Basement = A Midwest Necessity

As a Midwesterner, you quickly realize we enjoy all four seasons. Each season brings it’s own set of amazingness and challenges. In the summer, we enjoy the outdoors with swimming, boating, camping, gardening and grilling! We also realize the hottest part of the day is sometimes needing to enjoy a few hours indoors cooling off. In the winter, we sled and snowboard and snowplow, ice fish, take winter walks or hikes. We also need a warm place to congregate when the wind is brutal. In the spring we have tornado warnings and in the fall we have Husker football parties!

What do all those activities have in common? They all call for a functional space in your home to serve a variety of needs. Guess what? A great basement fits the bill on ALL those needs. So your next question might be, what does a great basement have in it?

A good basement has these qualities.

  1. Excellent storage
  2. A half bathroom…even better, a 3/4 shower
  3. An inviting gathering place, such as a bar area that includes a sink, seating and a frig.
  4. Proper lighting
  5. Proper Drainage
  6. A focus on functionality
  7. Proper air circulation
  8. A good layout
  9. Proper “exits”
  10. Enough ceiling height

Is there a basement quality that you would add? If we missed something, let us know. It might be worth adding to this inexhaustible list. For if we’ve learned anything. It’s that us Midwesterners, really need a solid basement!

Phillips Tile & Stone has worked on a few basements in since we opened our business doors in 2010. Sometimes, we don’t get a photo. Sometimes, homeowners send us photos. We then turn around and share what amazing clients we have but showing off their new spaces!

Below is a photo of LVP installed by Phillips Tile & Stone. Here is the reel you can see the entire basement transformation!

Omaha and the best it has to offer!

How is your summer going? Have you been swimming yet? Have you cooked burgers on the grill? Vacation? I’m amazed how quickly these months pass.

For the past two years, starting in July, our company has participated in Best of Omaha. It’s a fun competition amongst local businesses to earn the people’s vote as BEST in our awesome city. There are categories of all sorts. YOU, as the consumer, have the ability to recognize these hard working small businesses by voting every single day (or just once) for them!

Phillips Tile & Stone would absolutely adore your vote for Best Tile Installer in Omaha! If there are other categories you think we fall under, by all means, type in Phillips Tile & Stone in that additional category!!

Basically, this is telling the company you appreciate them without spending any money.

Here is our quick voting code. The link might go to your spam box, so check there and then vote!

In the meantime, Phillips Tile & Stone will continue to install amazing spaces! We love ya, Omaha.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best of Omaha Tile Installer

Every year I look forward to this holiday a little more. There is something endearing about a holiday that’s sole purpose is to “Give Thanks.”

No matter the weather you are experiencing as you celebrate this wonderful holiday. Whether you have decided to dress up or down. Let’s take some time to think about what we have to be thankful for. Since this is our company blog, I’ll come at it from the perspective of Phillips Tile & Stone, but please, take your own situation and think about what YOU have to be thankful for.

So with that, here are 10 things we (Phillips Tile & Stone) are thankful for as a company.

  1. Best of Omaha– 2022 Tile Installer: THANK YOU to ALL of YOU who voted! We are deeply honored!
  2. We are thankful for our subcontractors who demonstrate their craftsmanship abilities day in and day out. Without these guys, Trevor wouldn’t be able to accomplish half of what he does. Because of these craftsmen, we can take on more projects and help more clients! Thank you men!
  3. Word of Mouth- we are thankful for all of you who share the Phillips Tile & Stone name! It’s not easy owning a small business. However, our supportive clients make it worth it.
  4. The people we get to meet and help, it’s amazing. We GET to help families and businesses by creating and installing functional and beautiful spaces.
  5. We are thankful for 11 years of business. Trevor started Phillips Tile & Stone in 2010. Thank you to ALL who have utilized our growing company and services.
  6. We are thankful we get to run this business as a husband and wife team.
  7. This company helps teach our kids the meaning and value of hard work.
  8. We GET to help make Omaha beautiful. Need to set up a free estimate? Let’s make your space beautiful.
  9. We GET to create jobs and careers! We are honored to teach, train and create job opportunities locally.
  10. It’s truly amazing what can happen when you set your mind out to do something. We are thankful for the lessons we’ve learned and the growth that has taken place since we were 26 year old’s and starting Phillips Tile & Stone!

It’s your turn now, we hope you take the time ( it only takes 10 minutes or so) to drum up 10 things you are thankful for. I guarantee it’ll change your mindset and help you enjoy this wonderful holiday with new perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Here are a few pictures of what we are thankful for.

Remember & Honor

Today we remember those who died while in active military service. We took our kids to the Omaha National Cemetary and read the numerous headstones. We noticed what branch they served in. What war(s) they fought in. We noticed if they were buried with their spouse. We noticed the somber man who went to visit a grave. We noticed the pennies/coins left on headstones. We took it all in. It’s humbling.

I hope we teach our children to be thankful for the freedoms we have in America. We have these freedoms because of brave military men and women. We remember those who fought and served.

 “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

ARLINGTON, VA – MAY 27: Mary McHugh mourns her slain fiance Sgt. James Regan at “Section 60” of the Arlington National Cemetery May 27, 2007. Regan, a US Army Ranger, was killed by an IED explosion in Iraq in February of this year, and this was the first time McHugh had visited the grave since the funeral. Section 60, the newest portion of the vast national cemetery on the outskirts of Washington D.C, contains hundreds of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Family members of slain American soldiers have flown in from across the country for Memorial Day. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Prep work makes the dream project work.

