A great home-renovation project starts with a great team, as Amiano & Son Design-Build has demonstrated for almost 60 years.

Joseph A. Clymer, Director of Business Development and grandson of Founder Louis Amiano Sr., began his own journey with Amiano & Son by joining his uncle "Lou Jr." and aunt Wendy in 2015. He first took on the arduous task of a laborer, where learning the various trades, quality standards, building codes, permit processes and basics of construction increased his passion in the industry. Clymer soon took on extra responsibilities and hours tirelessly learning design; as he grew with the family company, his uncle saw Clymer's potential to assist him in sales, bringing song assets like field experience and design insight.

With Clymber flourishing in sales, earning national and local awards and a promotion to his current role, Lou Jr. states, "Joe has helped me more than double my company sales. My mother always told me Joe would be an asset to me as a business owner. She was right."

"It's definitely a full-team effort," Clymer adds. "The concept of design/build is something my uncle has always used as his own business practice. The process has been tweaked over the years to accommodate change in the industry as well as in society. Our team works together from the beginning of the design phase on a project: This helps eliminate finger-pointing, strengthens the communication on a project, strengthens and expedites collaboration without losing sight of the end goal, and involves all parties from the beginning."

Amiano & Son starts every project with a tried-and-true plan of action. That approach includes a detailed design process where the client and their design professional peruse floor plans, elevations and their own design per the client's vision. Designers fine-tune and critique "every single detail," and go over electrical, plumbing and HVAC layouts. Some projects require a scheduled visit from the actual "build" crew prior to contract finalization. This diligent deep-dive ensures that before starting construction, all pricing, design, materials, permit documents and even the project manager are set and ready to begin the build process, which commences after the contract-signing when the designers turn the project over to the builders.

"It's very important to get everything narrowed down upfront. Planning and process execution are key to production. Production tends to be stressful enough, as it typically will kick off with demo work. Before any contractor begins ripping a room out of your home, you want to make sure that all the pieces are properly put together and will fall into place," Clymer says. "The last thing you want is to have your kitchen ripped out and then still have to worry about picking out your cabinets or your floor, or making sure that the design is going to jibe with the rest of the home. Proper planning and design are key!"

Pre-project prep also includes a visit to one of the Amiano & Son showrooms. Materials are arranged in "good, better, best" order to helpfully and proactively guide clients toward the "Aha!" moment of discovering their perfect pieces.

"Most of our clients don't know exactly what they're looking for," he explains. "I've had clients who say that they hate their kitchen and just want to redo it – 'That's all I know,' many of them chuckle when they begin our design interview. Our job is to decipher homeowner's wants and needs, to review how it will fit in their existing space. Every kitchen and bathroom space is unique, in my experience, and should be treated as such."

Part of what makes Amiano & Son's showrooms so impressive is that they're packed with up-to-date products, the latest trends in design and long-standing trends like the "white kitchen."

"The vendors/manufacturers of these products come to us," says Clymer. "I have designers who attend major events in the industry to bring us new products and ideas. Our world is forward-thinking and evolving every year. Remodelers need to do the same, as we are the leaders in maintaining homeowner's visions of a fresh feel for their cherished investment – their home!"

While Amiano & Son began with one showroom, increasing requests for work in Long Beach Island, Margate, Ventnor and Brigantine made it apparent they had a valuable market closer to the Shore meriting a second location. "This showroom is set up for the needs and wants of beach homeowners, who have very different needs we can address," Clymer explains. "Homeowners can view renovation progress comfortably from wherever their actual home might be, to providing products specific to 'Shore living.'"

As anyone who's worked with the Amiano team can attest to, the design process, the quality tradesmen working with them and the vendors dedicated to satisfying "Amiano Clientele" is a testament to a long business practice of building relationships as sturdy as their craftsmanship.

"Relationships are everything and extremely important to us," says Clymer, noting that about 25% of its business is repeat clients. "We make sure that every project has the time and attention and detail that they need because these are people's homes, we are in their domain. When a client says, 'You guys heard me and you saw my vision even before I saw it,' or that we exceeded every expectation, that's exactly what we go for every time."

Amiano & Son Design-Build
Southampton & Ship Bottom NJ
(609) 268-5923
AmianoAndSon.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 24, Issue 5 (April 2024)
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