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.

Designer Spotlight: Katharine Posillico McGowan- Katharine Jessica Interior Design of New York.

Posted by Megan Sprague

At Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, working with designers is part of our passion. Whether it’s a fifty floor high rise, private residence or a boutique hotel our design consultants have had countless opportunities to work on their share of stunning projects with the best of designers.
While researching one such project, Katharine Posillico McGowan came across Carlisle on an Internet search when a client of hers wanted to do a solid wood floor over radiant heat.

This particular project was a French chateau style home in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island. She chose our White Oak wide plank floors as they are a perfect fit for the old world/French chateau style and well suited over the radiant heat system the homeowner chose. “The wood captures the essence of the home’s old world look and adds an aged character to a new home,” mentions Katharine. She chose to use a dark stain on the white oak and in the dining room selected a very special Versailles pattern. Katharine adds, “my client loved the oak grain and how beautifully the wood took the stain”.

Katharine enjoys working with Todd Waterman, regional manager of our New York sales department. In commenting on the Lloyd Harbor project Katharine states, “he answered all of my questions and willingly sent numerous samples to make the process easier”.

Her work has been featured in Distinction Long Island magazine and was recognized as a one of the “10 New Designers to Watch” by New York Spaces magazine.

Just last month, Katharine was recognized at the 2008 Mansions and Millionaires Designer Showcase as the “Notable Designer” of the Mill Neck Manor Showcase.

To enjoy a video of a special interior design project we’ve done, click here.

Looking for a designer in the New York area—visit Katharine’s website.

Posted on July 9, 2008 at 12:08 PM in (0) Comments
How we got into the antique wood business.

Posted by Don Carlisle
I was 20 years old and people started calling us asking for reclaimed antique wood. I had been involved with my Mom and Dad's business since I was a kid and my job up to that point was seeking out saw mills that would consider cutting new timber the way we wanted in order to recreate the look of old floors. At the time, our business was called Carlisle Restoration Lumber and we supplied wide boards mainly in the New England region to replace or repair existing floors in old homes. Our newly sawn boards were made to look 200 years old with surface treatments — saw kerfs, hand scraping, etc. — which were used in conjunction with the custom stains Dad had developed.

We had built a pretty good reputation as being the people to go to when you wanted that authentic, historic look. And though I was young, I had slowly managed to develop a strong trust among designers, builders and homeowners. So when they starting asking me for reclaimed antique wood for new construction and remodeling projects, I knew that if I could provide it, we’d have a whole new market and could expand our business while at the same time preserving something really important.

So my journey began. At first, I ran an ad looking for anyone who had an old building who would consider selling some of the wood. The first person who responded — I'll never forget this — was a nice lady who was an artist. She said she had an old barn that had caved in and wanted me to look at it and take what I thought I could use. I took a friend with me and off we went in my pickup truck with a chain saw. We arrived at the home early in the morning and started looking at the barn and realized we were in for an interesting day. It was a dilapidated mess and it appeared that trying to save anything from it would be a waste of time. We spent the entire day rolling over beams and trying to find good pieces of structural timber that might be salvageable.

Finally we headed home, exhausted, with a few beams and boards. It made us realize that if we were going into this business, we would need to find others who would do the dismantling and deliver the reclaimed material to us. The arduous process of taking the building apart and rough cutting the material to be reclaimed was another business in itself. We wanted to focus on the finishing end.

So the next thing we did was buy a load of old wood sight unseen from someone who had salvaged it. When it showed up, we were disappointed (to say the least) by its condition. But having had the prior experience, we realized what the guy had been up against and were a bit more forgiving. Still, most of it was unusable.

Then we began encountering other daunting obstacles in bringing old wood to a point where we could proudly offer it to someone for a new floor. We had to figure out how to kill the bugs still living in it, how to get all the nails and other hidden hardware out of it before we tried to cut it, how to dry it, etc. And as we went about the processing and milling, we were often stunned by how much waste there was and how little we would end up with for all our efforts. So we set about finding people who were really close to the wood, could see the intrinsic beauty and charm in certain pieces, weigh the usability and be selective in what they took. Easier said than done. But we kept at it and gradually learned who we could trust to provide us with really good boards and beams. Many of those people today have become part of our extended family.

