtual Designer and the analytic reports that we provide, contact our team!
#1. Shoppers can upload their own photos and apply your products immediately.
"Use Your Own Photo" is the most coveted feature we offer. Your shoppers can upload a photo of their house, room, business, etc...and instantly apply your products.
#2. It is affordable to subscribe to the Varatys Virtual Designer:
We have designed the Varatys Virtual Designer to give you a custom look and feel without having a super expensive price tag. Our monthly subscription makes embedding this powerful tool easy, low-risk, and affordable. You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 company to look like one!
#3. The Varatys Virtual Designer is a great selling tool:
Customers love it and so will your Sales staff. The Varatys Virtual Designer is HTML compatible. So whether your team is helping a customer at a kiosk, from a computer, or on their tablet they can deliver a custom sample of what your product will look like when applied.
#4. You can customize the Varatys Virtual Designer:
You can customize your virtual designer with personalized skins, custom room scenes, featured products, and so much more!
Personalized Skins: Choose a coordinating skin option to match the design of your company website.
Custom Room Scenes: Does your company have high-end room scenes? Don’t let them go to waste! We can integrate them into your Virtual Designer.
Featured Products: We will feature products of your choosing on the landing page. This will promote products you want your customers to see first.
Click here to see a full features and benefits listing.
#5. The Varatys Virtual Designer is brand adaptable:
The Varatys Virtual Designer is fully customizable to adapt to your company’s branding and location: you can personalize it with your logo, company colors, beauty shot/video, products, product descriptions, room scenes, and room descriptions. We give you every opportunity to let your company’s personality shine.
#6. You can sell product placement within the Varatys Virtual Designer:
The beauty shot and product categories are customizable. Your company can use the space for advertisers and feature product placement.
Sell Sponsorship of Application
Non-Endemic Sponsors: You can use the Varatys Virtual Designer as the "ultimate banner ad" to attract sponsors outside of your industry. This can be done through product placement in photos and/or links in product descriptions.
App is Full of Generic Products: You can team up with partnering companies to use their product assets to accent your own instead of using our generic set.
#7. The Varatys Virtual Designer creates smarter more confident shoppers:
While using a virtual designer, shoppers feel in control of their products, making decisions based on personal preferences and style. This process also assists in reducing purchase anxiety and creates confident shoppers.
#8. eCommerce is only “one click away” at all times in the Varatys Virtual Designer:
With our new product detail "one click away" feature, shoppers are now always one click away from your product details. This includes an ecommerce (purchase) link to your website to promote online sales.
#9. The Varatys Virtual Designer has a product search feature:
Your customers can now search on the Product Catalog and Visualizer pages. Having search in the Varatys Virtual Designer makes it more user-friendly and consumer driven. Instead of browsing through each product you and your customers can now search by a specific property.
Our search feature browses the entire category and not just one collection. This is an added bonus because it exposes your customers to more options that they might not have looked for.
#10. The Varatys Virtual Designer drives consumer engagement:
Consumer engagement is a challenging obstacle for many companies. Embedding a virtual designer on your website gives your company an opportunity to capture the consumer's attention. Potential customers can go online and build a relationship with your company and products. It services your consumers 24/7, assisting them in their design process and offering a wide range of data on your company's product catalog.
