We are currently featuring the mixed media artwork of Hagop Belian in our West Hollywood design center. Hagop was born and raised in Syria. He was in his teenage years when he moved to the United States. While at the University of California Santa Cruz, he found a love for creativity. He started experimenting with different mediums such as painting, photography and mixed media. Hagop says, “the inspiration for my artwork is rooted in the realm of what is felt rather than what is seen and is an exploration of emotions based on reminiscences of the past. It represents rebirth, transformation, truth and change.”
Dan O’Neill from our West Hollywood office is really excited about having Hagop’s work! Dan comments, “Hagop uses reclaimed and repurposed materials from everyday life and with mixed media has created a nice colorful spot in our foyer. His art is of a similar natural reclaimed spirit. He also includes lots of traditional good luck symbols that welcome new clients into our space, and act as a positive omen for our young location.”
Also, check out Hagop’s other work at his website
Check out the photos of Hagop’s work in our foyer.
Come and see if for yourself at 405 North Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: August 28, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Filed under: Regions
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Social Bookmarks: 
| 
| 
| 
TrackBack (0)
A few folks from our Denver office presented our wide plank wood floors at the Green Frontier Festival this past Sunday!
Here’s the report from Kevin, regional sales manager for Carlisle’s Denver office:
“This festival was a very pleasant surprise. While my hopes were high for a decent showing I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The fact it was occurring while the Democratic National Convention is here in Denver made me more excited at the possible opportunities. Booths varied from acupuncturists to “zero-net energy” neighborhoods (these neighborhoods actually produce their own energy). While organic food booths, environmentally friendly bag and clothing companies were around there were also more industrial based companies exhibiting that were focused on solar and wind power.
We purchased the last available space at the show and obviously had no ability to select its location. As luck would have it we were in the busiest thoroughfare in and out of the festival.
Chris Acosta and Mike Schuster were very helpful splitting the day with me at the booth. Booth received about the same number of leads and talked about Carlisle and our Green approach to flooring very well”
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: August 26, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
It was an exciting event and drew sixty people to the seminar held in Palo Alto. The 30-minute presentation format allowed for each company’s educational snippet and a thorough question and answer session—where the audience was very enthusiastic and involved.
The speakers were: Amy Dryden from Build It Green (a LEED-like organization), Terry Alsberg of Warmboard, Paul Izenstark also of Warmboard (on the subject of solar heat) and Dan O’Neill from Carlisle Wide Plank Floors.
John Noble, also a member of the Warmboard group, gave me these details, “We diligently held to the speaker’s 30 minute allotment, as it became clear we’d blow past the time we had committed. We had two speakers go, then took a short bio break, and got right back to work. We decorated the walls with some plan sets that Jennifer (Build It Green) printed- a nice array of projects and I observed many people checking them out before the start and during the break. The room was extremely attentive and packed. Excellent questions were asked, the audience was clearly engaged in the material.”
“This was a very strong event. Because I spoke last, I had time to mingle and gauge the interest levels and subjects that people were in attendance to learn about. The group was very diverse with professionals, and different levels of knowledge on the various subjects. One of the most positive things was the amount of questions and interaction throughout,” shares Dan O’Neill Regional Manager of Carlisle’s West Hollywood location
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: August 21, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
Joshua Bodwell is a Maine writer and the Associate Editor of Maine HOME+DESIGN, a magazine dedicated to “capturing the interiors, exteriors, and heart of Maine homes.” From Revolutionary War-era farmhouses to rehabbed industrial lofts in downtown Portland, Josh Bodwell has seen and written about them all. The Surface caught up with the ever-busy Bodwell to get his thoughts on wide plank flooring.
You've seen a lot of great homes in your position as associate editor at Maine HOME + DESIGN, have you noticed the increased use of wide plank flooring?
Wood flooring is almost ubiquitous in great Maine homes. In a state that is so valued for its forests and connection to the outdoors, it is not surprising. Many Maine designers—whether they are architects or interior designers—use wood flooring to re-knit a home to the land beyond its walls.
