Live-Edge Stairs Go Viral on Facebook

Editor's note: This floor won a Wood Floor of the Year award after the story was posted. If you want more information about it, and all the other floors that won a Wood Floor of the Year award in 2015, see our in-depth story.

Real Antique Wood's black walnut, live-edge stairs and floor project went viral on the company's Facebook page. Photo: Chris SaracenoReal Antique Wood (Irvington, N.J.) posted a picture of a live-edge black walnut floor installation on its Facebook page on March 4 that, as of the start of this week, was viewed 1.95 million times, shared 22,330 times and “liked” 123,648 times (including views, shares and "likes" on posts by Facebook users who shared the photo).

“It’s over-the-top crazy, man,” said Gary Horvath, Real Antique Wood’s owner.

The post has gone viral worldwide, leading to a number of people contacting Real Antique Wood on the phone and via email from Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Argentina.

The floor is black walnut that had fallen during a hurricane in 2011. The company finished installing the floor last fall.

They knew it was an impressive project, so Horvath submitted it to the National Wood Flooring Association’s Wood Floor of the Year competition. A photo would have been posted to Real Antique Wood’s Facebook page earlier, but the NWFA asks applicants to keep project images under wraps until after the member voting period ends. This year, that was Feb. 28. So on March 4, Megan Curley, on her first day working with Real Antique Wood, posted the photo on Facebook.

Curley made it a goal for her first month with the company to boost its Facebook fan count from 500 to 1,000. Two weeks later, the company has a total 4,258 fans.

Horvath joked that Curley peaked too early.

“I said, ‘You’ve got yourself in a hole now, anything else is going to be screwing around,’” he said.

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