From Downsizing to Dream Home

Flexsteel Winston Sofa & Craftmaster Swivel Gliders in Burnett 10 fabric

Union Furniture & Flooring Designer
Helps Couple Create a New Build That
Exceeds Expectations

The Park Hill Old Pine Farm Table With IFD Upholstered Chairs With Tufted Back & IFD Tufted Back Side Chairs

Downsizing had been the original plan when Mark and Renee Laune bought their 126-acre property in rural New Haven 10 years ago. But that wasn’t in the cards. The couple hadn’t even been planning to move yet, but they received a surprise offer one day in 2021 — a couple from California who had adult children living nearby wanted to buy their nearly 5,000 square foot home in town. “We sold it in just 10 minutes,” Renee recalled, noting the buyers purchased all of the furniture too.

‘Go Talk to Dani!’

Building a new home can be overwhelming, with so many decisions to make — flooring, tile, finishes, paint colors, furniture . . .  the list can be long. The Launes had never been to Union Furniture & Flooring before, but when a friend told Renee to “Go talk to Dani,” our senior interior designer and decorator, that she could help simplify and manage the project, Renee didn’t hesitate to make the trip to Union, MO.

You never need an appointment to stop in Union Furniture & Flooring’s Design Center and talk with one of our flooring and tile experts. The team is always eager and excited to help, whether your project is new tile for your kitchen backsplash, new carpeting for a single bedroom, or a new 5,400 square foot home, like the Launes.

Flooring throughout the basement is Mohawk Crest Haven Floating Laminate in Brierwood Oak finish. Also shown is the Vaughn Bassett Dovetail bed.

Over the course of the construction, Mark and Renee worked with all of the designers at Union Furniture & Flooring, and “everyone helped us so much,” but they spent most of their time with Dani, who they described as professional, yet easy to work with and extremely understanding. “When you work that closely with someone on a project like this, you better get along,” Renee said. “You need to be able to say, ‘I don’t care for that,’ and not worry about hurting feelings. And I never felt that way with Dani.”

Mark agreed. In fact, all three of them got along great.

“That was important to us, as a couple building this together,” Renee said. “It was important to have someone like Dani, someone you could just instantly know you were going to be able to trust. I never felt like she was trying to sell me the most expensive thing in the store.”

The Launes were pleased to find that Dani and rest of the design team at Union Furniture & Flooring didn’t limit their advice or expertise to the products we sell.

“They helped us pick out paint colors, all of the flooring, the tile, furniture, almost all of it, even advised us on deck material and fireplace stone,” Renee said. “We ran everything by Dani. She was just absolutely fantastic to work with, and if she wasn’t available, the entire staff was great. “We were very, very pleased with everything, but especially the customer service.”

“They took our project personally and were very serious getting it done,” Mark said. “They wanted us to have a finished product that we loved.”

A Few Examples

There were points during the process when not everything was going smoothly, the Launes admit, but rather than pushing what was easy to resolve the issue, Dani found a way to help the couple get the look they ultimately wanted.

One example is the kitchen island. Renee had been adamant from the start that she wanted the color to be Evergreen Fog, to play off the cream/off-white color of the rest of the kitchen cabinets. But there came a point where they were having a hard time pulling some things together, and Renee was ready to say forget the Evergreen Fog, but Dani wouldn’t let her. “She said, ‘No, we are doing that!’ She knew it was important to me,” Renee said. And now whenever she walks in her kitchen, she smiles.

It was Dani too who suggested the couple go with a gray color for the trim around the windows and on the baseboards, which is so subtle, you don’t notice the trim as much as you feel the beauty and comfort of the space. Mark notes he was reluctant to try the gray trim at first, but now he really likes it and sees how well it works.

The Launes also credit our designers for tipping them off to a local salvage yard where they could find a special antique-style door for their kitchen pantry rather than a run-of-the-mill standard door.

What You See

The house was built by Franklin County Construction. The custom cabinets throughout the house (kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms) are from Built by Bloch/Tyler Bloch in New Haven.

And many of the lighting pieces are from Amini’s and Metro Lighting. The Launes' son landscaping company, Advanced Outdoor Solutions, is completing the landscape architecture.

Below is a list of most of the Union Furniture & Flooring products used throughout the Laune home:

Wood & Laminate Flooring

Throughout the upstairs: Bella Cera Mystic River hardwood in Pacific Sands finish

Basement: Mohawk Crest Haven Floating Laminate in Brierwood Oak finish.

Tile

Kitchen Backsplash: Anatolia tile, Soho collection, Arabesque Glossy Mosaic, Halo Gray

Laundry Room: Anatolia tile in Clover Deco pattern, sand color

Master Shower Accent: SSW-901 Quinland Blend Norfork

Master Shower Floor: Fitch collection, 12x24-inch size, Cloud color

Master Shower Walls: Anatolia La Marca collection, 12x24-inch size, Onyz Nuvolato Polished

Hall Bathroom Floor: Interceramic, Crescent collection, 12X24-inch size, Fogo Island color

Hall Bathroom Shower: Anatolia tile, Soho collection, 4X16-inch size, matte finish, canvas white

Daughter’s bathroom floor: Atlas, Fray collection, 12X24-inch size, tobacco color

Daughter’s Bathroom Shower: Marazzi, Marble Obsession collection, 6-inch size, Arabesque

Son’s Bathroom Floor: American Olean, Ridge collection, 12X24-inch size, Greige color

Son’s Bathroom Shower: Ragno tile, Calce Collection, 3X11-inch size, Nero color

Basement Bar Backsplash: Trends tile, Costruire Rough Hewn Mosaic, Ruggine

Furniture

Dining Table: Park Hill Old Pine Farm Table

Dining Chairs: IFD Upholstered Chair With Tufted Back & IFD Tufted Back Side Chair

Family Room: Flexsteel Winston Sofa & Craftmaster Swivel Glider in Burnett 10 fabric

Son’s Bedroom: Vaughn Bassett Dovetail Collection

The Launes' son landscaping company, Advanced Outdoor Solutions, is completing the landscape architecture.