Wood flooring legend Birger Juell has died at the age of 93. The bodies of Juell and his wife, Anne, 77, were found floating in Whitewater Lake in southern Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon; the Juells owned a home there, and it is believed to be a tragic swimming accident.
A Norwegian immigrant, Juell learned the wood flooring trade and built a business, Chicago-based Birger Juell Ltd., that became a fixture in the wood flooring industry known for its high-end, custom hand-scraped floors and high-profile clientele. "I don't do all this laser cutting and crazy things like that. I do 'simple classic'-that's what I call it. It's just a way of making the whole room come together. You don't want to see just wood floors. If your floor sticks out, it's not a good job," Juell told the magazine in 2001 after winning one of the company's 10 Wood Floor of the Year awards.
Juell's signature floor was hand-scraped following the grain in a way that Juell likened to the way water flows over rocks. "It's amazing how the industry has fallen in line with his aesthetic ... Birger has certainly been a leader in promoting that old-world, hand-hewn look," Birger Juell Ltd. President Chuck Crispin told the magazine in 2005.
Birger and Anne Juell were both avid swimmers and boaters.
A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home at 6150 N. Cicero Ave. in Chicago. A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held at the Chicago Yacht Club located at the Foot of Monroe St. in Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Chicago Maritime Society, 310 S. Racine Ave., Chicago, IL 60607. The online memorial can be found at www.smithcorcoran.com.
