Carpet Lover: More than just carpets
By Brian Cronin Contributing Writer
Business name: Carpet Lover Etc. Address: 1 Connector Road, Westborough Background: Dave Halterman and Maryann Blais have been in the flooring business for almost 40 years. David started out as an installer in 1969 and then opened his first flooring supply and installation business in 1983. Maryann joined shortly thereafter and as the business grew they moved to downtown Westborough in 1992. In 1999, fire destroyed the building and stock, but in early 2000, they moved to their current in-home business showroom.

Carpet Lover, 1 Connector Road, Westborough

What separates Carpet Lover Etc. from larger suppliers/wholesalers? "We are a high-end store, much more specialized," Maryann said. "We are one of a very few local dealers that offer Fabrica, a high-end line of flooring products not offered in other larger do-it-yourself-type places. We offer everything here as well, not just carpet, all types of flooring from vinyl to tile and real hardwoods to wood laminates.

"We do it all ourselves here from start to finish, selection to design to install … We stand behind our work and products, offering a one-year warranty on installations on top of all the standard manufacturers' warranties for products."

What would you like people to know about Carpet Lover? "We really want people to know we are still here. A lot of people thought we went out of business after the fire. Our location is not where you expect, but … we have a complete showroom here and stand behind everything and take a lot of pride and care in what we do. And it shows in a lot of our repeat customers because of the way we treat our customers … It's a nice thing to be recognized and to have fun and spend quality time with them beyond the 'Hurry up, pick out your rugs, I have 15 customers behind you' kind of treatment at larger stores. For us it's personal and we enjoy what we do." For more information on products and services: Visit www.carpetlover.com.