October 2007 Archives

The world of flooring is getting more interesting by the day.

We are seeing some really cool 2008 introductions including the new lines from Ming Dynasty, True Flooring, Saso and many more.

I expect to see some really cool new introductions of "NEW" species used for flooring over the next couple months. I don't want to spoil the surprise (or let the competition know what is being cooked up), but I can say that there are some breakthrough innovations coming in the following categories:

1) Cork Flooring - Innovation in dimension, color and technology
2) Hardwood Flooring - Innovation in sustainable species, certifications and choices. (not to mention nano-technology finishes!)
3) Laminate Flooring - High Definition patterns, new patented methods for making the floor that will revolutionize the business.
4) Bamboo Flooring - more differentiation related to what makes a good bamboo vs. what makes a mediocre bamboo and how YOU can tell the difference. Hint: iFLOOR carries the good stuff ;-)

I am jumping onto another plane now so more soon.

A great product to use for annual maintenance on certain floors is the "hardwood refresher" by Bona.

http://www.ifloor.com/item_374301/more-/cleaning-products-bonakemi-/bonakemi-maintenance-products/swedish-formula-hardwood-refresher-32oz.html

Read about the product - it can be a great way to refresh your floor.

As a side note: REFRESHER or any other topical coating should never be applied to laminate. It will not add value, in fact it will make your laminate harder to maintain and look worse.

This is a friendly tip for anyone who thought that refresher on laminate was a good idea. ;-)

Wow what a cool customer!

Recently we received pictures from a customer that talked about a VERY unique and inspiring usage for bamboo flooring:

You can make an Archery Bow!

Obviously Art A. - a self professed "Bower" is a talented and visionary craftsman.

Art says that Bamboo cores make the best bows ever and our bamboo is just the stuff to get it done!

Thanks for your pictures Art. They are great. Keep up the good work.

iFLOOR.com - 6' Spice - Engineered Strand Woven - Ming Dynasty Bamboo - Bamboo Flooring

I think our customer Marcus Sorensen said it all in his review:

hard!

Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:21 am
Reviewer: Marcus Sorensen (report this)

Holy cow this stuff is hard!! I just ordered a sample so far but it's amazing, I'll end up buying it. I have about ten samples of various bamboo (springwood, lotus land, and Ming, both vertical and horizontal, and this one strand woven) from iFloor, and tested them by dropping a pool ball from 5 feet since there will be a pool table in this room. Though all of the bamboo was harder than the red oak sample I got (via fingernail test), the pool ball left a noticeable dimple in all of the bamboo except for this one. In fact, it's so hard I was wondering if I was going to chip the ball! The red oak I was able to make a fingernail mark in rather easily, the various other bamboos I could with a little effort, but this one bent my fingernail and didn't leave a trace.

(the hardness of this is almost off the charts! - yet it is engineered to avoid formaldehyde emissions which can be found in most other strand bamboo floors)

Brazilian Cherry
Westhollow® Wood
Exotic Solid Hardwood

This floor is made in America - that means although it is grown and harvested in Brazil or areas in South America, it is milled and finished here in the US. That is a great thing!

iFLOOR.com - Brazilian Cherry - Exotic Solid Hardwood - Westhollow® Wood - Hardwood Floors: "Brazilian Cherry Westhollow® Wood Exotic Solid Hardwood"

This floor is finally back in stock.

Trying to keep 5" width SOLID Brazilian Cherry from managed forests in stock is nearly impossible.

We have a couple truckloads that just came in and the lucky customers who get the chance to have this are truly experiencing NIRVANA!

Get it while you can. Remember if you pick up at a local store using our regular transfer to the store - the shipping is FREE!

I am hitting the skies again shortly.

I expect to hit Chicago, Palantine, Tinley Park, Bensenville and a couple other new Chicagoland locations this weekend and then jet onward to Detroit (Utica) and Minneapolis as well. Heck while I am in the neighborhood I am planning on popping over to Bismark, ND and then heading back to Seattle for a big event next Thursday.

Although I rack up alot of miles I have to say that when you get the chance to see customers and store personnel interact it is one of the most satisfying parts of my job!

I will try to get ahead of the curve on blogging so that I keep folks informed about what's happening in flooring along the way.

