Home design simplified: How this free, complete service brings visions to life

She walked into the Sioux Falls Montgomery’s store like most customers.

“I just went to browse the showroom floor,” homeowner Miranda Nolte said. “I told them I was looking for furniture for an entire new house, and that’s when I learned about their free design service. I’d shopped there before for a chair or something, but never to this capacity, and I didn’t know about the service.”

When she learned the Montgomery’s design experts literally could help her step by step, from floor to ceiling, with her custom home build, it was like a weight lifted.

“It was huge. I didn’t even know where to go or where to start,” she said. “I just knew what I liked.”

Montgomery’s designer Anastasia Duin and flooring manager Olivia Niggeling took it from there.

“It was amazing. We totally hit it off,” Nolte said. “Olivia went and sourced all my tile and laid it out and did all the leg work and I was able to pick from selections. Anastasia was great with the décor and furniture and fabrics.”

As a single mom and busy insurance industry leader, “my running around time is precious,” she added. “And they were able to take that all off my plate. I had no idea how easy and hands-on this was and how curated they make it to your specific design. I came in and they had all the furniture laid out, fabric samples, paint colors. It was a one-stop shop.”

Today, she goes home to the “mountain modern” home she always envisioned, something that draws on her love for the Black Hills with lots of warmth and without an overly rustic feel.

“The three of us worked awesome together, and it has to all go cohesively, so to have both people in the same place – my flooring and tile person and my furniture person – rather than trying to pull it together myself was exactly what I needed.”

Because Montgomery’s name is synonymous with fine home furnishings, many consumers looking to remodel or build don’t fully realize the free interior design services Montgomery’s offers, or the specialized services available to them through The Floor Store at Montgomery’s, where tile, backsplash, countertops, and fixtures are part of the Whole Home package. This suite of complementary services is offered at each of Montgomery’s four locations.

“We do full interior design services, and it’s not what people necessarily associate with us,” Niggeling said. “They don’t realize we can help select everything, source materials even if we don’t have samples in the store, and find super specific things like tile or other flooring that fit their budget and complement their design.”

In Nolte’s case, the Montgomery’s team helped problem-solve continually. Niggeling helped sourced a large tile product that create the look Nolte was hoping for with her fireplace, for instance.

“It’s a great large-format tile, and we’re doing a lot of that lately because it’s very budget-friendly and yet you get the grand look of a big marble fireplace,” Niggeling said.

On the furniture side, Nolte loved a white sofa – but was a bit wary with twin three-year-olds.

“The protection program Montgomery’s sells is so amazing,” Nolte said. “I wanted white, but I have little kids, and once I learned about the benefit with the protection program I was able to get what I wanted because I felt confidence with that extra piece in place.”

For builders, Montgomery’s works with contractors or uses its own installers to help create welcoming, neutral spec homes.

“For contractors, it’s a big load off their plate,” Niggeling said. “We general install at least one portion – tile, carpet, hard surfaces – if not all of it. A lot of the spec homes we do feel custom because everything is selected with a purpose. It’s not just for the masses. It’s something that’s specifically chosen to complement the home’s design.”

And with custom home owners, “we’re making sure both the customer and the contractor is happy and taking the burden off everyone of selecting and searching and finding products,” she continued.

Bathrooms are a great example, she said.

“Those seem to be a struggle for people. Only certain tile or natural stone can go in places with water, so we help navigate all that and show them options they can choose,” she said. “We don’t want them to fall in love with a tile that doesn’t work in a shower.”

The overriding goal is “to makes sure the first decision complements the last decision,” Niggeling said. “We’re another sounding board, we’re communicating throughout and we’re sharing back and forth with different ideas and solutions for their vision.”

For Nolte, the process was “nothing but wonderful the whole way through,” she said. “They made the experience the best and brought all my ideas to life.”