Construction Resources has opened what it calls the largest professional home products design center in the Southeast — a 50,000-square-foot flagship facility in West Midtown Atlanta that consolidates over 60 premium brands and 10 product categories under one roof for the first time. The CR Design Center Westside, located at the adaptive reuse Westside Paper development near the Atlanta Beltline, represents the culmination of the company's 55-year evolution and signals a shift in how the Home Depot-owned company approaches customer service in the building and design industry.

The design center, which opened to the public and trade professionals on June 7, 2025, aims to simplify the product selection and installation process by eliminating the complexity and time that consumers typically face when sourcing materials for home projects.

"Our value proposition is about 10 product categories under one roof. We're trying to simplify the customer experience," said CEO Mitch Hires during a media preview of the space. "Everyone knows what traffic is like in Atlanta. So, imagine you're looking for these 10 product categories that you see here, and you have to go to a different place for each one. Those designers have to go through a lot of time at those locations, and then each time you go to a location, you start over."

"As a designer who lives in the city with a lot of in-town clients, I spent six hours in Norcross and Buford last week with a client visiting eight different showrooms," said Amber Guyton, interior designer and owner of Blessed Little Bungalow. "This is ideal and a very good idea."

Designed in collaboration with ASD | SKY, a sustainable, Atlanta-based design firm, CR Design Center Westside seamlessly blends historic charm with contemporary convenience. The facility's strategic layout promotes discovery and inspiration through carefully curated vignettes organized by room and product category.

Construction Resources has reimagined the traditional showroom approach by elevating all product categories rather than focusing on just one specialty. The company has developed what it calls "Southern Modern" as its signature design approach. For example, when working with European cabinet manufacturers, rather than embracing stark, cold modern aesthetics, Construction Resources incorporates warm wood elements to create a more livable modern style suited to Southern preferences.

"We don't want to do modern just like a German company, that's not who we are," said Mike Bell, senior VP of Construction Resources' multiproducts initiative.  "What we do is elevate it—it's modern but it's got wood, it warms it up."

The company has streamlined the customer selection process by limiting overwhelming choices and focusing on curated options.  For example, instead of presenting 50-60 cabinet door options to clients, design consultants show only three relevant choices that suit the specific project, ranging from mid-tier to ultra-luxury.  

"You know, not everybody has unlimited budgets, so we have to think about that as we showcase other spaces," Bell said. "Little Johnny still needs a vanity."

Unlike typical appliance showrooms that use basic cabinets and countertops as backdrops or cabinet stores that neglect other elements, Construction Resources also invested significant time and design effort to make every product category shine. The result showcases high-end details, including natural stone fireplace surrounds, reverse-edge profiles on countertops, and custom shower enclosures with that elevate the overall presentation.

The company has pioneered a technique of blending tile, porcelain slab, natural stone slab, and natural stone tile within single shower installations. This approach, which the team had previously tested at their Buckhead location, eliminates the coordination challenges that previously required designers to work with separate fabricators, tile companies, and distributors—a complexity that often caused builders to abandon such designs due to scheduling concerns.

According to Hires, what sets Construction Resources apart from its competitors is this comprehensive in-house approach. Unlike other multi-category showrooms that outsource manufacturing, installation, or design services, Construction Resources handles everything internally. "We're a turnkey solution," he said.

This approach eliminates the finger-pointing that typically occurs between trades on construction projects. As Hires explained, when problems arise with coordination between countertops, cabinets, flooring and appliances, the team says, "that's us"— meaning they take responsibility for the entire integration rather than passing blame between different vendors. This approach provides customers with a single point of accountability and seamless project execution.

Innovative Product Displays and Stone Expertise

Construction Resources carries hard-surface flooring collections from a variety of manufacturers, such as Anderson Tuftex, Bjelin, Hallmark, Mannington, Mohawk, MSI and Shaw.

