arts & life

at home

A client’s Bloomfield Hills kitchen

continued from page 43

of Italy’s leading modern kitchen and bath
manufacturers, and we were known as Berloni
America,” Nusbaum sais. “We developed a
dealer network across the country to whom
we sold Berloni products and other European
manufacturers’ brands. Our distribution net-
work was the central hub for all of the dealers
when they ordered from and worked with
these overseas companies.”
That changed in 2014 when he decided
to re-invent his business. “We didn’t stop the
distribution,” he said. “We decided to expand
our offerings by developing relationships with
other European manufacturers — we met
them in Milan, and they were interested in
dealing with us — and we brought in three
other manufacturers of kitchens and also two
closet manufacturers, German and Italian, and
an Italian lighting products company.
“We became EuroAmerica Design and
opened the store to the public. That was a
great decision. The economy was starting
to turn, building was starting to go back up,
designers were starting to get busy and came
to us from our neighbor, Michigan Design
Center. That’s how the retail end of the busi-
ness kicked in.”
Nusbaum’s retail knowledge is well-rooted.
He is the grandson of New York Carpet
World’s founder Abe Nusbaum, and while
working alongside his father, Irving, saw that
company grow to be the biggest floor-covering
retailer in the country.
EuroAmerica Design is growing as well
and offers a wide selection of high-quality
European and American kitchen, bath, closet,

furniture and lighting collections from such
manufacturers as Val Design, Warendorf,
Greenfield, Crystal, Cerasa, Hulsta, SMA and
Arte di Murano.
The company has 12 employees, including
Bill Whitford, who worked at New York Carpet
World as executive vice president and has
been working with Nusbaum’s family for more
than 40 years. The firm also has full-service
interior designers on staff who can work with
customers who need expert guidance on how
to design the best-looking living spaces for
their homes.
“Working with a customer from initial
contact to drawing up plans to ordering the
products could take about two to four weeks,”
Nusbaum noted. “We have contractors who
can install our products, too, if needed. We
feature endless colors, finishes and textures,
and price points to match any budget, and
have entry-level items up to very high-level
products.”
And what’s the latest look, according to
Nusbaum?
“European contemporary trends, especially
those of Italy, have been popular for a couple
of years and include textured woods and lami-
nates, mixed and matched with solid color
lacquers in matte or gloss finish … White is
always a popular color, as is gray. And bath-
room vanities can be high-style, stand-alone
pieces of furniture, or more traditionally,
might incorporate cabinetry echoing that of
the kitchen.”
Houses fall in three categories, he explained:
traditional, transitional and contemporary.

continued on page 46

44 May 12 • 2016

An Arte Di Murano lighting fixture