Some Headlines:

More Flooring Industry consolidation is happening and will happen.
More Retail pressure will cause flooring retailers to go out of business.
More Import pressure in the form of Illegal Timber protections and hardwood flooring will make for a chaotic product supply situation from Asia, Africa and South America.
More Currency pressure will make for higher prices on flooring short term - of course it also give us a great opportunity to sell more containers of floors to other countries since the dollar is so weak. (Good news Canada - you can buy alot cheaper from us (save 20-40%) than 4 years ago when it was 20-40% here in the US than Canada.)

Lots of fun always in the wide world of flooring.

I have talked about this idea of eco-myths before, but let's review:

Bamboo is only as green as the company that makes it, the process that produces it and the underlying methods that harvest it and ultimately bring it to market.

I have seen a ton of "manufacturing facilities" that would shock the average flooring shopping at how crude they are. It should come as no surprise on the heels of dozens of high profile China recalls that there are some folks that do not operate state of the art companies. My message is to be aware. This is not a slam on China - they make alot of great stuff and they make alot of bad stuff. You just have to trust that someone is looking out for you. The tough part of this process is that many people don't even know what to look for or what questions to ask! (harvesting methods, pre-treatment chemicals, handling & storage, formaldehyde, emissions, etc... etc...)

I realize it may seem counter intuitive to think that bamboo of any kind may not be green, aka sustainable, earth friendly, etc.. - but it is a fact. I have pasted some photos below for fun.

(FYI: This is not a supplier we use, but they do export to the United States & Canada.And yes, for you purists out there I am aware that the photos indicate a very low "power" consumption, but let me assure you that you can not product a quality product without some electricity.)

The largest brand of hardwood is unquestionably Bruce Hardwood Floors.

The sheer scale of the choices found in Bruce are frankly overwhelming. In theory I am a flooring expert so one would think that I could navigate any hardwood offering, but I have to admit that I am not 100% aware of all of the styles and colors available in hardwood floors.

Look at this list:

How am I supposed to memorize all of those styles? Now imagine how many colors are in each style!

There is no doubt that the "80-20 rule" applies here. I have excellent experience with a series of these floors which includes the Coastal Woodlands Collection, Kennedale Strip, American Originals, Natural Choice and Turlington. Good hunting!

Sam's Club couldn't take their full allotment of some flooring called "Living Floors by Pergo" and therefore we picked it up as an overstock blowout opportunity. We;re happy to add the volume that the big guys couldn't handle. (lol - that is a joke in case anyone from Bentonville reads this. Do I feel odd that I have to explain my jokes? Not really it appears to be more and more of a requirement the older I get. Don't worry I will keep you posted as further hilarity unfolds...)

It is a mid toned stained red oak, with a well engineered multi-ply system and a very easy click locking system and can be used over radiant heat. (nothing funny about that - just good hardwood flooring.)

This is a web only special while supplies last. (no joke.)

The price does appear to be in jest since it is so low, however, presently it is at $2.99 per foot and we are down to the last 10,000 feet or so. I suppose it is possible that it will be gone by the time you read this; then the joke is on me. (ouch.)

Good luck for those who are lucky enough to grab some!

I may have already mentioned this, but I have to say the new colors in True woods laminate collections, but it deserves repeating.

One of the things that I really like about the newer laminate stylings from Armstrong, Pergo, Westhollow, Quickstep as well as some of the other brands is the realism of the wood look. The gloss levels, texture, narrow width, bevels edges and overall decors are becoming very impactful.

The True Flooring - True woods collection is one of those lines. Although it is brand new and I am not sure even on display yet, I saw some of the advanced colors when the containers began to arrive in the United States. I am enthusiastic about design options available using this product line. I think the Pergo World traveler floors and the newer Armstrong flooring styles have a similar potential for beautiful interiors.

True Woods Collection 8.3mm
Biltmore Cherry $2.09/SF	Canadian Maple $2.09/SF	Heartwood $2.09/SF	Ipe Walnut $2.09/SF	Kempas $2.09/SF
Select Oak $2.09/SF	South American Teak $2.09/SF	Suwanee Red Oak $2.09/SF	Tennessee Walnut $2.09/SF

I realize that alot of folks get buried by the floor buying process and forget that the outcome can be a real life changing event. When you prepare to have a home transformation in the form of new flooring it can feel overwhelming, but I sure have witnessed a huge number of project successes that really make it all worthwhile.

