Northern Lights Design

    For Homeowners

    Choose Flooring, Tile & Countertops with Confidence

    Bring us your plans, measurements, photographs, and target budget. We'll help you compare materials, current lead times, and realistic next steps for your Northwest Montana project — before you order anything.

    Northern Lights Design is a specialty materials supplier — we don't perform installation. We help you select and source the material; your installer handles the labor.

    The Process

    What Working With Us Actually Looks Like

    Five steps from first conversation to material on the job site. No surprise fees, no pressure to decide in the showroom.

    1. Tell us what you're working on

    Step details

    Room, rough square footage, timeline, and a target budget range. Photos or a floor plan help, but a phone call works too. There's no obligation.

    2. Narrow the materials together

    Step details

    We walk the Lakeside or Kalispell showroom with you, pull the two or three product lines that actually fit the room's moisture, traffic, and light — and show you what they cost.

    3. Take samples home

    Step details

    Colors read completely differently under Montana winter light than under showroom lighting. Take the finalists home, live with them for a few days, then decide.

    4. Get a written materials quote

    Step details

    Product, waste allowance, trim and transitions, freight, and delivery — itemized. Installation is quoted separately by your installer, so you can see exactly what's ours and what's theirs.

    5. Order, stage, and deliver

    Step details

    We confirm current lead times before you commit, stage material at our Columbia Falls warehouse, and deliver to the job when your installer is ready — not three weeks early.

    Want the full sequence with timing and who owns each step? Read how our process works.

    Budget Planning

    Scope Your Project Before You Shop

    Knowing which tier you're in saves an enormous amount of time. Here's how most Flathead Valley projects break down.

    Refresh a single room

    One bedroom, an entry, or a small bath.

    More details

    Usually a stocked luxury vinyl, a carpet remnant or roll goods, or a straightforward porcelain tile. Fast to source, minimal lead time.

    Typical materials

    Material options

    Carpet, stocked LVP, standard-format porcelain

    Main-level remodel

    Kitchen, living, dining, and hall.

    More details

    This is where material continuity matters most — plan transitions, stair noses, and trim at the same time as the field material so you don't get surprised later.

    Typical materials

    Material options

    Engineered hardwood, rigid-core LVP, large-format tile, quartz counters

    Whole-home or new build

    Every finish coordinated across the house.

    More details

    We build a finish schedule with you so the flooring, tile, grout, and counters read as one palette instead of five separate decisions.

    Typical materials

    Material options

    Wide-plank oak, slab counters, designer tile, custom-bound rugs

    Not a Homeowner Project?

    If you're building or specifying for someone else, we have dedicated pathways for builders and designers (material sourcing and specification support) and for commercial buyers (specification review, life-cycle comparisons, phased procurement).

    Common Questions

    Homeowner Questions, Answered FAQ

    No. Northern Lights Design is a specialty materials supplier — we don't perform installation. We supply the product, help you select it, coordinate the finishes, and deliver to your job site. Installation is completed by qualified independent professionals you hire directly, and we're glad to refer installers we've worked alongside across the Flathead Valley.

    A walkthrough of your project with one of our expert team members, product recommendations matched to the room's moisture and traffic conditions, samples to take home, current lead times on anything you're considering, and an itemized written materials quote covering product, waste allowance, trim, freight, and delivery. It does not include measurement services or an installed-price quote, which come from your installer.

    Material cost is only part of the picture. Plan for the field material plus 7–12% waste, trim and transitions, underlayment or setting materials, freight, delivery, and separately, your installer's labor and any subfloor preparation. Bring us a rough square footage and a target number and we'll tell you honestly which product tiers are realistic before you fall in love with something out of range.

    Yes, and we strongly recommend it. Flathead Valley winter light is low, cool, and reflected off snow — it changes how oak tone, grout color, and quartz veining read. Take your finalists home, look at them in the actual room at morning and evening, and then come back.

    It depends entirely on the product. In-stock carpet, luxury vinyl, and common porcelain can move within days from our Columbia Falls warehouse. Standard-order flooring typically runs 1–3 weeks. Slab counters, imported tile, and special-order hardwood can run 4–8 weeks or longer. We confirm the current lead time in writing before you place the order so your installer can be scheduled around real dates.

    Lakeside (306 Stoner Loop, Suite 7) is our flagship: full-size hardwood and LVP racks, slab inventory, mosaic and field tile boards, and the rug-binding area. Kalispell (141 Alden Loop) is convenient off Highway 93 and carries trade samples, in-stock luxury vinyl, and slab access. If you're deciding on counters and tile together, start in Lakeside.

    A member of our team reaches out by phone or email, usually within one business day, to confirm your project scope and set a showroom time. Come prepared with rough measurements, photos of the space, a cabinet door or paint chip if you have one, and your target budget range — that first meeting gets far more done when we can compare materials in context.
    Materials and showroom resources
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    Materials for Your Project