True Hardwood Story Category Archive
George and Sue Carlisle (no relationship to our family) decided to buy a new penthouse condo on Congress St. in the center of Portsmouth, NH. Their concept was to build it out to look like it was originally a mill…that had been converted to a retail space…and finally converted to a residential space.
The first thing they chose was the floor. Since they had installed Carlisle wide plank floors in two of their past homes…and “loved them”…this one too had to be a Carlisle floor. The Portsmouth floor had to replicate the antique look of an old mill floor plus, since both are environmentalists, it was also important that it be a certified reclaimed antique floor.
They contacted Carlisle and spoke with Todd Waterman, one of our Regional Design Consultants. Together they picked one of our most rustic floors called Grandpa’s. Grandpa’s Floor is made from Southern Longleaf Heart Pine beams reclaimed from old mills primarily in the Ohio River Valley and has a complete chain-of-custody certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
When the wood showed up George’s builder refused to install it …calling it “junk” and “too rough for a floor”. Todd convinced him to install it and once the first coat of finish was applied…the builder was a true believer.
The Carlisle’s entertain a lot in their penthouse home and say that the first thing their guests comment on…is the floor. “They love it!” They’ve also been personally responsible for several additional Carlisle floor orders that have arisen from their parties.
Even thought there is no (known) relationship between George and Sue and us, the way they promote our floors would make you think that maybe there really is.
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: February 5, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: Antique, NH, Reclaimed
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Eleven years ago Wendy Hyatt saw a Carlisle rocking chair ad in an issue of Country Living magazine, clipped it out, and decided that someday she was going to have a Carlisle Wide Plank Floor in her home. Over the years, as she, her husband Francis, and their growing family moved around the country, Wendy continued to follow our business and clip our ads.
Early in 2008 they—now a family of (5) plus a dog and (4) horses—decided to move from Wisconsin to Hollis, NH and build a new home. This was the chance she had been waiting for. She immediately called Carlisle and spoke with Shannon Sterrett, one of our Design Consultant, and began to plan her floor.
She was looking for a traditional, wide plank floor that would look rustic and lived-on right from the start, much like the old New England floors popular 200+ years back. With Shannon’s assistance she chose an Eastern White Pine wide plank floor with a hit-or-miss surface and Carlisle Ginger Bread traditional stain. In addition, Wendy always wanted a painted floor in her bedroom that looked like a cottage she visited when she was a child. Shannon helped with both.
Today the home is complete, the Hyatt family is living on a beautiful Carlisle wide plank floors (one stained and one painted), and Wendy has achieves her 11 year dream.
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: at 11:46 AM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tender is the new steakhouse at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas! Carlisle worked with the designers on the project. Here's what Jason Wolfe, Carlisle sales person from the West Hollywood office, had to say about his participation in the project.
"We all decided that to complete the restaurant’s masculine look would be to use our 400 year old Original Gray Exterior Barn Siding, random widths of 5-12” wide and very long boards (nothing shorter than about 10’). The design team is based out here in Los Angeles (great ladies!) and my builder is located in Vegas. Pretty cool project… in a wicked cool setting."
Here's one of Tender's ads
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: November 5, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Regions, True Hardwood Story, Wood Grains & Styles
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Tags: commercial projects
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While bow hunting for whitetail deer in the beautiful
state of Illinois last week, I was reminded how it is a small world we
live in, and the genuine kindness of people stretches across our lands.
Having filled my tag, I had an extra day to kill so I decided to look up
a friend of an old client to ask permission to hunt his farm. I drove to
the road I had written down two years earlier, and knocked on the first
door I came across, without luck. I proceeded up the dirt road and
came across a large steel building, with the most beautiful view.
After knocking on the door, the gentleman that answered turned out to be
the friend of my client. I introduced myself as having worked with his
friend and before I could tell him what company I was with, he asked me
to step into the building, then he had me turn around to see the wall
behind us. He said, "look familiar?" It was a large wall of our
beautiful wide heart pine from end-to-end, leftovers from his friend's
home I worked on.
