“I like to help people make their spaces beautiful.”
What makes Emily Balter unique at Floortex Design is what makes her unique in the world. A young woman, who loves the people and the places of her home – and is inspired by them.
Sonoma County Landscape, by Emily.
Emily was born in Healdsburg, CA, just up the road from the Floortex Design store she manages today. As far back as she can remember, she has been drawing and painting the animals and hillsides and vineyards of Sonoma County, each piece a reflection of her love for the land and the life. Her first sold piece was a bright, proud rooster standing tall against a dreamy sunset. Today, she is working on a six-foot span of canvas, a landscape of the rolling hills that punctuate so much of the Sonoma Valley.
“The hills, the wildlife, the coastal fog and the people are what make Sonoma County home,” she says. “There is no better place to be.”
Years ago, when a friend she had known all her life told her there was an opening at Conklin Brothers flooring store in the heart of Sonoma County, she decided to give it a try. Nine years later, though the store name has changed, Emily remains there – still creating beautiful spaces large and small.
STORE MANAGER, PEOPLE MANAGER, PROJECT MANAGER
Emily is a people manager, a project manager, and a design consultant at Floortex. She and her team work with homeowners, developers, designers, and contractors to bring the vision of each project to life. When asked what her favorite part of her work is, she pauses a moment and says, “There is nothing better than standing in an empty lot, before ground has broken on a project, listening to the homeowner or contractor explain their vision for the space.”
One morning last summer (2022), she did just that. She listened intently as the contractor and the designer talked about a small development they would be building. They discussed the schedules, the look and feel, the color schemes for each home. The size and the span. And more. Over the coming months, and using her practical knowledge and intuition as a flooring expert and an artist, she would identify the right floors to enhance the look of each home. She would order the materials, schedule the craftsman, and manage every detail to ensure the floors would be flawless before the homeowner set foot inside the space.
And then work began.
By early spring 2023, she sent her crews to prepare the sub floors and then to install hardwood and carpet and LVP. By May, families were already moving in. Around the corner, the next phase was beginning.
“It’s a great day when you can be part of the transformation that takes place from idea to a complete home,” she breathes. And she’s right. Beauty, hard work, family. And flawless floors. What could be better?
EMILY’S ARTWORK
One of Emily Balter’s recent paintings.
When away from Floortex Design, you can still find Emily in front of a wide board, paintbrush in hand, bringing a new image of the Sonoma region to canvas. Her next project will be of a sleepy grey fox, who napped on her back deck all of last winter.
If you would like to see Mrs. Balter’s artwork, she is planning to have several pieces on display at the Fulton Crossing Gallery in Fulton, CA at the end of summer 2023.