Why do you think wide plank flooring is becoming so popular?
I think the rise in wide plank flooring’s popularity can be attributed to several factors.
First, I would note the obvious: it looks great. From a design standpoint, the long, continuous lines achievable with wide planks can be used as a room’s key design element.
Next, I would have to speculate that the power of nostalgia plays a big part when homeowners in Maine—whether they are year-round residents or second home owners—select this type of flooring for their project. This theory is based upon the dozens of conversations Maine HOME+DESIGN staff has had with countless people in the home building and design field. We hear time and again that there is just something so warm and memorable about wide plank flooring—I personally always relate it to the wide pine floors in my grandparent’s 150-year-old house.
Lastly, in a time when “sustainability” is on the tips of many tongues, using pine flooring that comes from forests that are being forested with sustainable practices is very appealing to consumers. Utilizing reclaimed wood for flooring is even better—this is not recycling, but upcycling, by which I mean, taking something that is already made and giving it a new, more valuable and sustainable life.
Statistics show that demand for antique flooring has doubled over the last ten years. Are you seeing more homes with reclaimed wood, antique floors, as well as more recycled or salvaged materials in general?
Yes, we see homes all the time with reclaimed wood, antique floors. In fact, two weeks ago I was visiting with the wildly talented furniture maker Eric Ritter of Ritter Furniture and we spent a long time talking about the reclaimed wood floors that he had laid in his 175-year-old colonial farmhouse.
Recycled and salvaged materials are constantly popping up in Maine homes. I think the state has a long history of this sort of smart frugality. These days, there are reasons beyond frugality to use such materials. Again, as I stated previously, consumers are becoming more savvy about where the components of their home come from, how they are manufactured, and how they impact the earth. Antique flooring scores high with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, or LEED, and many people give serious credence to their advice.
What kind of aesthetic do you find wide plank flooring giving homes on the coast? In the interior of the state?
As I said earlier, wide plank flooring seems to be a perfect fit for the Maine design vernacular—in the interior of the state, it offers echoes of old barns and farmhouses; along the coast, it epitomizes our ideals of the perfect beachside cottage.
The aesthetics possible with wood flooring are, as I also said earlier, limitless. A few examples of homes we’ve featured in Maine HOME+DESIGN come to mind:
Back in May, 2007 we featured a home in a piece entitled “Island Elegance.” In that home (which included Douglas fir walls and ceilings) the antique southern yellow pine floors gave the small island home an added level of sophistication.
In June of that same year we featured an early 1880s farmhouse in South Freeport where the homeowner (who is also an interior designer) picked old wide-pine-board floors and gave the space an almost French countryside aesthetic.
Lastly, a Goose Rocks Beach home featured in our new issue, “Land of Leisure” (August, 2008), has gorgeous wide pine floors throughout. While some could argue that pine isn’t “strong” enough to withstand the wear and tear of sand-covered feet, the homeowner and architect felt strongly that the natural aging of the wide pine would add beautifully to the beach cottage-meets-farmhouse aesthetic that they were aiming for.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 13, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (2)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: antique wood, design magazines, home building, interior design, Maine homes, reclaimed wood, recycling, renovation, sustainability, wide plank flooring
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
Krista Stokes is one of Maine's hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design. She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the "Lazy Days" cottage. Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout New England.
The Floor
No Knock on Wood
Krista: Go for the hardwood, wide plank floor because of "the feel" of it. And the way it sounds. The feeling of wood is what I go for-everything else is secondary. You can do anything you want with it. It's a really versatile tool. You're not pigeon-holed into anything.
Taking Wide Planks One Step Beyond
Krista: I love going into a place that has a floor laid in an unexpected way. It gives people a chance to make the statement: "You know, I actually thought about my floor." Anytime you can say that in your home in a nice and easy way, it's great design.
For example, you can always take what one would expect a hardwood floor to be and change it. This ranch I'm doing now is really long. It already goes on forever. So instead of doing the floors lengthwise, we said let's cut the room in half and lay the planks short-wise. You enter through the French doors and on the other side of the room is York Harbor. The floor takes the distance of your eye and shortens it. Now you walk in the door and the wood takes your eye outside to the harbor because the floor is pointing you that way.