When Jim said to me, "I have been waiting for you to stop in, and you
are more than welcome to hunt here", I couldn't believe it. This is from
a conversation I had with a client two years ago, and this gentleman
still remembered! The genuineness and kindness the man showed me is just
another of the many reasons I do what I do, and enjoy it so much.
Rick
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: November 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Filed under: Customer Service, Regions, Rick Menard, True Hardwood Story
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Tags: carlisle wide plank floors
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Carlisle's West Hollywood office is located in the heart of the Avenues of Art and Design. The magazine of the Art and Design district is called Avenues and they had their Fall Release party this past week! Dan O'Neill, a Sales and Design Consultant in our West Hollywood office, attended the event held at Fendi.
To view more photos, click here!
Here's Dan chatting at the event.
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: at 11:15 AM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Carlisle's Denver Design Center has been participating in the sponsor festivities with Mountain Living at their Natural Dream Home in Cordillera, Colorado. Our FSC Certified Antique Ash floors (with a stain) were used throughout the first level of the home. The home is now open through November, for tours!
Here's a close up of the FSC Antique Ash with the brown stain, also check out the interview with sales person, Laura Leier! This article can be found in the November/December issue of
Mountain Living on page 70!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: October 31, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Home Building and Contracting, True Hardwood Story, Wood Grains & Styles
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We've been working with Classic Hardwood Floors for over ten years now. Here's a nice letter from owner, Joe Boos.
Although it is my profession and can be challenging and stressful at times, I thoroughly enjoy being the owner/operator of Classic Hardwood Floors. In 1998 my brother Eric and I formed our business and had the best time of our life working together for 10 years. A person seriously could write a book about all of our experiences. We did have a few employees throughout the years, most notably our other two brothers and our father. Imagine a customers surprise after contracting us to work in their million dollar + houses based only on phone conversations and a written proposal; only to have a truckload of 18-24 year olds show up at their door on day one to install a beautiful, expensive wide plank floor. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked how old I am, when my dad or boss was showing up, or where is the guy I talked to on the phone. Of course the outstanding results continue to be a testament to the beauty of Carlisle’s wood and our commitment to perfection. Eric has recently moved on to bigger and better things (design consultant for this company called Carlisle Wide Plank Floors), however I still enjoy installing floors with my employees Jeff and Eddie.
Originally our business was a general wood floor operation (strip flooring, sand and poly, refinishing, etc). Thanks to the expertise and knowledge of so many at Carlisle we transformed into specializing in the installation and finishing of wide plank floors. Many quickly conclude they are one and the same, and although wide plank flooring contains many of the same aspects of “wood flooring”, in my opinion it is in a league of its own. You could liken it to the difference between arithmetic and algebra. A mathematician cannot learn algebra before the groundwork or basics are laid (arithmetic,etc). I feel as if we went from being nailers and sanders to craftsmen and artists. We went from installing and finishing floors that looked good to creating timepieces that make a house.
The first floor we did with Carlisle was a face nailed, stained, and tung oiled eastern white pine for John and Randee Malmberg. Randee could not find the floor she had seen in a magazine picture. No one in the area could. After extensive searching we stumbled upon Carlisle. Todd Waterman and Chris Sy were tireless in their efforts to insure we gave Randee the floor she wanted. Thank goodness they were! What a difference this floor was from what we were used to. No conventional sanding? No way! Face nail the face of the boards with antique square cut nails? No way! However, it turned out great and because of our commitment to quality and a number of referrals from Carlisle and the Malmbergs our wide plank career took off.
Since the Malmbergs we have installed and finished 111 wide plank floors for Carlisle. We have done many eastern white pine and heart pine, along with red and white oak, hickory, maple, ash, walnut, cherry, antique woods, saw kerf surface, hand scraped surface, barnboard, and many others that I am likely forgetting.
Among my favorites are the antique woods. The warmth and character in antique wood cannot be beat. One of my all time favorites is probably the antique sweetgum (an extremely rare antique wood with grain and color being similar to a mix of hickory and cherry) we installed in Lakeside, MI. Beautiful!
We also, because of being specialists, have had the privilege of working a large territory and discovering so many great places to visit, restaurants, and wonderful people. Carlisle floors have brought us to downtown Chicago, many of the suburbs, on the lake in Michigan, and rural Wisconsin, and many other places.
