by Christy Heitger-Ewing | photo The Addison Group | design by Tiffany Skilling
As a kid, I always looked forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving when our family would go out to the tree farm and select the perfect specimen of pine to adorn our living room for the month of December. It was so fun to bundle up and meander the fields, checking out all the different varieties, sizes, and shapes of the trees. At the same time, however, the process seemed a bit overwhelming simply because the choices were so vast.
Looking back, a tree-hunting expedition pales in comparison to the process of selecting the right surfaces for your home because when you’re talking about a choice that will last for years, if not decades, the pressure to get it right is intense. While perusing countless selections may sound intimidating, if you’re working with the right people, that same experience can instead be exhilarating. Finding the right surfaces for your home’s style and particular taste, then guiding you through that process, is what the Mont Experience is all about.
IT ALL STARTS WITH SUPERIOR QUALITY SURFACES
Mont Surfaces, a family-owned company, has eight divisions throughout the Midwest and 32-plus years of experience in the surfaces industry. As a wholesale supplier, they showcase more than 400 unique surface varieties in natural stone, including quartzite, granite, marble, soapstone, onyx, engineered quartz, porcelain slabs and panels, and precious stone. When most people think of natural stone countertops, granite typically comes to mind. However, Mont Surfaces offers a variety of the most popular surface materials, including engineered quartz, porcelain, and quartzite, a natural stone that’s different than engineered quartz.
“Quartzite is a metamorphic stone that was transformed over time,” explains Kathleen Cannon, Senior Account Representative at Mont Surfaces. “The grains of sand, which are natural quartz, were compressed and fused together turning the sand into a very dense, hard, heavy and compact stone known as quartzite.”
In addition to its exceptional beauty and large spectrum of colors, quartzite has a marble look but endures like granite. Its strong, durable surface is dense and compact in its structure, which enables it to resist staining and etching.
When natural quartz is combined with resins and formed under heat and pressure, the cracks and crevices between the quartz crystals are filled, and a non-porous, strong surface material is created – engineered quartz. Made up of ingredients that, when combined, take on qualities of natural stone, Mont Engineered Quartz is custom designed to appeal to a wide array of contemporary designs and is unique in its movement, color, brilliancy, and clarity.
“It combines long-lasting beauty with durability and strength, creating unique and exquisite surfaces,” says Cannon. “If you’re looking for a durable, low-maintenance, sophisticated look that provides the ability to confidently select from a myriad of patterns and designs, you’ll want to consider engineered quartz.”
The porcelain surfaces of today offer even more unique design possibilities coupled with authentic marble, quartzite and concrete looks. Porcelain combines extreme strength, a low absorption rate, versatility, ease of installation, and high performance into one stunning engineered surface. Plus, it is fade, stain, and scratch resistant and can withstand high levels of heat. Homeowners typically are drawn to porcelain for their floors, fireplace surrounds, backsplash, and exterior uses. In addition, porcelain panels are being used increasingly in shower surrounds because they provide minimal joints and grout, easy maintenance, easy handling, beauty, strength, durability and the look of marble, natural stone and concrete.
“Unique materials are Mont’s specialty!” says Cannon. “We travel the world to hand-pick every surface that we purchase so that clients can have more options and be confident in the materials they choose.”
GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WITH THE MONT EXPERIENCE
What really sets Mont apart, whose motto is, “Surface Selection Perfected,” is their dedication to customer service and creating a seamless customer experience, which they call the Mont Experience.
A typical visitor to Mont is at various stages in their home improvement or building process. While some have a design professional or fabricator already in place, others are in in the beginning stages of the process.
“In addition to our vast amount of surface options, our customer specialists educate and guide clients through the selection process to find their perfect material based upon their individual lifestyle and personal taste,” says Cannon.
When a consumer enters a Mont location, they will first check in with one of their customer specialists. They can then browse the design center to garner inspiration and ideas by viewing beautiful design vignettes and a variety of surface applications before entering the slab showroom. The well-lit, heated indoor slab showroom includes hundreds of surface varieties with varying colors, designs and hues.
Once browsing is complete, visitors have the option to tag, hold, or finalize their selections. Much like selecting that Christmas tree when you pass it on to the farm team to shake it, wrap it, and carry it to your car, this is the point at which the Mont team takes over, handling the necessary paperwork and delivery of the material.
“When design and industry professionals refer their clients to Mont, they can rest assured that their knowledgeable and courteous associates have the experience and expertise to guide their clients and make the material-selection process fun, educational and exciting,” says Cannon.
Clients appreciate that Mont utilizes custom software to communicate and coordinate all necessary information. The Mont team also serves as the liaison between the design or industry professional and their client, which saves both the consumer and the professional time by handling the paperwork and product delivery to the fabrication location.
“Design and industry professionals can feel confident about referring their clients to Mont,” says Cannon. “We are committed to providing a seamless experience for our design and industry partners while offering an abundance of high-quality product options.”
Mont Surfaces is conveniently open to the public six days a week, Monday through Saturday, with no appointment necessary. Offices are located at 5945 West 84th Street, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN 46278. For more information, call (317) 875-5800 or visit montsurfaces.com to check out their live inventory.
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5945 West 84th Street, Suite A
Indianapolis, Indiana 46278