If I were a Carpenter:
Krista: Carpenters can lay your planks at an angle, do an original design, a compass rose, or parquet your floor. You can do anything you want. The sky's the limit if you can find somebody who likes to work with wood for wood's sake or craft's sake.
The Décor
Come Together:
Krista: Hardwood flooring is the most versatile thing in your house. It will do whatever you want it to. It's all about the décor.
You can take the same heart pine wide plank floor and:
Put a chrome table, with chrome and black leather seats, on that floor. Paint the wall bright red and hang motorcycle parts on it. Place a juke box in the corner. If you like that sort of thing, you'll be thinking, "Sweet." You've got a floor that is perfect for the room.
Then take all that away, and hang ship wheels on the wall. Place an old farmer's table in the center of the room, and put up a fireplace mantle with a boat on it. And wow, the floor's perfect for that room.
Clear those pieces out and bring in some Angela Adams elements like an area rug or print, an espresso nut dark wood table with white leather chairs, and a bowl of fruit and a side board. Now you're contemporary and funky, yet traditional. And the floor is still perfect.
As long as you are following other rules that balance out your design and balance out the objective of what you want the room to feel like, you're going to be successful with a wide plank floor. Everything adds up to create the atmosphere you want.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 12, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Decor
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: Angela Adams, contemporary home design, decor, design elements, Favela Chic, floor use, hardwood flooring, home design, Krista Stokes, Maine homes, vintage home design, wide plank flooring, wood floors
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
Hi, my name is Gary Ryer and I’ve been working at Carlisle Wide Plank Floors as a sales and design consultant for ten years. Over the years, I’ve had some pretty interesting projects. I’m writing to share with you a very special project that I’m working on in Chicago. It’s the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn and the architect I’m working with is Constantine Vasilios. We have worked together to build a beautiful FSC Certified Antique Oak wide plank floor, part of which will feature a special hand crafted pattern. Carlisle Wide Plank Floors donated the FSC Certified Antique Oak as part of the charity building effort to make a cozy, safe home for local children and families.
I thought I would share this interior sketch:
Also, here’s an exterior sketch of the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn.
I’ll have more updates as the project moves on…hopefully some pictures of the progress too!
Take care,
Gary
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: at 9:39 AM
Filed under: Guest
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
Krista Stokes is one of Maine's hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design. She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the "Lazy Days" cottage. Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout the region.
The Surface sat down with Krista to discuss aspects of decorating for spaces with wide plank flooring. For the record, the interview was conducted in a public place. It was also repeatedly (and pleasantly) interrupted by a number of Krista's clients who couldn't pass by without saying hello and talking about their homes. It's clear that Krista has the makings of a fan club on the Maine coast. And she has a philosophy when choosing flooring materials:
It's the Wood:
Krista: For me, it's the wood. It's part of the earth. When you walk into a room and see beautiful hardwood floor, it's a feeling that you get. I love the light reflection of it. I love the sound of hardwood. It's a great way to give a space energy. The wood has traveled long and hard. Regardless of its history, whether it came out of an old farm in Ohio or a forest in Brazil, it's traveled. Just to bring that into the home means a great deal.
Floors Tell Stories.
Krista: I recently went through a big debate with some clients. The wife really wanted a wide plank floor. The husband wasn't thrilled. They have a dog and he didn't want the dog's nails to scratch the floor. I said, "Listen guys, it's life. Let life screw up your floors. Don't get your floors and then want them to stay the way they are."
Floors all tell stories. It's getting harder and harder for us to instill history with the next generation. A lot of people want to leave a history for their children, but don't want to relinquish the control of modernity.