Over the past 10 years we have worked with so many great people at Carlisle. I truly view it a privilege and honor to be a part of crafting your beautiful floors and working with you guys. Without your help and support we would never had made it, and we sincerely thank you for everything! The relationships formed through the years are far more than simple business ties. We view you all as friends and family. So here is to 111 or more outstanding works of art!
THANK YOU!
Here's a few photos of floors that Classic Hardwood Floors' has installed over the years!
Birch
Hand Scraped White Oak with Stain
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: October 28, 2008 at 9:57 AM
Filed under: Customer Letters, Customer Service, Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Jen Fox, Regions, Restoration Projects, True Hardwood Story, Wood Grains & Styles
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Tags: chicago floors, relationships
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I had the opportunity to meet with Angela from Washington SPACES magazine when at the Log and Timber show in Chantilly. In the Fall issue of SPACES, Carlisle was interviewed in the article "The Ground Game" about our FSC Certified Antique wood and pattern floors. Click here to read the full article and to see photos of our floors!
Here's a photo of me and Angela at the show!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: at 9:36 AM
Filed under: Customer Service, Megan Sprague, True Hardwood Story
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Tags: advertising, editorial feature
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We exhibited at the Log and Timber show over the weekend in Chantilly, Virginia! It was a neat show and we had the chance to meet with many people.
Before the show started, one of our preferred installers, Aaron Penney installed our wide plank Eastern White Pine and Heart Pine floors.
Here's a photo of Aaron putting the Antique Cut nails into the Eastern White Pine floor.
Once the show started, visitors stopped by the booth to look at our beautiful solid wide plank floors. Here's a photo of Janel from our
DC Design Center chatting with one of our guests! They're talking about our
hand scraped hickory floors.
Here's a few close up shots of the booth in between visitors stopping by.
Here's a nice shot of our wide pine floor, this has our signature Gingerbread stain!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: at 9:10 AM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring, Home Building and Contracting, Home Decor, Home Flooring Choices, Megan Sprague, Regions, True Hardwood Story
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Tags: DC area, events, floors over radiant heat, timber frame homes
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Sotheby's Sudlers Realty The Fall Collection™ 2008 event is set for Wednesday, October 22nd, (7 to 10pm) at the Ann Sacks showroom at the Merchandise Mart.
This exclusive event will also have a raffle for a local charity that benefits underprivileged Chicago children, TOP. We anticipate about 200 persons to attend the event. The event is invitation-only and fully catered evening by a top caterer, J&LCatering.
Carlisle is a sponsor of the event!
Visit the event's website here.
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: October 21, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Filed under: Customer Service, Regions, True Hardwood Story
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Tags: design centers
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The newest J.Crew store at Madison Avenue and 79th Street in NYC features our floors! The floors are extremely unique. A blend of our FSC Antique Hickory & newly sawn premium Hickory in a hand-crafted herringbone pattern. Check out the photo below.
To read more about their new store here!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: October 17, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: antique hickory, commerical projects, herringbone pattern, hickory, j.crew, retail store
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Hannah Greeley of our Georgetown, DC design center sent me this note and photos!!
So, I had a customer that wanted me to meet him at a new house because he LOVED the walnut floors they had and he wanted to match them... so I took a drive out and as soon as I walked in the door, I KNEW they were our floors, absolutely gorgeous!! Turns out after some digging, these ARE our floors and even sweetened the deal to my customer after knowing that!
Thanks to the mill for these gorgeous floors and to Glen for selling these particular floors that the customer can’t stop raving about, we got the sale!
I wanted to share the pictures I shot with everyone (sorry, not the best lighting) but I can’t stop staring at these pictures, absolute beauty!
Thanks to all! Enjoy!
-Hannah
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: October 8, 2008 at 3:51 PM
Filed under: Customer Service, Hardwood Flooring, Home Decor, Regions, True Hardwood Story
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Tags: hannah's client, milled to match, walnut
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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
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South Georgia-based veterinarian Dave Richards has had an unlikely connection to Carlisle... for 36 years: Carlisle is his wife's maiden name (no relation). Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch for similarities here, but this coincidence struck a chord with him during the process of building his second home.
