Johnson Hardwood took a step back to study what consumers and designers are looking for and determined that bolder is better for new flooring trends; the company has added 7-foot long planks to their 2013 product line.
Consumers are looking to make bold statements with continuous pieces of hardwood that make spaces look longer, wider, and provide a less distracting flooring pattern. Johnson has reacted to this demand by creating the English Pub series that consists of 7-foot long by 7 ½-inch wide planks. Hand sculpted in the Johnson Hardwood product tradition, the concept is modern with a craftsman twist, taking the idea from reclaimed, naturally worn wood that has been refinished for modern day use. The English Pub series is available in a wide variety of rich colors and includes both maple and hickory wood species.
The English Pub series was created not only with consumer demands in mind, but also from suggestions and feedback coming directly from Johnson Hardwood dealers. “We made the decision to provide our dealers and distributors with an engineered flooring product that has the look of a custom floor with the advantage of keeping inventory in-stock to meet current consumer demands,” said Louie Wang, corporate operations officer for Johnson Hardwood. “English Pub has a distinct look, but with a variety of stains to create a cohesive custom product line if that is what our dealers are looking for.” English Pub was made for the hardwood flooring customer who wants the look of reclaimed wood from a beautiful old barn on her floors at a fraction of the cost.
Johnson Hardwood is not only focused on vintage this year. In keeping up with the contemporary design and lumber trends for 2013, Johnson Hardwood is releasing the Pacific Coast Series, slated to the market in early August. Colors will run the spectrum from white to black in hickory, maple, and birch wood species. With interior design trends steering toward the drama of high contrast, this product line is sure to find its fans.
“Hardwood flooring and working with a natural resource in general is a fascinating way to make product,” noted Bill Schollmeyer, president of Johnson Hardwood. “There is only so much control that you are allowed when it comes to developing your product. The environment takes care of a lot of your decision making. This challenge allows our product development team to exercise their creativity having to think not only globally, but also in the way of grain structure and natural hues among the different wood species. It’s a great way to bring a flooring product to the market that wasn’t there before, and gives our customers that wild card they need to differentiate themselves amongst their competitors.”
And a wild card product is in the works for Johnson Hardwood with the August release of Red Oak, making an appearance in the lumber industry after a period of scarce resources. Johnson Hardwood continues to work towards what’s new and next, giving its customers the best of what’s to come.