Surface Blog

White Pine floor dazzles in Portage, Wisc., live-work studio

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Wow! The architect’s description of this studio, designed for living and working, sounds spectacular enough, but the photos really floored us — if you’ll excuse the bad pun. Here’s how the architect-led design-build firm, Midwest Modern LLC, characterizes this new construction in Portage, Wisconsin, which makes dramatic use of Carlisle Eastern White Pine flooring:

“Rustic, modern LIVE/WORK Studio wholly built with Insulated Concrete Forms. Passive solar design and high performance shell fused with in-floor radiant coupled to geo-thermal. Boldly sited atop a ravine escarpment and capitalizing on breathtaking views over the Wisconsin River valley, this study in opposites is an instant family heirloom.”

Carlisle Sales and Design Consultant Gary Ryer of our Stoddard, N.H., headquarters notes that the floor, in 6-inch face widths, was glued directly on concrete. In the great room, the planks run up to the floor-to-ceiling windows and are aligned with the decking outside for a continuous look. The homeowner finished the floor herself with Carlisle’s Oatmeal Stout stain and Tung Oil.

It all adds up to, as Gary Ryer notes, “another great example of what many consider a rustic floor in a very contemporary/minimalist setting.”

Enjoy these photos, and if you’d like to see more, click here for a link to an album on Midwest Modern’s website.

Posted on Jul 22, 2011 AT 09:54 PM in Green Building • Home Building & Contracting • (2) Comments

Red Oak makes a striking floor in San Francisco Bay area home

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Thinking about a Red Oak floor? It’s a choice that many people seeking a rich, high-quality look shy away from, because inexpensive red oak strip flooring, which typically has unattractive grain patterns, is overabundant.

That’s really too bad, because when red oak is grown the way Carlisle oak is grown – in cooler climates where it’s allowed to mature slowly – it produces a really striking floor that works equally well in rustic and contemporary settings.

So we were delighted recently to get a note from Craig Norleen, project consultant and manager at Crocker Homes Inc. in the San Francisco Bay area. He’s heading up construction of a residence that includes an Heirloom Red Oak floor, in 8-inch face widths.

The homeowners “love the Carlisle wide plank floor,” he wrote.

Craig, who worked with Sales and Design Consultant Sarah Bergren of our Denver showroom, was pleased with the quality and service he got from Carlisle, too. “Carlisle is a valued Crocker Homes partner,” he wrote. “Carlisle was there at each step in the process helping our architect, owner and installers. Their expertise, ability to listen and ask questions helped our team realize the vision we were trying to create.”

Take a look at these photos, and we think you’ll agree the Red Oak floors are a vision, indeed!

Posted on Jul 19, 2011 AT 10:09 PM in Hardwood Flooring • Wide Plank Specialists • Sarah Bergren • (3) Comments

Interior design blog highlights Carlisle Oak and Walnut

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Catherine Cleare of Catherine Cleare Originals, an interior design firm in Westport, Connecticut, featured Carlisle floors in a June 20, 2011 entry in her blog. Titled “How an Interior Designer Goes With and Against the Grain,” the post identifies a few current trends in wood flooring.

One hot trend she mentions is finishing an oak floor with a gray stain. She includes a photo of a Carlisle White Oak floor, rift-and-quarter sawn, with Carlisle’s custom Whitewashed Fence stain. Oak “has a natural oil finishing system which makes it great for any space,” she writes. Click here to learn more about Carlisle White Oak floors.

Catherine Cleare also mentions Carlisle’s Walnut flooring with Watermill texture.  The floor “embodies a very natural distressing but also a timeless aged appearance,” she writes. “Traditional and timeless is always trendy.” Click here for information on and photos of Carlisle Walnut flooring.

Click here to read Catherine Cleare’s blog post and see the photos.

Posted on Jul 17, 2011 AT 10:21 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments

Do It Yourselfers install Walnut over concrete in Houston area

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Carlisle floors can be successfully installed over concrete; better yet, if you’re handy you can do it yourself! Check out these photos sent by Houston-area customers who just completed their second go-round with laying Carlisle Walnut themselves. They installed the flooring direct to a concrete slab. Thanks to Kevin Crowder of Carlisle’s Denver showroom, who worked with the customers, for forwarding these photos to us. They give a good overview of the project, before and after.

Click here to read more about Carlisle floors installed over concrete.

Click here to learn about Do-It-Yourself floor installation.

Posted on Jul 15, 2011 AT 12:44 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments

Customers looking forward to walking on their new Birch floors in stocking feet

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Yellow Birch. Need we say more?

Of course, we can’t resist telling you about our Carlisle Birch, which contains particularly dramatic heartwood because it is sawn from fully mature trees grown and sustainably harvested in Northern New England. In addition to being extremely durable, Birch has distinctive blends of lighter coloration. Each board has an intriguing combination of blonde outer edges and warm cherry-like center portions. Its varying grain patterns range from subtle swirls to highly figured flames. The result is a very unusual floor that is sure to become the focal point in any contemporary or traditional setting.

Here’s what a recent customer, who worked with Shanon Sterrett of Carlisle’s Stoddard, N.H. headquarters, had to say about the Carlisle Birch floors he purchased: “The floors are BEAUTIFUL !!!!” He sent along these photographs of the floor after two coats of satin finish were applied. After another light sanding and two more coats of finish, the customer will be ready to take his first steps on the new planks. “It will be stocking feet for certain!” he wrote.

Posted on Jul 11, 2011 AT 09:07 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (2) Comments