Changing Minds to Create a Custom Canadian Centerpiece

Kim Wahlgren Headshot
Photos by Dellas
Photos by Dellas

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Although this floor was created as a centerpiece for the Canadian Consulate location in Buffalo, N.Y., the original specifications called for cork and bamboo. "It was very bizarre," says Mike Caroll, owner/operator at M P Caroll Hardwood, who immediately called the architect about considering a new proposal. "I knew if we could put some wood ideas in front of them, we could change their mind, which we did," he says.

Caroll collaborated with his longtime colleague Bill Adams at Louisville, Ky.-based Custom Hardwood Supply Inc. to create a 24-foot-wide design incorporating Canadian maple and santos mahogany, with a maple leaf inlay as a focal point. "When we presented the drawing in full color, with finished wood samples, everybody flipped," Caroll says. Despite being more expensive than the initial design, it was approved.

Although the design is simple, the execution had to be precise. Adams spent about 80 hours creating the floor with his CNC machine before shipping the raw wood to Buffalo for installation. After days of extensive slab prep, Caroll's expert crews glued the floor down, sanded and finished it with waterborne finish to preserve the light maple color. The final floor mirrors the ceiling perfectly.

"This is one of my favorite projects in 30 years of being a floor guy," Caroll says. He liked it so much, in fact, it inspired his showroom floor, which then earned a Wood Floor of the Year trophy in 2014.

 

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