Interior Design and Wide Plank Flooring – Part 1

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Spotlight on Krista Stokes

By Albert Waitt

Krista Stokes is one of Maine’s hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design.  She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the “Lazy Days” cottage.  Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout the region.

The Surface sat down with Krista to discuss aspects of decorating for spaces with wide plank flooring.  For the record, the interview was conducted in a public place.  It was also repeatedly (and pleasantly) interrupted by a number of Krista’s clients who couldn’t pass by without saying hello and talking about their homes.  It’s clear that Krista has the makings of a fan club on the Maine coast.  And she has a philosophy when choosing flooring materials:

It’s the Wood:

Krista: For me, it’s the wood.  It’s part of the earth.  When you walk into a room and see beautiful hardwood floor, it’s a feeling that you get.  I love the light reflection of it.  I love the sound of hardwood.  It’s a great way to give a space energy.  The wood has traveled long and hard.  Regardless of its history, whether it came out of an old farm in Ohio or a forest in Brazil, it’s traveled. Just to bring that into the home means a great deal.

Floors Tell Stories.

Krista:  I recently went through a big debate with some clients.  The wife really wanted a wide plank floor.  The husband wasn’t thrilled.  They have a dog and he didn’t want the dog’s nails to scratch the floor.  I said, “Listen guys, it’s life. Let life screw up your floors.  Don’t get your floors and then want them to stay the way they are.”

Floors all tell stories.  It’s getting harder and harder for us to instill history with the next generation.  A lot of people want to leave a history for their children, but don’t want to relinquish the control of modernity.

But, it’s okay.  Don’t sweat it.  It’s a floor. It’s supposed to be walked on.  Kids are going to run across it.  It’s supposed to have dogs’ paws on it.  The wood has survived this long and it will survive much longer than us humans.  The first thing you notice when you walk into a room with a wide plank floor is, “Wow, what a great floor.”  If you see where a child’s toy car left a skid mark, then you might think, “Hey, what happened?”  It’s family history.

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