Surface Blog

Welcome to Surface, a blog by Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. Join us in discussion about hardwood flooring wood grains & styles, home decor, green building products, trends and more.

Customer happy to have some leftovers with new Eastern White Pine floor

Posted by Christine Halvorson

One of our customers in Virginia completed the installation of an Eastern White Pine floor, pre-finished with Plymouth Pumpkin. The floor is 6" to 10" widths. We were a little late with the delivery of the floor because of a massive ice storm the state of New Hampshire had right around the holiday season. (You may have heard about it? Click here, if not). We're grateful that Mr. Young was incredibly nice about the whole thing and that he sent along this note and photo featuring his new floor. Thanks, Mr. Young!
The floor is beautiful, we cannot imagine a better color, and with all
those long boards it went down soooo fast....The folks living here clearly did NOT measure the floor but quoted the size from memory - and it is 15x16 not 18x16, so we have quite a pile left over. With luck, we might get a small bedroom re-floored.-- Russell Young

Posted on February 11, 2009 at 12:17 PM in Customer Stories • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Hickory adds to beauty of northern Minnesota cabin

Posted by Christine Halvorson
Beautiful northern Minnesota just got a little more beauty added to it, with this floor that was installed in a small cabin there. Scott Ogden of our Midwest offices sent these photos along from his client, Richard Fursa, who had a 4" - 12" Hickory floor, pre-finished in our mill with Amber poly. Though Richard did a great job with the photos, Richard says-and Scott agrees-that the photos just don't do the floor justice. Here's what Richard had to say about his new floor:
We like the floor very much and are happy that we chose hickory. Its grain patterns are very striking. That coupled with the wide/long boards give the floor a look one will never see in the flooring sold at the various home improvement centers.
The photos, however, don't really do it justice. If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon and have taken photos, you will know what I mean.

Posted on February 6, 2009 at 09:56 AM in Customer Stories • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Replicating the look of a mill floor

Posted by ChadCassin

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.

Posted on February 5, 2009 at 12:44 PM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments
Hit or Miss Eastern White Pine: Rustic and Lived-on

Posted by ChadCassin

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.

Posted on February 5, 2009 at 10:46 AM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments
Wide Pine Floor adds warmth to Georgia Remodel!

Posted by Kerry Carlisle

Sharon Bondie and Jennifer Sanderson from our Atlanta, GA office assist homeowner with a transformation to her kitchen floors! Homeowner Patricia Jackson had a vision from the first day she called Carlisle: A warm, inviting, old looking floor to make our house a home.

“My new Carlisle floor is awesome! It has transformed an important room in my home. It’s very rich and warm and rustic, which is exactly what I wanted. The Carlisle staff were so professional and easy to work with – I really couldn’t ask for more.”

—Patricia Jackson, who installed our wide eastern white pine floors with a Plymouth Pumpkin stain

Posted on November 19, 2008 at 08:38 AM in Customer Stories • (1) Comments