The company has taken a bold approach to flooring displays through large individual samples and by importing custom-made fixtures from Europe that address the practical challenges designers face in traditional showrooms. Rather than the typical tower displays, these innovative European fixtures showcase extra-large samples and allow heavy tile and stone to be easily flipped and repositioned so designers can see how light hits the surface as it would appear when installed, according to COO John Simmons. 

The showroom features what company executives believe is the first high-end showroom to include a slab gallery displaying luxury natural stone. Construction Resources imports approximately 2,000 to 2,500 containers of stone annually across all locations and operates its own fabrication facilities, allowing it to provide pricing directly to customers rather than requiring separate fabricator quotes. They maintain an additional 8,000-slab distribution facility in Mabelton, Georgia, about 15-20 minutes away, for extended selection options.

The company's stone expertise runs deep, with sourcing teams in Italy, Turkey, and Spain coordinated by Don DiNorcia at UMI Stone, a brand owned by Construction Resouces. "He can walk into somebody else's distribution facility and say, 'I know where that came from, I bought that block also,'" Hires noted about DiNorcia's encyclopedic knowledge of stone sources.

The showroom also features a Cambria quartz gallery and proprietary brands through the Pompeii Quartz and Forum Quartz labels, as well as the CTC (Cancos) tile label.

Construction Resources demonstrates advanced fabrication skills through innovative techniques, such as creating curved quartz installations that technically shouldn't be possible with standard methods. Their team builds custom molds and develops specialized trimming processes to create curved walls that match the architectural elements throughout the bathroom displays.

Construction Resources has also significantly expanded into outdoor living, featuring three distinct outdoor cabinet lines. The outdoor spaces include a terrace level and atrium showcasing complete outdoor kitchens with various appliance brands and UV-rated porcelain surfaces that outperform traditional quartz in direct sunlight applications.

Strategic Location and Expansion Plans

The West Midtown location was strategically chosen for its proximity to Atlanta's design community and its accessibility via major highways. An unexpected bonus came when the team discovered the Atlanta Beltline runs just 10 feet behind their building, providing awareness opportunities to the 2 million trail users who walk or bike the Beltline annually.

The company has ambitious expansion plans, with Hires revealing the company's goal to open 40 similar locations across the United States. Construction Resources, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2023, has been aggressively expanding its footprint through strategic acquisitions across multiple markets, building both its retail showroom network and distribution capabilities.

Established in 1970 as Atlanta Marble Manufacturing in Decatur, Georgia, the company includes locations such as Sewell Appliance, CR Glass & Mirror, CR Flooring, and CR Alabama. In one of its most recent moves, the company acquired OpusStone, a three-location luxury natural stone company serving the high-end markets of Delray, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.

The expansion strategy operates on two distinct business platforms. Construction Resources maintains its turnkey solutions under the main brand while simultaneously running a distribution arm that sells to other industry players. This dual approach allows them to vertically integrate their operations, with much of the natural stone displayed in their new Atlanta showroom sourced directly from their own distribution network.

Customer-Focused Amenities and Services

The showroom includes several unique elements designed to enhance the customer experience. A sports bar area allows less engaged spouses to watch games while their partners make selections. For those exploring products, QR codes provide instant product information access, and designers are encouraged to use the facility as their own workspace, with power outlets at islands and breakout rooms for client meetings.

To highlight innovation and integration of materials, the showroom features a rotating "Designer and Builder Focus Wall" that changes every 120 days, highlighting local industry professionals and their projects. The program typically features three designers and one builder per rotation, allowing them to select projects and specify exactly what they want to showcase. This initiative generates business for featured professionals while demonstrating the company's commitment to supporting the local design community.

CR Design Center Westside represents a new model for the building and design industry, one that prioritizes integration, customer experience, and service delivery. With Construction Resources' 55-year history and backing from The Home Depot, the facility sets a new standard for how design centers can serve both trade professionals and homeowners in an increasingly complex marketplace.