But, it's okay. Don't sweat it. It's a floor. It's supposed to be walked on. Kids are going to run across it. It's supposed to have dogs' paws on it. The wood has survived this long and it will survive much longer than us humans. The first thing you notice when you walk into a room with a wide plank floor is, "Wow, what a great floor." If you see where a child's toy car left a skid mark, then you might think, "Hey, what happened?" It's family history.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Decor
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: decor, family history, Favela Chic, floor use, home design, Krista Stokes, Maine homes, wide plank hardwood floor
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
Carpenters often refer to salvaged materials as coming from "the industrial forest." This somewhat comical slang indicates a growing awareness in the building industry of the importance of recycling classic wood and lumber. The US Forest Service reported:
"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the equivalent of 250, 000 single-family homes is disposed of each year in the United States. This represents nearly 1 billion board feet of salvageable structural lumber per year, equivalent to about 3% of the current US softwood harvest. Much of the lumber available for salvage through deconstruction is from decades of old-growth harvest and represents a resource largely unavailable from any other source. As a result, much of the wood is of higher structural and aesthetic quality (higher density, slower grown, fewer defects) than is the lumber produced today."
Hardwood used in wide plank flooring can be salvaged from a wide range of sources. It has come from turn-of-the-century homes, old hotels, dilapidated mills, and even a 120 year-old, decommissioned 15 story grain elevator containing "the equivalent of an entire forest of antique, old-growth white pine in its walls." Where once this wood might have been seen as junk and discarded or burned, it is now recognized for what it is: An extremely rare natural commodity.
The wood salvage industry has expanded to harvest this bounty. The 2005 Forest Service study identified approximately 1400 businesses involved in salvaging, restoring, and building with reclaimed wood. It is a number that has steadily climbed.
Demand for reclaimed antique wood has also grown as homeowners have become aware of the look and ambiance it can provide. A National Hardwood Floor Association survey found that 56% of decorators and designers noted an increase in the demand for antique wood flooring over the past two years.
To meet this need, the hardwood flooring industry looks to the industrial forest. It's there that they can glean materials that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else. The American chestnut tree is nearly extinct, but one can enjoy the warmth it offers a home through salvage and restoration. Old growth pine harvested from a turn-of-the century farmhouse will show a dense wood grain with a tight ring pattern that just doesn't appear in virgin lumber. The aesthetics offered in reclaimed antique flooring are inimitable.
Barns that were once left to fall and rot are now seen as a valuable resource. Old houses that may have crumbled in disrepair are mined for irreplaceable flooring and fixtures. If one wants to create a period feel to a room or home, the most effective way to do so is with the materials of that period. Thanks to the industrial forest, the floors of the past live on today-and look as beautiful as ever.
(Survey results are available from The National Hardwood Floor Association:
http://woodfloors.org/consumer/contact.aspx)
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 10, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices, Wood Grains & Styles
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: Antique Lumber, Barn Deconstruction, Reclaimed Floor, Recycled Wood, Sustainable Building Materials, Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
If a homeowner is environmentally conscious and chooses to install a wide plank hardwood floor, it's easy for them to remain consistent and "go green" when caring for that floor and keeping it looking its best. Whether one has chosen a responsibly forested white pine or an antique reclaimed hickory, a green approach to upkeep and cleaning will benefit the homeowner and their wood floor.
When considering how to maintain and clean hardwood floors,
The American Hardwood Information Center offers the following advice:
-
Place floor mats and throw rugs at entrances to trap dirt.
-
Sweep floors weekly with brooms that have fine, exploded ends.
-
Weekly vacuuming will also keep hardwood floors clean.
-
Wipe up spills, pet accidents, and other liquid mishaps as soon as possible.
-
It is important to remember that water exposure can harm a hardwood floor.
Instead of relying on commercial floor cleaners that may have toxic ingredients, the consumer has green alternatives when choosing materials to keep a wood floor clean and lustrous. The first step is to determine what kind of finish is on the hardwood floor.
For hardwood floors finished with polyurethane, Greenerchoices.org, thedailygreen.com, and Martha Stewart recommend damp mopping with a solution of one cup of vinegar per gallon of water. The mop should be barely wet, just enough to pick up dust and dirt, but not enough to leave water streaking on the floor itself.