If you follow our Instagram account, you’ll see me sharing a lot about the prep work that Trevor and our small crew put into projects. I don’t think I can emphasis just how much Trevor focuses on installing a project properly. You can differentiate an excellent contractor from the subpar contractors by the way they back up their work. Keep that in mind as you search and get estimates.

Our company is finishing up a project that other companies wouldn’t touch because it required building up and leveling out a floor in several different areas. If you follow us on Instagram you can see our current projects. After Trevor and the guys demolished, built, poured and prepped they were ready to install LVP. Now that the floors are all the same height not only is it safer but it’s more pleasing to the eye.

I cannot tell you how many times we’ve gotten calls to have our crew come and fix something another contractor started. Please, do your due diligence and make sure you are hiring a reputable company! When you’re ready, we offer FREE estimates, and we can’t wait to install the space you’ve always wanted!

Merry Christmas 2022

This family business is once again sending our Christmas card on the blog. Our clients become friends. So it only makes sense to send our Christmas greetings out this way. To our friends that sent cards and letters. We adore displaying them in our home. Please don’t ever stop sending your Christmas love.

I will tell our 2022 story by photos. This year has been one of growth and stretching. In our family and business.

Our kids played a lot of sports (soccer, baseball, basketball and flag football), they learned new instruments (saxophone and trumpet), they went on field trips, tried summer camp for the first time, swam a bunch and learned more as we homeschooled together. They performed in plays. Our kids also grew in entrepreneurship. We are thankful they enjoy working hard and seeing the fruits of their labor.

As a family, we went on a couple trips.

Phillips Tile & Stone kept busy! We installed for a new business opening in Bennington called Cup & Cone, it’s a super cute new coffee and ice cream shop, be sure to check them out! We installed and designed spaces for homeowners. Our crew learned new skills as we shifted the business a bit. We were once again humbled by your votes for Best of Omaha.

As Christmas quickly approaches and then a New Year is set to arrive, we want to take a minute and thank you for using Phillips Tile & Stone. Thank you from our family and our crew’s families. We enjoy serving you with exceptional craftsmanship and design assistance.

The Phillips Family & Phillips Tile & Stone Crew

A Thankful, Small Business Saturday

We hope you are finding many reasons to be thankful for this year. Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving. As much as I tried, I couldn’t slip away to write a Thanksgiving blog post. We have so much to be thankful for this year. So with a grateful heart, I will still write because a thankful heart is good year-round.

This year our sixth baby was born. Birth is a miracle and we thank God for the blessing of children. We celebrated our third consecutive Best of Omaha Tile Installer win! We are so grateful for the clients, family and friends who take the time to vote for Phillips Tile & Stone! We thank God for renewed health, provision and another year of memories.

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. We strive to give our clients the best installation price, while also installing quality. We don’t play a number game, so there won’t be any glitzy sales or promos. We’d rather spend our time installing amazing spaces for our clients. So even though we aren’t having a discount day, please continue to show support to local, small businesses. Your referrals, likes, comments, and continued support help provide a purposeful living for several local families. Thank you for trusting Phillips Tile & Stone with your construction needs!

Trevor & Michelle Phillips and the Phillips Tile & Stone Team

Happy 12th Birthday, Phillips Tile & Stone!

As you would celebrate anything that you’ve put years of hard work into…today we celebrate Phillips Tile & Stone’s preteen era!

For the past 12 years, we have been installing beautiful spaces either locally, in small towns nearby or a few times our crew as even traveled to install masterpieces in residential or commercial spaces.

The timeline of Phillips Tile & Stone will always blow my mind. We were married in 2009. The economy was terrible and after much looking Trevor decided to start his own business after the company he was with couldn’t survive. Phillips Tile & Stone was created in 2010. In 2011, we had our first baby! Those first years of marriage and business owning and parenthood were HARD. We are so incredibly thankful for our clients, employees, subcontractors and referrals. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

We are so excited to welcome this New Year in with you! 2022.

This year we are dedicated to install beautiful and functional spaces that will serve your families for decades to come.

Thank you for telling your friends and family about Phillips Tile & Stone. It’s an honor when you recommend the company to those you love.

Merry Christmas from the Phillips!

“It’s the best time of the year,” that’s what our 8 year old likes to say! Merry Christmas from the Phillips family. We hope you are enjoying all the coziness this season brings. Is anyone else in disbelief we are already in December? January will usher in a New Year. To us, it felt like 2021 went incredibly fast. Every year we realize how fast a year can pass. We hope you conquered personal goals and made 2021 the most successful it could possibly be despite everything going on. If we have learned anything, we’ve learned grit and determination and prayer go a long way during difficult times. If 2021 was a difficult year for you, we’d be honored to pray for you.

2021 brought some highlights for us as a family/company and those highlights are…

-Finding out about baby #6, we are due in March of 2022! We are excited and praying for a healthy baby.

-Moving. We are so thankful we found a house with the market as crazy as it was. Is? Who is keeping track. 🙂

-Squeezing in a few family trips before summer ended. It was crazy, especially after moving trying to make all the trips happen that had previously been scheduled, but so glad that we made that effort.

-Winning Best of Omaha for Phillips Tile & Stone, THANK YOU to all who voted!! It’s not lost on us that YOUR votes are what made it happen. We will continue to provide and install exceptional craftsmanship and value to YOU, our clients.

-We are thankful for the connections we’ve made here in Omaha. We are finding so much joy in deepening our roots in this wonderful city we’ve been planted.

Thank you for being our family friend or a friend of the company. We appreciate you all so incredibly much. Merry Christmas!

The Phillips Family and Phillips Tile & Stone Team

Merry Christmas from Phillips Tile & Stone and the Phillips family.