Carved in Stone
Colonial Marble & Granite refines the client experience to make kitchen and bath renovations more convenient, comprehensive, and enjoyable than ever.
Some companies achieve a certain level of success and simply coast. Colonial Marble & Granite, on the other hand, shows no signs of slowing down in its quest to better serve its growing list of clients.
While Colonial Marble & Granite has a long and well-established history as the go-to destination for high-quality stone, it has since expanded into offerings such as tile, sinks, and faucets, among other areas. It has not stopped there. The King of Prussia-based company has made strides to become a provider of comprehensive design services, with the goal of becoming an all-in-one resource for home renovations. King of Prussia is the flagship location; however, the company has additional locations throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware, and will soon expand into New Jersey, which the company already services. Design services are first being launched at the King of Prussia showroom.
Sandra Phillips, Colonial Marble & Granite’s senior vice president of sales, marketing, and design, has overseen the company’s expansion of services. Phillips suggests homeowners can now complete all aspects of a kitchen renovation through one central source, effectively eliminating the need to coordinate different aspects of a renovation with multiple vendors. She describes the design experience as “something clients will not find anywhere else.”
Colonial Marble & Granite built its reputation on its extensive selection of natural stone. With more than 5,000 slabs in excess of 500 colors, the company’s slab yard at its sprawling King of Prussia showroom includes one-of-a-kind slabs cut from exotic stone, as well as other offerings that cannot be found anywhere else. One example is a 5,400-square-foot swath of its showroom devoted solely to quartz.
“The concept was to take the quartz product and showcase it in an environment normally used to select natural stone,” says Phillips, who has an extensive background in high-end residential and commercial design in Manhattan. “Clients usually buy quartz based on small samples. By putting whole slabs on the wall, clients can see the repeat, pattern, graining, color, and detail. It’s a feast for the eyes.”
Partnerships with key vendors have made the quartz room truly unique. Phillips says quartz providers such as Caesarstone, Cambria, Cosentino, LX Building Materials, and MSI have “risen to the occasion” by creating compelling designs that mimic natural stone.
“There is nothing like natural stone, but quartz is a very good secondary product that offers great durability and low maintenance,” she adds. “We now display quartz just like we display natural stone, so you can truly get the look and feel of it. Right now this setup is only at our King of Prussia showroom, but at some point we will look to recreate our quartz room on a smaller scale at our satellite locations.”
Colonial Marble & Granite also stands at the forefront of next-generation technology for the home. By pooling its resources with a sister company, Colonial Smart Homes, Colonial Marble & Granite can incorporate smart-home functionality into its kitchen designs.
“No one in the industry has a specialization in smart kitchens, and that’s part of our growth,” she says. “Say someone wants to program an oven, a faucet, or some other kitchen appliance; now you will be able to control all that in one place. We have figured out a way to take our smart-home services and bring all those services together under one app.”
While Colonial Marble & Granite happily works with clients who have partnered with an architect or designer, the company also offers the services of a project manager who can oversee every detail of their renovation. Phillips says this is just another way to serve different clients and their different needs, no matter which point on the spectrum they may be starting.
‘Things People Have Never Seen Before’
Colonial Marble & Granite’s design center grew out of the simple act of listening to clients. When homeowners said they wanted more services from a company they have come to know and trust, Colonial Marble & Granite responded. The design center currently focuses on kitchen and bath design, including a curated collection of cabinet styles, textures, and species of wood under the house Adonis brand, but the company eventually wants to offer a design studio that caters to whole-house design.
Colonial Marble & Granite’s design center grew out of the simple act of listening to clients. When homeowners said they wanted more services from a company they have come to know and trust, Colonial Marble & Granite responded. The design center currently focuses on kitchen and bath design, including a curated collection of cabinet styles, textures, and species of wood under the house Adonis brand, but the company eventually wants to offer a design studio that caters to whole-house design.
“The beauty of what we’re offering is to help people with everything from start to finish,” Phillips says. “Clients can take care of everything with our designers right in the studio—kitchen design, hardware, countertops, lighting, paint. For every aspect of the kitchen, we can do all of that for you under one roof, because we are the fabricator.”
Phillips credits Nikos Papadopoulos, president of Colonial Marble & Granite, for the “imaginative and emotional experience” the company provides to clients. She says Papadopoulos has spent a tremendous amount of time and care making sure each client has a top-notch experience, including hand-selecting every stone that makes its way into the showroom.
“Nikos is always thinking outside the box and thinking about what else we can offer so we can rise to the occasion for what customers are looking for,” she adds. “He has his finger on the pulse, and that has guided us in understanding what we can do better and what we need to do more of. That kind of continual reinvention is what’s so inspiring about working here.”
As a convenience to clients, Colonial Marble & Granite now offers in-home estimates, which Phillips characterizes as “a highly personalized experience.” No matter how clients connect with Colonial Marble & Granite, the company wants them to feel comfortable, taken care of, and prioritized.
That includes some of the biggest names on local airwaves. Colonial Marble & Granite has completed kitchen renovations for Cindy and Merrill Reese, the latter being the voice of the Eagles on SportsRadio 94WIP; Rhea Hughes from the SportsRadio 94WIP Morning Show; and Andie Summers, host of The Andie Summers Show on 92.5 XTU. In the near future, the company will also complete a renovation for Anthony Gargano of The Anthony Gargano Show on 97.5 The Fanatic.
“If those people are willing to talk about us, it shows that we are a trusted brand,” Phillips says. “They’re talking about us and they’re supporting us, but if they’re also coming here to trust us with their homes, it shows that they truly believe in what we’re doing.”
Recent advances suggest Colonial Marble & Granite will continue to refine the overall client experience. Phillips says clients can expect the company to build on its commitment to bold new products, cutting-edge resources, and top-notch customer service.
“As we continue to navigate the world of design, we will be bringing in all types of new products—products nobody has seen around here,” she says. “We will be bringing in tiles, fixtures, and other products that, until now, only people in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami have been able to get. We will continue to carry products people are familiar with, but we have searched high and low for things people have never seen before.”
Colonial Marble & Granite
colonialmarble.net
colonialmarble.net
475 S. Henderson Road
King of Prussia, PA
(610) 994-2222
King of Prussia, PA
(610) 994-2222
768 Corporate Circle
New Cumberland, PA
New Cumberland, PA
(717) 774-2110
2000 Washington Ave.
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 732-7800
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 732-7800
240 S. DuPont Highway
New Castle, DE
(302) 947-3000
New Castle, DE
(302) 947-3000
Photograph by Nina Lea Photography
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, May 2022.