For wide plank hardwood floors and soft wood floors with a penetrating finish, such as Carlisle's Tung Oil Finish, water should be avoided during maintenance. In addition to sweeping, dry-mopping, and vacuuming, Care2.com's Live Green Producer
Melissa Breyer recommends a natural
Citrus Solvent be sprayed on the floor in a light film and then dry mopped off with a micro-fiber or regular dust mop.
New green cleaning products are being rolled out on a daily basis and there's no doubt that consumers will have more choices in green floor care in the coming years. But the tips offered here (and now) are safe and effective. Through these simple practices, a homeowner can preserve their floor and protect their planet at the same time.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 9, 2008 at 8:05 AM
Filed under: Authors, DIY - Do It Yourself, Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (1)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: Carlisle Floor products, green cleaning, green floor cleaning, green flooring, green products, hardwood floor cleaning, hardwood floors, Tung Oil
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Phil Johnson
I'm not a big Do-It-Yourself guy. Generally, my DIY activities are limited to painting, wallpapering and unclogging the toilet. Other than that, my main handyman skill is writing a check. It's no surprise, then, that the thought of installing my own wide plank hardwood floors seems about as doable as building the space shuttle.
However, after a little research, I've come to think this is the kind of project that even I could handle. At the very least, it's less life threatening than other home improvement projects like:
Plumbing – Plumbers use blowtorches. Can you say, "burn unit"?
Electrical – They use electricity to execute convicts. No thanks.
Roofing – I'm not afraid of heights; I'm afraid of falling from heights.
So far as I can tell the odds of installing hardwood floors and living to tell about it seem relatively high!
If you're thinking of installing a hardwood floor yourself, there's lots of helpful information out there about it – even videos tutorials! After careful review, I get the feeling that, with a little patience and free time, I could actually handle it.
For starters, nowadays you can buy prefinished flooring – even for wide plank flooring – eliminating the need for sanding, staining and sealing. Since using a drum sander sounds about easy as operating a Zamboni, this reduces the project complexity – and potential medical co-payment costs - quite a bit.
Next, the tools involved aren't all that complicated. They include – among other things – a hammer, a crowbar, a floor nailer and a miter saw. Now, sure, a power saw sounds a little dicey, but I figure you can lose a digit or two and still maintain a high quality of life.
As for the actual hardwood floor installation, it sounds quite reasonable, and has been described as a weekend project. It involves some variation of the following basic steps:
Remove any existing baseboard – Heck, even I can take stuff apart.
Prepare the floor base – You can put hardwood flooring on top of a plywood sub-floor, an existing hardwood floor or even concrete! Usually, you put down a plastic or felt vapor barrier to keep the moisture out.
Install the floor - Start laying planks or boards from one wall, nail them in place using said floor nailer (try not to do this) and work your way across the room. Be sure to stagger the seams where the boards join!
Edge special room aspects - If the room has floor vents, fireplaces, or some such thing, make sure to edge them, which requires a few extra cuts, no biggie.
Replace baseboards, sweep up and enjoy your new floors! At this point you may want to enjoy a celebratory beverage of your choice (in my case that'd be beer).
The more I think about this, the surer I am that I'm going to have give this project a go! Now I just need to convince my wife that I won't maim myself doing it …
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 8, 2008 at 8:19 AM
Filed under: DIY - Do It Yourself, Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: DIY Floor Installation, Home Improvement, Project, Safe DIY Idea, Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Albert Waitt
Wise investment isn't limited to the trading floor of Wall Street. According to realtors and designers across North America, hardwood flooring adds to a home's value as well as its charm. Aesthetics and economics converge, and the homeowner reaps the benefits.
It's clear as to what a hardwood floor can bring to a space in terms of warmth and style. The Denver Business Journal reported that Colorado designers and homeowners are opting for more hardwood flooring than ever, as it is seen as "timeless," "classic," "elegant," and "adding style to any living area." The DBJ was also quick to note the accompanying increased resale value of a home with a hardwood floor. Home décor columnist Rose Bennett Gilbert of the San Diego Union-Tribune and RealEstate.com's renovation guide came to similar conclusions on the investment value found in hardwood flooring.
