After 32 years in the kitchen and bath remodeling industry, Everett Matteo, along with his wife Elaine and sons Tom and Steve, went into business for themselves in 1995.

Matteo Family Kitchens & Flooring is a family-owned business handling every facet of a remodeling project, including design services and supplying the big and small items, from countertops to faucets. However, it's the atmosphere that truly sets Matteo Family Kitchens & Flooring apart.

"When you come in the door, you're not just a customer, you're our friend—we want to explain things to you and give you the best options for your budget" says Steve Matteo, co-owner and store manager.

House & Home spoke with Matteo further about the skyrocketing demand for home improvement projects during the pandemic and the trends he sees sticking around.

What have you seen occur over the course of this pandemic in terms of in-demand projects?
People have been using their vacation money to do more work on their house, inside and out. They want to create more livable space. As more people work from home, they wanted dedicated home office space with storage, upgraded cabinets and countertops. We get excited to work with clients who want to do a new project kitchen, maybe changing out the master bathroom with a big soaking tub and a small stand-up shower to a big walk-in shower—make it something a little bit more useful.

What shifts have you noticed in kitchen and bath design?
The big shift in kitchens is going from wood cabinets and granite countertops to soft white or gray painted cabinets with a Shaker farmhouse look, and quartz countertops. Even though granite is phenomenal, I believe there is a big push for the manufactured quartz and you see it a lot more on home design shows now. But with that may come a higher cost of material.

Bathrooms, along with kitchens are in-demand remodeling projects. People are taking out their old master baths, tearing out the tubs and putting in bigger, walk-in tiled showers with frameless doors. The $20,000 kitchen is now the $20,000 master bathroom. People like where they live and they want to stay in their home while the kids finish school so they want to add the most value and enjoy it.

How have flooring designs changed in recent years?
Just like everything else, technology has improved floors. We've seen more changes in flooring manufacturing and design than anything else in this industry. In the '90s, carpet, which is a petroleum-based product, went up in price along with oil prices. During that time, they improved the product with more stain resistance, building more quality for the added cost. Also, in the late '90s, laminate flooring like Pergo flooring took over the world, but once people realized it wouldn't hold up to water and now it shifted to worry-proof flooring. Things went from hard plastics to softer, warmer, water-resistant options.

Hardwood finishes have also changed in the thickness and width of the planks, and gray is a popular color people want. Now they have found new ways to get gray with real hardwood.

What is unique about how Matteo works with clients?
All of our salespeople meet with clients individually in their own home. We don't have a separate team that comes out and measures. We like to come to your home and find out what you are looking for. Maybe we'll notice you have three dogs, which could guide us on the flooring choice, or we'll see you have younger children so you need products that will hold up as the kids get older. Those who are nearing retirement age may want products with convenience, like roll-out trays for pots and pans to save them from bending over. All of these factors play into the design.

Then we'll come up with renderings and email them to the homeowner. This way they can be at home, comfortable with a cup of coffee, looking at the photos. This is all free of charge and is followed by a visit to our large showroom where you can see all of our products—hardwood, tile, backsplashes, cabinets—and color coordinate with the flow of the home. The entire design goes through our kitchen and flooring designers who help customers feel confident that the whole thing will come together perfectly.

Matteo Family Kitchens & Flooring
Woodstown, N.J. | (856) 769-2490
MatteoKitchens.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 21, Issue 8 (April/May 2021). 
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