April 30, 2014 at 1:47 p.m.
Laona's WD Flooring wins NWFA Wood Floor of the Year Award
Laona's WD Flooring wins NWFA Wood Floor of the Year Award
"To win once is a fantastic achievement and to win twice is a huge affirmation that the look and feel of our new products aren't just innovative but appreciated as well," said Peter Connor, president of WD Flooring.
The Wood Floor of the Year award was developed to encourage and recognize innovative craftsmanship and design in wood flooring installations. Since the program began in 1990, more than 200 awards have been presented to NWFA member companies throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Russia and Finland.
"In today's day and age design looks are being determined by consumers who are searching for something more than the staid and conventional - though that is still a huge part of our business - and looking to design looks in a contemplative way that incorporates ideas from all over the world," said Connor. This year's Wood Floor of the Year Contest yielded 74 entries from the United States and Russia. All entries in the competition featured flooring installations completed between January 2013 and January 2014.
This year's winning floor was a seven-inch engineered walnut floor that was sold into a very contemporary setting in Miami.
"Our floors are headed all over the world as people find us through various means and that means that this particular client needed something special for this super contemporary home in Miami," added Connor.
This product was a "love at first site" type of thing with the designer and the homeowner, according to Alex Calderon, who installed the flooring. "They were looking for a wide plank solid walnut with an oil finish that would blend in with an ultra-modern space. The fear was that a typical walnut would look too traditional in such a stark setting. They required a hardwood that would soften and warm up the space without clashing with a bare concrete staircase and stainless steel finishes. The finish on this wood enhanced the right tones of the wood. It is a walnut floor unlike other walnut floors."
Because of their high profile, the client asked not to be identified. But exclusivity and privacy are not new to WD.
"In truth we had a lot of other floors that might have won the award but whether it's a famous athlete, an actor or a CEO they tend to shy away from the eye of public scrutiny and don't want their floors photographed much less talked about," explained Connor.
That is a double edged sword for WD Flooring.
"On the one hand we want to be able to talk about what we do and on the other we need to understand that the customers, at a certain level, respect the fact that we don't," Connor elaborated. "In actuality all of these products are winners and you don't necessarily have to be a lion of our domain to have access to them - we sell to distributors nationwide and have agreements for distribution in countries as far away as United Arab Emirates - we are thankful they don't turn customers away."
When asked if a three-peat was possible Connor replied, "If we didn't believe we should strive to always do better we wouldn't be in business."
Comments:
You must login to comment.