DALLAS — J.C. Penney announced Monday it’s moving into the major home appliance business.

The department store retailer, based in suburban Dallas, will begin selling kitchen and laundry appliances online this summer and roll the products out through showrooms in 500 of its stores by fall.

The move comes after a successful trial run of the product lines in several markets.

Penney has other home department initiatives underway as well. It will sell flooring with national carpet and flooring company Empire Today, and it’s rethinking how it sells furniture with Ashley Furniture, the largest maker and retailer of home furnishings in the U.S.

Penney, which before the recession had the largest U.S. market share for window coverings — one-third of all homes were dressed in its blinds, shades and curtains at the time — will also expand by 25 percent the floor space dedicated to window products in the 500 stores getting home appliances.

To make room, Penney will cut back floor space dedicated to furniture, including mattresses. Some stores will no longer carry furniture or mattresses.

The reconfigurations are part of Penney’s efforts to improve sales in its home department, which was dismantled during a failed transformation of the retailing giant led by former CEO Ron Johnson.

The home and furniture departments in more than 500 Penney stores were remodeled during his tenure and, upon reopening with Martha Stewart party goods, Jonathan Adler bedding and accessories, and other new offerings, fared poorly with traditional Penney shoppers and failed to attract new customers, resulting in plummeting sales in that category.