Surface Blog

Hamilton Grange, Renovated Manhattan landmark, includes Carlisle floors

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Two hundred and nine years ago, Upper Manhattan was a rural neighborhood. Alexander Hamilton, the very first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the man whose face looks out at us from the $10 bill, built his country house there. In the years since, the house was moved from 143rd Street to Convent Ave (that was in 1899), transferred to the National Park Service (1962), and moved a block down the road, in 2008, to a corner of the 23-acre St. Nicholas Park that faces West 141st Street. Over the last three years, the Hamilton Grange, as it is called, has been undergoing an $8.4 million renovation to return it to the look and feel it had when Hamilton lived there. The new site is an appropriate one, as it was originally part of Hamilton’s estate.

Here at Carlisle, we love to be part of history, and part of historic renovations. So we’re really thrilled that our 5” Heirloom Grade Reclaimed Heart Pine, which is made from antique wood taken from buildings scheduled for demolition, can be found in the newly renovated Hamilton Grange.

We’re also happy to report that the contractors working on the Grange were dazzled with the floorboards. The project coordinator at Lumus Construction sent this note to Carlisle Sales and Design Rep Glen Ranagan:

“I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the quality flooring you sent us to the Hamilton Grange Project. Our superintendent on site stated to me that he was thoroughly impressed with the quality and craftsmanship. The floor looks amazing and I want to thank you and your staff personally for a job well done.”

The Hamilton Grange is scheduled to open to the public on September 17, 2011. We hope you’ll have a chance to visit!

Click here for the Park Service’s Hamilton Grange web page

Click here to read a New York Times story about the project.

Click here to see a slide show of the building’s 2008 move.

Posted on Sep 01, 2011 AT 10:43 PM in Restoration Projects • News & Events • (0) Comments

Los Altos, Calif., Reclaimed Oak floors “crazy beautiful”

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

When a customer calls the Carlisle floors in his new home “crazy beautiful,” you can be sure we want to see pictures! So we’re thrilled to be able to link to the website of Signature Interiors of Los Altos,, the Los Altos, California, firm of Amy L. Fischer. “Amy is the brains behind the design and architecture of our home,” the customer wrote.

Carlisle Sales and Design Rep Sarah Bergren of our Denver showroom worked on the project from our end. The house features Carlisle’s Reclaimed Oak flooring in face widths of 6 to 11 inches.

”The floors truly came out amazing and only added to the beauty of our house,” the customer wrote.

Click here to see a photograph of the great room.

Click here to see a photograph of the kitchen.

Posted on Aug 31, 2011 AT 05:18 AM in Green Building • (3) Comments

Carlisle makes design blog’s top 10 for White Oak floor with Whitewashed Fence finish

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

This is fun: Carlisle made the list of the ten most viewed products on the Modenus blog in July. Modenus is an online networking and catalog site for design professionals and others interested in design. It features high quality products and directories of designers, artisans, and tradespeople, in addition to a blog.

The specific Carlisle product that made the top ten list is the White Oak floor with Whitewashed Fence Finish, pictured below.

Click here to learn more about our White Oak flooring.

Click here for information on our Whitewashed Fence finish

We’re delighted to be among Modenus’s top ten!

Posted on Aug 28, 2011 AT 08:21 PM in Hardwood Flooring • News & Events • (3) Comments

Walnut makes for stunning floors in Colorado home

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

What can we say about Walnut? There’s nothing quite like it. With its rich chocolate color and its fluid, swirling grain patterns, it makes for a rare and spectacular floor.

To illustrate what a dynamic choice Walnut is, we’d like to share with you these photos of rooms designed by Jeanne Wisner of Imagine Kitchens & Bath, which serves the greater Denver area. (Incidentally, we think Jeanne and Imagine Kitchens & Bath are a dynamic choice, too!) Jeanne worked with Kevin Crowder of our Denver showroom to select Walnut in 4- to 7-inch widths. The planks were finished by craftsmen in our Custom Shop with Light Saw Kerf milling, a technique that recreates the look of boards made in early sawmills that contain saw swirl markings. Combined with stain, in this case Carlisle Tung Oil, the kerf marks create striking contrasts in the wood.

Kudos to Jeanne Wisner, and to our craftsmen, for such gorgeous floors and rooms!

Posted on Aug 26, 2011 AT 03:43 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments

Providence building with Carlisle Heart Pine floors wins preservation award

• Posted by
• Jane Eklund

Congratulations are in order! The Congdon & Carpenter building at 3 Steeple Street, Providence, Rhode Island, received a 2010 Historic Restoration Award from the Providence Preservation Society.

Deslandes Construction of Warwick, Rhode Island, worked with Carlisle’s Shanon Sterrett to select Old Growth Heart Pine prefinished with Copper Mine stain for the restoration.

Kudos to everyone involved in the project! Click here for more information on the Preservation Society Awards, and for photos of all the winners.

Posted on Aug 24, 2011 AT 12:11 AM in Restoration Projects • (2) Comments