Johnson City, Tenn.—Mullican Flooring’s Castillian Collection was introduced to consumers in 2010 as high-end, engineered hardwood flooring that combines distinctive surface treatments with enhanced durability.
The products appear to have filled a niche in the design world.
“Interior designers are particularly drawn to this collection,” says Brian Greenwell, vice president of sales and marketing for the Johnson City, Tenn.-based company. “They like the different surface treatments and say the flooring goes well with the crisper, cleaner lines of contemporary interiors.”
The fact that the company’s Castillian products have been chosen twice this year to be part of television design projects is indicative of their appeal.
The Castillian Collection contains 12 engineered hardwood flooring products available in oak, hickory and walnut, and each displays an unusual surface treatment – such as whitewashed, wire-brushed, sculpted or sculpted-smoked.
Castillian “oak driftwood,” a wire-brushed, six-inch plank, was used in the renovation of the 2012 HGTV Urban Oasis SM Giveaway – a condominium located in an ultra-modern, 47-story tower in Miami, Fla. The site is one of the newest and most luxurious residential buildings in the city.
HGTV’s lead designer Lindsay Pumpa contends it was the Castillian flooring that set the tone for all other aspects of the renovation. “It was really my first inspiration to start mixing the natural, weathered accent pieces with the new modern furniture,” she says. “In the end, it really provided a great contrast in the condo.”
Another Castillian product, “oak midnight,” was used in the design scheme of a Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tenn.) skybox – a location that was remodeled for an episode of “Man Caves,” a DIY Network television series. The 1,000-square-foot space is extremely contemporary and contains unique design features such as stadium seating made from racecar seats and pub tables fashioned from Goodyear tires.
According to Marissa Sauer, the project’s supervising designer, the flooring was the component that “grounded the room and tied the whole space together.”
Both of the chosen Castillian products were wire-brushed, which means planks had been stroked with a wire brush to discard the surface’s soft wood. This process gives each plank a worn, European appearance that not only adds character but makes the flooring more durable, less slippery and easier to maintain.
Other products in the Castillian Collection are whitewashed and/or hand-sculpted, which means the planks are individually stylized with tools by trained craftsmen to make them appear aged.
“Castillian, with its different surface treatments and colors, appears to have an avant-garde appearance that fits well with current decorating design trends,” Greenwell adds. “We’re excited to see how the appeal grows.”
Castillian Collection Adds Solids
The Castillian Collection also contains five prefinished solid products – all in oak. These were added in 2011 and carry one of the most unusual offers in the hardwood flooring industry – a “lifetime moisture warranty” when installed using Mullican’s new Aqua Shield system.
The warranty and the Aqua Shield system represent Mullican’s effort to address one of the longest-standing issues faced by the hardwood flooring industry – how to prevent cupping, buckling and warping in solid hardwood flooring due to moisture from below.
Several Mullican products can be used with the Aqua Shield system and carry the unprecedented “lifetime moisture warranty.” These products are constructed to withstand moisture when installed in combination with the company’s Moisture Mat underlayment.
In order to qualify for the “lifetime moisture warranty,” customers must correctly apply the two-part Aqua Shield system and pre-register with Mullican to document specific information about the installation – such as room temperature, humidity level and other environmental conditions.
Mullican’s five solid Castillian products come in five-inch widths and also carry Mullican’s new lifetime-warranted CLARITAGE® Extra finish by PPG Industries.