Agent Brain Madigan of Toronto, with over 5000 real estate transactions to his credit, believes that hardwood floors are "one of the few improvements that you can make to your house where the resale value may exceed the actual cost of the improvement. The return can easily amount to 150% to 200% or even more." Although Madigan's numbers represent a best case scenario, statistics from a 2006 National Wood Flooring Association survey of realtors further substantiate the value of hardwood floors.
The NWFA survey found:
99% of real estate professionals indicated that having hardwood floors either "greatly" or "somewhat" aided a home's salability.
90% of realtors suggested that homes with hardwood floors will sell for more money than homes with mostly carpet. (25% of the realtors stated that hardwood floors would add 6 to 10% to a home's resale value, while 12 % believed hardwood flooring would add more than 10% to the sale price.)
82% of realtors believed that homes with mostly hardwood floors will sell faster.
84% of home buyers who have lived in homes with hardwood floors are more likely to buy another home with hardwood floors.
By choosing hardwood flooring when building or renovating, homeowners can add to the attractiveness of their house, something they will be able to enjoy every day. They can also view their floor as an investment: When the home is sold, that hardwood flooring will pay real dividends.
(Survey results are available from The National Hardwood Floor Association: http://woodfloors.org/consumer/contact.aspx)
Continue reading "Investing in a Wide Plank Hardwood Floor" »
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 7, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Filed under: Authors, Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: floor renovation, flooring, flooring choices, Hardwood floors, home buyers, home buying attributes, home sales, home value, increasing home value, real estate, resale value
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Todd Aalgaard
Now that you've had your home beautifully appointed with the wide-plank hardwood floor of your dreams, you're probably thinking of showing it off. And, of course, you've done all the arrangements: you've chosen some matching plants, arranged all the furniture just so, and that long, ornate oak table blends in just perfectly. All you need are guests.
We're not about to tell you what to cook, how to entertain, or where to place your guests' shoes when they come to visit; if you've consulted our blog, after all, you've probably already done your homework. There is, however, one final garnish to top off your hardwood piece de resistance, and you've already got it-it's that big, beautiful brain of yours.
Hardwood flooring has a history you may not be familiar with, and what better topic to bring up when doing a little well-deserved showing off?
In the 17th century, back when the idea of flooring was still pretty luxurious, Europeans settled for the most immediate surface available-the dirt, pounded to a hard, cement smoothness. This, of course, was an enormous hassle: when their guests came 'round, tracking dirt, dust or mud into the house was more than just a cosmetic no-no-as you can guess, it's even harder to get out of soil than linoleum. It was only the upstairs area of the home-sometimes a converted hayloft, if your budget permitted-that featured any surface not pre-designed by the hand of nature. On these floors, you'd find trunk-like joists and broad, heavy planks of solid oak or elm, normally over two feet wide.
With a French influence during the Baroque period, wooden floors finally got their day. Artisans and craftspeople would cut intricate patterns out of contrasting wood tones, designing flowing, elaborate parquet patterns that, when stained and polished, were the paragon of elegance. While the resulting designs were typically seen only in the homes of European aristocracy, their increased use would eventually bring the style to the American colonies.
The use of these patterns continued through the 19th century, but, even then, they typically appeared in only the wealthiest of homes. Unlike Europe, however, America had a vast wealth of timber and other natural resources, skyrocketing the availability of plank floors. With the ease of tongue-and-groove installation, America's new timber mills responded to the demand. By the early 20th century, tongue-and-groove was everywhere, praised for the stunning grace of its simplicity.
Today, the hardwood surface is experiencing a Renaissance of its own. Environmentally-conscious lovers of good design need a simple, gorgeous, ecologically-responsible way to support themselves and their families. With the explosive availability of synthetic alternatives, homeowners turned to wide, glowing planks of reclaimed timber, discovering that the best choice is to go natural.