The pictures below are of a stunning home submitted recently by wonder iFLOOR flooring customer.

We salute your design skills!

Some of the decors in the new Westhollow cork flooring Urban Premium collection are really something to see!

I was just taking notice of some of the styles available and I have to say that I get a real charge out of the FARO styling of flooring found in this new collection.

The randomized paver with some rich earth tone color really combine for an excellent effect. A home can really be transformed by adding something this powerfully designed, yet so subtle in terms of presentation.

Check them out for yourself at: Westhollow Floors

When I was traveling recently I had the opportunity to visit our new iFLOOR Brooklyn location which is in itself awesome. Finally we can offer a choice for our customers in this very important service area between shopping online which is awesome, convenient and highly successful or a face to face transaction with lots of large scale samples with local inventory of items in stock ready to go. This choice is a good thing for customers.

While visiting the store I had the chance to meet alot of great neighbors around that store. What a great friendly group of folks! And by the way, this is New York. Most people from outside the city would be blown away by how nice everyone is overall and the absolute talent that is dwelling in that fine city. It was great to see what these talented folks are putting into the mix.

Below I snapped just a couple shots from Kevin Barrett just as the last of my camera batteries survived. (Otherwise I would show you some incredible custom furniture and metal work from another neighbor!)

I was certainly impressed enough with his work to want to capture some of his concepts on my camera. Of course I am smart enough to know the rule that applies to me: "If I have to ask what the price is - I can't afford it." Awesome stuff.

His website I believe is here: Kevin Barrett Sculptures. Bear in mind I didn't set up shots or edit photos, I just snapped some shots of work in progress in the studio workroom. Maybe sometime we'll email our New England customers an invite them to a show of some of the local artists at the iFLOOR location - it would be fun!

(yes i thought I should get my picture with Kevin so that when he is so famous that he won't talk to the little people anymore I would still have this photo to show off!)

I think it is tough for folks to navigate the floor buying process in general.

In my past article "Steve's Stages of Floor Shopping" I pointed out that a process that begins with excitement soon turns to frustration because the flooring market itself can be tough to navigate.

One guy says his 49 cent laminate is just as good as the $4.00 product, can you trust him? He buys direct so that means...

Another guy says his $8.00 hardwood is better than the $4.00 hardwood you saw on the Internet, is he right? He says you get what you pay for so that means...

Another store says they have been in business for 50 years so that means....

Then a guy says he has a flooring warranty that will last for 1000 years and will withstand nuclear winter so that means....

Then you realize you have no way to narrow down this search and of course at iFLOOR we decide to throw 50,000 different pages at you, which I have to admit may add to your frustration.

The good news is that the iFLOOR experts can help you through the process and relieve some of your frustration, but I wanted to let you know that we are actively working on a super secret project to help you narrow your search based on your personally relevant criteria in a fast friendly way.

In the mean time here are some quick links to the brands in each category to help you get familiar with some of the finest players in the flooring space:

HARDWOOD FLOORING
LAMINATE FLOORING
BAMBOO FLOORING
CORK FLOORING
AREA RUGS
CARPET
TILE FLOORING
VINYL FLOORING
BLOWOUT FLOORING
DIY FLOORING
Flooring Accessories & More

If you are thinking about laminate in today's market it may come as a surprise to you that just a few years ago laminate was 100% glue together at the tongue and the groove. While this was still a "floating floor" it was not as cool as the newer generation of clic floors (click flooring). Uniclic, aka flooring industries, which was acquired by Mohawk industries Mohawk Industries, Inc.
(Public, NYSE:MHK) and as usual this turned out to be a brilliant move. MHK is one of the best at making acquisitions and then completing integrations of assets of any company in the world, let alone the flooring category.Valinge has also created a series of technology advancements in the patent science of clic flooring, but I would say that unilin owns the laminate category by in large. There are other pieces to the puzzle including Pergo, Classen, Faus, Alloc, Junkers and many more I am sure. Frankly it is tough to figure out who covers what.

http://www.ifloor.com/articles/lam/pickclick.html

PICK A CLICK

I wrote an article a few years back about picking a click together laminate which deserves an update, but the reason I thought about this topic today was more related to the fact that engineered hardwood is about to undergo the same kind of transformation that laminate did.This time many experts I have talk to generally believe Valinge has the edge in the hardwood category.

