Best Practices: Interiors on Pleasant – April 2026

By Jessica Chevalier

Elaine and David DeLuco started Interiors on Pleasant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in 1992. David has previously owned a flooring store in Ohio and decided to launch a new venture when he moved to Pennsylvania. The early operation offered flooring—carpet, vinyl and a little ceramic—as well as window treatments and wallpaper. Today, Interiors on Pleasant has expanded to serve both residential and commercial flooring customers with a full scope of flooring and has added cabinets, countertops and lighting to its portfolio. Over its 34 years, the business has survived and thrived by knowing its customer and staking it niche.

BUSINESS STATS
Location:
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
Years in Business: 34
Number of Stores:
1
Annual Revenue:
$4 million to $10 million
Number of Employees:
10
Promotional Mix:
Word of mouth, community support
Affiliation:
Abbey Carpet & Floor

EXPANSION

In 1999, Interiors on Pleasant moved from its first location to a 20,000-square-foot freestanding building, allowing it to operate a 9,000-square-foot showroom and warehousing in the same place. 

Six years later, Elaine’s daughter, Alicia Scarpone, joined her mother and stepfather in the operation after a career change and the birth of triplets. Alicia had worked for regional department store Kaufmann’s as a manager until its acquisition by Macy’s. With her position duplicated, Alicia opted to take the severance and pursue a new opportunity. “The skills I acquired at Kaufmann’s were very transferable,” she says.

Alicia initially joined Interiors on Pleasant part time, mostly focusing on product data entry work when her kids were little, then growing her responsibilities from there. 

Today, Alicia handles merchandising, pricing and buying, Elaine manages the back office, and David does all the estimating work for both the residential and commercial arms of the business.

Along the way, the business changed, as well. “We used to be a Stainmaster Flooring Center,” recalls Alicia, “but we moved away when Invista sold that business to Lowe’s. Three years ago, we added cabinets and countertops. And about a year ago, we added a small lighting department.”

On the flooring side, Interiors on Pleasant offers everything but traditional, stocked area rugs, though it does offer made-to-order bound-and-serged broadloom that it produces on site. Often, these rugs are made from pieces in the store’s remnant room, which has about 200 remnants at a time.

The commercial side of the business focuses primarily on bid work for general contractors in the area as well as some mainstreet business. In addition, David and Elaine have a side business developing and building custom homes.

UNIQUE SOLUTIONS FOR A UNIQUE PLACE

Alicia believes that one of the ways Interiors on Pleasant has found success is by knowing and understanding its customer base. “This market is not as depressed as it seems. People have money to spend,” she says. “Residential remodel is our bread and butter. We do a lot of empty nesters because we are full-service, and no one else around here really offers that—flooring and installation.” Understanding all that, Interiors on Pleasant caters to the mid- to higher-end and operates the largest flooring showroom in Beaver County. She notes, “We have Karastan and Fabrica. We are a Karndean Platinum dealer. We focus on products that are a good value.” 

New-home construction isn’t especially active in Interiors on Pleasant’s locale, and the majority of existing homes the store services are mid-sized, at around 2,000 square feet.

Since 2007, five other flooring stores have closed in the area, which has left Interiors on Pleasant filling a large gap. As a result, the business’ main competition isn’t local operations but flooring businesses in Pittsburgh or the retail hub of Cranberry Township, about 20 minutes away.

  Interiors on Pleasant does not operate on a commission structure, and that is a key part of its full-service approach, as it encourages collaboration across the team. “Every person touches every job,” explains Alicia. “Everyone weighs in with an opinion, and that gives us an advantage. We are here to do a good job and make people happy.”

TEAM DYNAMICS

All Interiors on Pleasant’s sales staff have design experience. One individual has been in flooring for over 30 years. Another worked as a kitchen designer for an architect, while another came to the operation from the furniture world. For design training, Alicia particularly likes the programs and certifications offered by the National Kitchen & Bath Association. New hires are often found through local connections.

The installer shortage is something Alicia feels, though not acutely as of yet. “The installer batch we have are very good,” she explains. “We have been busy enough to keep them busy, even in the post-Covid era, when we were able to survive the huge upswing with the staff we had. However, because they are all a little older, it makes me nervous.” 

“The installer is the last person the client sees, so making sure they have a great experience is key—not just in the store but in their home, as well. We may have come up with a great vision, but it’s the installer’s job to make that vision a reality, and that can be a little scary.” 

STAYING ATOP THE TIMES 

“Our greatest challenge is how quickly consumer demand and shopping trends have changed,” says Alicia. 

Similarly, keeping up with customer-facing media is a challenge. “I am not a person who enjoys self-promotion,” says Alicia with a laugh, “and it’s a real struggle to put yourself out there on social media—to worry about trolls, bad customer posts, things being misconstrued.” 

Interiors on Pleasant primarily relies on word-of-mouth for attracting customers, as well as supporting community events and organizations. In addition, it does a little pay-per-click through Google. “We moved away from private sales after Covid because we have been able to keep up our momentum by offering what we offer and doing a good job,” says Alicia.