OK, so here's an actually useful picture of this store. Comparing it with
this view, I'm pretty sure Safeway repainted the store with this remodel, something that they only occasionally do in these Modern Decor remodels, and I'm kind of happy that they don't do it more often, since the single-color dark beige paint job isn't exactly the nicest look out there.
Is that a window unit A/C up in the window by the BECU sign on the left side of the store? It would be almost unheard of in modern times to see a visible window unit A/C at a major chain retailer here in Houston. Everything here has central A/C, of course.
ReplyDeleteAs for the exterior paint, yeah, I agree that it's not as good looking as what existed before. I'm most certainly not optimistic about seeing how this store looks on the inside with the 'Modern' remodel. It looked pretty nice and 'modern' with Lifestyle v2, but I suppose we'll see soon enough how it looks. I'll probably wish that the lights were out again so I didn't have to see it though, lol.
Ha, nope, that's just what the pivoting windows look like when open! This was a cold October day, so not exactly air conditioning weather (probably not open windows weather either, but who knows what the people in that office like...).
DeleteHonestly, I quite like the Modern decor, but I'm not particularly happy with the super-cheap remodels Safeway has been doing. Sure, many of these stores could really do with some remodel, but I wish they would have gone slower and done a proper job, like what they've done with the stores they've been converting from Albertsons.
Oh, ok, that makes sense about the windows. Of course, just as window unit A/Cs are rare here in Houston, people opening windows is also rare. It's usually far too hot and humid or cold to keep the windows open, lol. I doubt many retailers even install windows which can be opened.
DeleteI think I'd like the 'Modern' decor better if Safeway used nice quality floor covering, like the fake wood used at some of the recent Winn-Dixies, instead of bare concrete. I'm not sure what kind of flooring this Safeway has now, but I suppose that'll be part of the mystery!
I'm not entirely sure how I just stumbled upon this, and it's not at all related to anything Safeway, but did you know that the now former 1980s carpeting at the Portland, OR airport has a Wikipedia entry? I can't say I've ever seen a Wikipedia entry specifically about the flooring cover of a public place, but here it is and it's related to the NW!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_International_Airport_carpet
Around here, opening windows is all most of us have in the summer! Of course, larger buildings like grocery stores would typically have central air conditioning anyways. Honestly, I'd be perfectly happy with a window air conditioner, but very few places around here have windows that would accommodate them (sideways-sliding windows are the norm around here, rather than the vertically-sliding ones that you need for a window air conditioner).
DeleteThere are actually some Modern Decor stores that have fancy vinyl flooring, like this one. They have dark faux-wood in some departments, and faux-stone everywhere else (though the stone design is rather subtle so it doesn't look like anything special in pictures). Others do have bare concrete floors (and ones that typically aren't particularly well done), but the most common look is extremely plain white vinyl, which is my least favorite design (I recognize I'm in the minority there).
And yeah, I remember the controversy about that carpet a few years back! Personally, I've never thought carpet in airports was a great idea at all, and I much prefer the terrazzo floors that Seatac has (even if they're much less distinctive than that carpet was).
I can understand not liking the white vinyl flooring at a 'Modern' decor Safeway as there is a lot of white on the walls with that decor package. It makes things look excessively bland like PCC or something...though I know PCC has concrete floors. Still, while far from ideal, I think it's better than plain concrete in almost every application and it's certainly better than patchy, tile-scarred concrete. That's just my take on it though, we'll have to see what direction this Safeway took.
DeleteAs far as carpet in airports go, I suppose it depends. Very busy corridors in terminals might be better off with some sort of hard flooring, but waiting areas might be better off with carpet as carpet does reduce noise and it probably helps create a calmer environment.
It's probably a bit harder to pull luggage on carpet than it is to do so on tile, but as hard as this might be to believe, people carrying wheeled carry-on bags was not all that common in the 1980s when that carpet was installed in Portland or even through most of the 1990s. In fact, people would bring very little with them on the plane and most bags would be checked since there weren't additional fees for that at the time. Even then, a lot of checked suitcases didn't have wheels, or very good wheels, in the 1980s!
Here's a photo of a TWA Lockheed L-1011 widebody jet from 1979 showing that a lot of planes back then had very limited overhead locker space due to people not bringing much with them. By the late 1980s, small lockers would be installed in the center part of the plane, but it's nothing like a modern plane. Link: https://www.airliners.net/photo/Trans-World-Airlines-TWA/Lockheed-L-1011-385-TriStar/38549/L
Yeah, I may be young, but I remember the days of free checked bags, and how unhappy my parents were when fees started to be ubiquitous! I don't remember ever flying on a plane with quite such an open interior, though. I suspect the oldest plane I've flown on is a Northwest DC-10 between Seattle and Amsterdam a few times, but that was something like 15-20 years ago now, so I can't remember very well... but from looking at the pictures, those planes certainly still looked quite different inside to modern ones. While I'd love to go back to the days of free checked bags, I wouldn't be so happy with non-rolling suitcases!
DeleteOh, and back on the original topic... if anyone can make vinyl floors look trashier than concrete ones, it's Safeway! That's not even an old floor, it's one that's only a few weeks old, just installed as part of my Pinehurst Safeway's remodel. It's a little better now, but it's still not great, with the seams between new and old white vinyl being quite apparent.
Wow, that flooring looks pretty bad. It's not the worst Safeway floor I've seen, which would have to go to this Florida Safeway below, but it's pretty bad.
Deletehttp://albertsonsfloridablog.blogspot.com/2017/03/troubles-in-altamonte-springs.html
Then again, I've seen in person some real concrete floor disasters like the HEB closest to me. This used to be a beautiful Randall's store until about a decade ago, but it was turned into this disaster:
https://goo.gl/maps/RXfPeEboeePhCZw37
https://goo.gl/maps/hU69Rf44Y2GZaXLHA
I'd certainly take that white Safeway floor above over that recreation of the parking lot inside my local HEB, lol.