Consider yourself part of the circle of history.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 6, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: 17th Century Flooring, Baroque Period, Natural Resources, Renaissance Floor, Timber Mills, Tongue and Groove Flooring, Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring History
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Matt Cardin
By now it's evident to everybody with a pulse that America's current housing crisis is one for the history books. This is, to put it mildly, a serious situation that's severely impacting much more than just the housing industry.
That's why it's reassuring that one segment of the industry is still holding up its economic head, namely, the $1.5 billion remodeling market. For obvious reason, this news is significant to readers of Surface with their interest in wide plank hardwood flooring, home remodeling, etc.
Back in 2006, during the early innings of the housing crisis, Marcia Jedd reported for HGTV (in "Remodeling Market Adjusts to Housing Slump") that remodeling was not only surviving but quite possibly thriving. "Remodelers," she wrote, "take heart: In a housing downturn that is exceptional in many aspects, remodeling is holding its own. In fact, by some accounts, business is booming." She quoted Kermit Baker, Ph.D., director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, as saying that while the remodeling market was definitely feeling the pinch, small remodeling projects of the home improvement sort, such as windows, roofs, flooring, decks, and small additions, would experience strong demand.
That was two years ago. In hindsight it's apparent this projection was fairly accurate. The most recent information presented by the National Association of Home Builders in its Remodeling Market Index (RMI) shows that after declining only slightly in the fourth quarter of 2007, remodeling activity held steady during the first quarter of 2008, showing only minor weakness in tandem with the overall housing slump and appearing poised for a recovery in 2009-long before most economists are predicting anything similar for the overall housing market. And between then and now a slew of reports and articles, many of them easily obtainable by Googling combined search terms like "housing slump" + "remodeling," has indicated that while spending on remodeling projects has slowed, in many cases the wider housing bust is actually driving the remodeling market, which in any event shows strong growth prospects. Needless to say, we'd love to hear from readers about their own experiences and observations in this area.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 5, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: Hardwood and Market Value Increase, Home Value, Housing Crisis, Remodeling Market Index 2008, RMI, Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
By Matt Cardin
It's no secret that radiant heat is one of the fastest growing green trends in the construction business. Its location underfoot means it transfers heat directly to the individual instead of dispersing it into the air. Radiant heat systems also reduce the amount of heat lost when external doors are opened. And as anybody who has walked on a heated floor can tell you, they're unbelievably wonderful in cold weather.
Now it turns out that radiant heat combined with hardwood flooring results in an especially efficient heating situation that dramatically reduces a building's carbon footprint. We're not talking about some sort of special voodoo between the wood and the heat that makes them act differently. We're just talking about simple common sense. As documented and explained copiously by Carlisle and others, hardwood flooring is the only type that's 100 percent ecologically sustainable. The green benefits of radiant heat, for its part, are undisputed. So pairing them is a simple matter of 2 + 2 = 4.
As described in an April 15 press release from the National Wood Flooring Association, "Eco-conscious consumers can reduce their carbon footprint even further by installing radiant heat under wood floors. Because wood floors are sustainable and renewable, they increase radiant heat's benefits." Of particular interest to people thinking about going this direction is the fact that radiant heat can work with wide plank floors. A Google search combining them turns up many recommendations to use strip flooring, but these are a bit like the old saw that you can't install hardwood floors over concrete, when in fact you can. Using radiant heat effectively beneath wide plank flooring simply calls for an installation process involving a floating plywood subfloor.
Note that Carlisle has an FAQ about wood flooring choices where the first question deals with this very issue. Readers who are interested in both hardwood floors and environmentally sound living could do worse than to consider Carlisle's emphatic assertion that radiant heat is "our favorite heat source with our floors!"
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: August 4, 2008 at 3:33 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Guest, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Flooring Choices
View or post your comments here (0)
BLOGGING GADGETS
Tags: Energey Efficient, Green Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring, Home Heating, Radiant Heat, Sustainable Floors
Social Bookmarks: | | | TrackBack (0)
