FLEMING ISLAND – Big things happen in the little boutique shop at Southern Brothers Flooring and Cabinets in the corner of the Winn-Dixie Plaza on County Road 220. 

Owner Doug Mooneyhan’s and tile/flooring/bathrooms sales associate CJ Nelson’s imaginations aren’t confined by square footage or a budget. Their creativity is a blank canvas, open to interpretation and creativity, where a basic idea can be transformed into a dream space. 

After working for another company for 30 years, Doug took a leap of faith and started his own company on Fleming Island. With no money or clientele in reserve, Southern Brothers has flourished in the past year by supplying quality flooring, bathroom, kitchen and cabinet materials while working with trusted contractors to complete most jobs quicker and cheaper than others. 

“The contractors are not strangers to us,” Nelson said. “They're essentially friends of the family. We've worked with them for years and can keep prices down. We handle the project from the management side. Ultimately, it's a group effort. As far as getting these projects done today, there are big contracting fees and stuff like that. You don't see that here.” 

Nelson said the thrill comes from envisioning the final product before the first old flooring tile or cabinet is removed and seeing the homeowner’s expression when the job is done. Most homeowners aren’t sure what they want. They know they need a change. 

“We don't just sell material; we help color coordinate,” he said. “You know, as much as Doug's been designing cabinets for somebody else for the last decade, he's now doing it on his own. He knows what the trends are. 

“And for myself, an unofficial artist of some sort, being able to make sure the cabinet color coordinates with the quartz countertop, with the backsplash, with the floor that's going in, all those things are decisions that all come together at the same time. “It’s not let's do this, then let's do this, then let's do this. You got to look at them all together.” 

Southern Brothers has taken on big jobs like knocking down walls, expanding rooms and remodeling an entire house. They’ve also been asked to spruce up a bathroom or brighten a dungy kitchen. 

“We may be just a little boutique shop,” Nelson said, “but we’ve got something for everybody.”