by Rick Guynn, National Dealer Manager
It is always exciting when I have the opportunity to visit with any of our customers in the western mountain states. Colorado has long been an important market for our reclaimed wood flooring. Denver, Boulder, the Front Range, the Western Slope and the Southwest, each have their own unique environment, life style qualities and economies. The common thread of course being a love of outdoor activities, gorgeous natural settings, appreciation for the environment, and honest natural home styles. This trip, during a remarkable high pressure weather system over the Rockies in the middle of February, resulted in clear blue skies framing the mountains and vistas on my drive from Denver to ski country of the Western Slope. Some of our most successful and loyal hardwood flooring dealers have made a name for themselves servicing second home buyers and builders in colorful places like Vail, Crested Butte, Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.
The focus of this trip was to spend some valuable “face time” with a couple of active dealer installers who were good enough to take the time to show me
some of their latest handiwork using reclaimed antique wood flooring. The”Up Valley” homes we toured are typical of the homes built closest to the ski runs and are frequently built on the choicest building sites with plenty of space for creative landscaping. For years, the quintessential mountain home style has been based on variations and interpretations of the historic Grand Lodge style theme, scaled down a bit for modern living. This style of construction has it’s roots, wherever found, in incorporating natural building materials of stone, heavy timbers framing large window areas and of course spacious rooms with wood floors throughout. As my several hosts were quick to point out, reclaimed antique wood flooring is often the first best choice to compliment and tie together the other natural elements used in this style construction.
The visual warmth of reclaimed wood flooring is undeniable in settings like the several homes that I had the pleasure to visit. Read the rest of this entry »