While just a couple years ago the concept of a clic flooring or clic laminate or click hardwood in general seemed like a fairy tale today it is fast becoming a reality. I remember the first time a manufacturer told me about their tests for a glueless locking system. I was flabbergasted and I came up with at least 10 reasons why it could never work. (This points out the obvious, which is that I don't know enough!)

As the next great chapter in the clic flooring begins I will be watching. Lots of cool stuff coming.

The flooring on this page is something that I just can't believe how awesome it looks.

If you have never seen a floor with a "Cost Rican" maple styling now is the time.

http://www.ifloor.com/item_407539/laminate-flooring/westhollow-laminate/south-pacific-vise-loc-12mm/costa-rican-maple.html

CLICK HERE TO LINK

THIS IS SOMETHING TO SEE!

Well you always know the best marketing ideas have 2 things in common:

1) Giving something away for free.
2) Don't tell the CEO

I just saw that we are having a FREE FLOORING content for those who make purchases during the month of October (or something like that.) I honestly don't know the details, but I do know this: FREE IS A GOOD PRICE.

To see details go here: http://www.ifloor.com/freefloor.html

FREE FLOORING LINK

It is truly a great time to be a flooring customer. There are huge price advantages, great delivery and installation options, HUGE financing choices and now the chance to get it all for FREE!!!

(I am going to have to call the accountants to see how this is supposed to pencil out.)

No matter what the accountants say, it's happening. So go ahead - get in the game. Lots of others are joining the movement and good luck to each of you!

Starting on Thursday we are having a 3-day grand opening event both in stores and online. We are doing a nationwide celebration for our new stores which now total about 34 open stores with 2 more set to open in the next week or so. That will make 36 local locations which will help us serve you better wherever you are. More are on the way as well. Buying online has never been easier and you can combine your online experience with the store experience if you prefer. We are giving you all of the options and security that we believe is unmatched! Internet prices and local service. Yeah baby!

We are blessed to have passed the 500,000th customer mark recently and I would like to take a moment to say thanks a million! (hint: I would like to pass the million customer mark soon too, thus the thanks a "million".)

Seriously we are very fortunate to have pioneered the Internet flooring space and we have hundreds of talented folks working hard every day to make sure the customer experience is something that delivers on our promise to serve. We wouldn't be here without you.

As a sidebar: we are offering 2 financing programs for a very limited duration. The new "iFLOOR" card which is long term deferred financing offered in cooperation with Wells Fargo is really stepping up for two BIG OFFERS. Take your pick:

27 Months No Interest 0% Interest until 2010 - with equal payments. *oac

Or

18 Months Same-as-cash No down payment, No Payments, No Interest. *oac

To see details of these limited time choices go to the FINANCING PAGE.

I was discussing the 27 month offer the other day with some of my colleagues and it hit me just how affordable it is.

If you have a $2700 flooring investment - that is only $100.00 per month for the next couple years!

If you have a $5400 flooring investment - that is only $200.00 per month for the next couple years!

If you have a $8100 flooring investment - that is only $300.00 per month for the next couple years!

APPLY NOW

We routinely have credit lines appoved in excess of 10K - even 15K for applicants and the iFLOOR card as very high approval rates.

Ladies this is the time to tell the men that is MORE than affordable. Men now is the time to invest in your home. We all know what is going on in the housing market and we all know that these things work in cycles. When you are ready to sell your home having beautiful new hardwood floors or handscraped bamboo flooring is what can really set you apart. And to have a INTEREST FREE opportunity? Fogetaboutid**.

** I was in Brooklyn last week so I am qualified to use that statement.

It will be a busy 3 days for sure! So order early and order often. The rush is coming and the stock levels will deplete quickly as the holiday rush gains strength. Have fun!

If you are cool - check out these rugs - when I see the total collections these guys offer the styles blow my mind. This is true art for the floor. (if you are not cool that is ok - move on to the next post.)

http://www.ifloor.com/group_4524/area-rugs/momeni-rugs/new-wave-collection.html

NW03 Lola Olive Green

NW04 Cubes Ivory

NW04 Cubes Ivory

NW05 Kancun White

NW06 Contempo Blue



NW06 Contempo Gold

NW06 Contempo Gold

NW06 Contempo Multi