Over the years, we’ve further developed and refined all of our procuring and processing practices and are able to provide customers with a good steady stream of reclaimed antique wood from various historic structures which have been slated for demolition. In fact, the quality and service we offer has made Carlisle the largest supplier of antique wood in North America, and we’re proud to have been nationally recognized by The Forest Stewardship Council for the green methods we use to responsibly reclaim and recycle every piece. We maintain a complete chain of custody from the moment we dismantle a building to the day the finished floor is shipped to the customer.

As we strive to preserve this wonderful commodity, the hardest part is to get the average person to understand just how much of this is a truly a labor of love — one that preserves a treasured natural resource. In a way, it’s no different than appreciating rare gemstones which only time can create. I continue to feel that it’s our job to educate folks as to how unique and historically important this wood really is — and to make them just as passionate about it as we are. That’s one reason why we give customers a commemorative folio, handmade in Vermont, with an inscription that notes the location and history the structure, a botanical illustration of the species of wood and the names of the floor owners who have given the wood a much-deserved second life cycle.

I can look at one of our antique wood floors and each crack, nail hole, worm hole, water mark and saw kerf will tell me the wood’s life story. Not everyone is interested in that and would rather have something new and less expensive and that’s fine, too. But those who are interested — those who truly “get it” and realize the amount of care and effort that went into every step of recycling this rare, historic wood — don’t ask “How can it be so expensive?” but rather, “How can it be so reasonable?”

Posted on July 3, 2008 at 11:11 AM in (0) Comments
DIY: New England-Style Farmhouse

Posted by Megan Sprague

Check out this great do-it-yourself project out of Trabuco Canyon, California. Donnelle & Tony Koselka decided to purchase our wide Eastern White Pine floors to complete the look of their New England-Style Farmhouse. Originally, Donnelle & Tony chose Marmloeum for their living room, but after some thought realized that a solid wood floor would be more reminiscent of the look they were trying to achieve. While searching the internet and flipping through several magazines, they came across Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. They thought the wide Pine floors would truly fit the New England feel they were hoping for. After speaking with Dan ONeill in our West Hollywood office, they made the jump. Dan helped them understand how long wide boards can extended their home visually, and enlarge the prospective of their living space.

With the help of Dave Delfs, a local installer, the pine floors were easy enough to install. Dave used the Bostik’s 2-part glue system directly over the existing floor. The truth is in these before and after photos! Such an easy change drastically brought the Koselka’s the look they were dreaming of. Donnelle recites, “While I loved our unusual Marmoleum floors (cork-based lineoleum), the wood floors complete our New England-style farmhouse. What a difference the pine makes!”

With a slight eased edge to emphasize the dimensions, warm honey tones of the tung oil finish, and the slow natural distressing that comes with life, it was a perfect fit…especially for their little dog, Riley.

Are you dreaming of a New England-Style home? Click here for more photos and information.

Already a Carlisle customer…want to upload photos of your DIY project? Click here:

Posted on June 23, 2008 at 01:22 PM in DIY • (2) Comments
Special visit with California Public Radio

Posted by Megan Sprague
During my trip to the West Hollywood center last week for the Avenues of Art and Design event, I got a chance to meet up with Pam Gurstein from Southern California Public Radio Station, KPCC. Carlisle has done underwriting with KPCC (if you are in California listen at 89.3FM) and our West Hollywood staff enjoys the stories and daily programs, download podcasts at http://www.kpcc.org.

After working together for quite a few months, Pam and I finally got to meet each other! It’s always nice to put a face to the voice! She and I had a nice visit and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the famous Ivy Restaurant. Here’s a photo of us standing outside the Ivy.

Posted on June 16, 2008 at 09:16 AM in (0) Comments
Georgia Pet Vet Picks Hickory Hardwood Floors for Second Home

Posted by Lesley Anderson

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.

Posted on May 29, 2008 at 02:35 PM in Customer Stories • (1) Comments