When approaching building a second home, Richards knew what he didn't want from the beginning. "We went to some home shows, and looked at flooring in other people's homes, and some of the wood looked artificial, even though it wasn't! It was just the way it was finished...those standard skinny little boards. It just wasn't our style." he said. "I said, 'I want some wider boards. I want something that really looks like it came out of a tree!" which should come as no surprise coming from this self-proclaimed "tree hugger". After a quick Internet search for wide hardwood floors, the relationship with Carlisle Wide Plank Floors was born.
Continue reading "Georgia Pet Vet Picks Hickory Hardwood Floors for Second Home" »
Author's Name: Lesley Anderson
Posted Date: May 29, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: building a second home, hardwood flooring, hardwood flooring design center, hickory hardwood floors
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Take one look at the guys at Balash and Greene, and you might mistake them for rock stars.
They definitely don't fit the mold of what typically comes to mind when you think "hardwood flooring contractor", and they like it that way. Come to think of it, they probably have more in common with a rock band than you might think-they work together in a small group, they "tour", traveling around the country to different venues they're working at, and they live to get people pumped about the awesome work that they do. Balash and Greene bring a mix of master craftsmanship with a refreshing approach to floor design that pushes the limits of what was previously thought possible with hardwood flooring, and I got a VIP pass to go behind the scenes and find out what makes their wood floors rock.
Continue reading "True Hardwood Story - Hardwood Flooring Design That Rocks!" »
Author's Name: Lesley Anderson
Posted Date: May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: balash and greene, greenovate, hardwood flooring contractor, hardwood flooring patterns, true hardwood story, wood flooring detail work
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It's a warm, sunny day in Seneca, South Carolina. The gentle breeze is wafting off of Lake Keowee and the air is thick with the sound of birds, the rustling leaves, and...the landscapers? Are they cutting down that tree over the walkway?! Ronda Ringo just finished a conference call when I gave her a call, and amidst the hustle and bustle of her daily life as a Solutions Principal for EMC Software, she now feared that her yard was going to be treeless. Thankfully, everything was under control, and I got to learn of the fateful way that Ronda and Carlisle Wide Plank Floors were united.
Outside of her day job, Ronda loves interior design. Over the years, she's assembled an extensive portfolio of things that have caught her eye - carpet samples, paint colors, design ideas, and supply companies. A long-time subscriber of Coastal Living magazine, Ronda had seen an advertisement for Carlisle Wide Plank Floors years ago, and knew that was what she wanted to have in her home someday. She tucked the clipping into her portfolio without too much thought at the time. When it came time for her to design her own home from scratch years later, the light went on and she remembered that little clipping as she discussed her flooring options with her contractor.
Continue reading "True Hardwood Story - Bringing New England to Lake Keowee, SC" »
Author's Name: Lesley Anderson
Posted Date: April 17, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: carlisle customer, customer feedback, eastern white pine, eastern white pine floor, hardwood flooring, hardwood flooring customer interview, hardwood floors, true hardwood story, wide plank flooring, wood floors
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We're excited to introduce a new type of blog post that we'll be offering to you regularly here on Surface - "True Hardwood Stories" - real stories and feedback from actual Carlisle customers!
Flipping through our books full of heartfelt, handmade customer letters and photographs, we thought it would be a shame to keep that to ourselves and not let others see what wonderful and different ways Carlisle has been impacting the lives of our customers over the years. We'll be conducting interviews and featuring customers on the blog to help tell their story and hopefully inspire you to do the same.
As always, feel free to share your questions and concerns. Are you a previous or current customer with your own story to tell? We'd love to feature you! Just leave us a comment expressing your interest and we'll be in touch with you right away. Maybe you'll get to feel like a celebrity and see your story on the blog someday! What's your True Hardwood Story?
Author's Name: Lesley Anderson
Posted Date: at 11:00 AM
Filed under: True Hardwood Story
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Tags: carlisle customers, customer feedback, customer interviews, hardwood flooring customers, hardwood floors, true hardwood story
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