Medallions & Borders
Other Columnists
There's something warm and natural about a wood floor. From
honey-stained oak to wine-colored cherry, a wood floor injects character into
a room, suggesting a measure of sophistication and a depth of personality.
These dynamics are exactly what Dennis and Mary Costello were after as they
planned their wood floor last year during the renovation of their Islip
Colonial, built in the mid-1970s. They also wanted just a little more.
"We wanted a dramatic effect in the foyer," says Dennis Costello, who owns
All Seasons Air Conditioning Co. in West Babylon. "The idea was to enhance the
home at the entrance, to give the house more of a high-end look.
"We wanted a 'wow' factor."
Adding pizzazz
To achieve that front-
entrance pizzazz, the Costellos added to more than 400 square feet of new
oak flooring, including about half in the foyer, a special medallion and an
inlay border. The details added about 15 percent to their $7,300 installation,
which included sanding and finishing, and hallway coverage on the second floor.
"I had seen medallions and borders in some of the homes where I've worked
with my own business," Costello says, "and I could see how these extras really
dramatize things."
The Costellos chose a 36-inch medallion from Oshkosh Designs, a Wisconsin
company that specializes in wood-floor details. The Costellos' Charleston
medallion combines American cherry, maple, mahogany and two exotic woods from
Brazil - Santos mahogany and Ip� - to create a six-petal flower. In addition to
the medallion, which is centered beneath the foyer's custom chandelier, is a
border of dark-stained oak and several hardwoods.
Costello said the floor installation was designed to include the main
stairway handrails, which were faux-painted, and the second-floor hallway.
Floor stains and wood tones from the main floor and border match certain pieces
in the medallion. "The idea with the handrails and border was to bring
everything in the rooms together," Costello says.
That "together" look can include medallions and borders from a matching
designer-
driven collection, common with manufacturers such as Oshkosh and Dynamic
Laser Applications of Marietta, Ga. But such details are not commonly chosen by
the average homeowner, flooring experts say.
"The types of floors that have a medallion in the center or maybe a special
border, they are designer-driven," says Mike Calvagna, owner of Prestige Wood
Floors in Holbrook. "Normally, the homeowner who comes in to pick a wood floor
and asks about how to make it special like that, they're getting input from a
design professional."
Calvagna, a flooring specialist for nearly 30 years, says most homeowners
can achieve the same detail, provided they do a little research.
"You can find lots of pictures in flooring magazines or home design
magazines," Calvagna says. "When you see something you like, clip it out and
bring it to the store with you." Calvagna says a floor-
specialty warehouse is the best place to shop for wood-floor details.
Unlike home centers, which deal with only a few manufacturers and styles, a
store that specializes in wood flooring has more options.
Leading manufacturers feature collections inspired by Southwest
architecture or the as well as custom medallions. Homeowners have used emblems
and even photographs to create such medallions,
Calvagna says.
Size also varies, from circles of 30 to 36 inches in diameter up to 48-inch
squares. Custom pieces can be much larger. Medallions and borders can feature
exotic woods, like Yellowheart and Zebrawood, or a combination of marble,
ceramic tile and stone.
Inspirations from all corners
One custom medallion created by Dynamic Laser was inspired by a compass
used in the 1803 expedition of Lewis and Clark.
"This detail work is a special niche," says Tim Cullen of Tim Cullen
Construction Co. in Massapequa, the contractor for the Costellos' wood floors.
"There's a cost involved, for sure, and you see it mostly in high-end homes.
"But a border weave in corners, for example, or a center-hall medallion, it
adds the bells and whistles. All of a sudden, it's no longer a boring floor."
Installation prices vary greatly, according to the size of the detail item
and floor layout, Calvagna says. "You're typically talking anywhere from $3 to
$10 a square foot for detail installation, and that does not include finishing
or the material," he says. A 30-inch circular medallion can run from $300 to
$3,000. Finishing costs can run from about $3 a square foot for common woods up
to between $10 and $30 a square foot for more exotic woods.
Medallion installation also is labor-intensive. After a traditional wood
floor of planks or parquet is laid, the installer uses a template and a special
router bit to carve out space for the medallion. In most cases, medallion
manufacturers provide installers with both the template and the special bit.
In addition to medallions and border details, Calvagna says, patterns and
parquets are gaining popularity.
"Herringbone designs, for one, were popular years ago, and we're seeing
more of that lately," he says. "And people also are looking at more exotic
borders, which builders and installers can special-order."
A design statement was what Kriss and Lisa Gulbrandsen hoped to make when
they renovated their 1898 post-Colonial in 2005. Ted Wallerty of The Floor
Craftsmen in Farmingdale created two distinctive wood floors from traditional
oak, a parquet de Versailles, covering 1,200 square feet in the living room and
foyer, and 1,500 square feet of quarter-sawn scraped oak in the rest of the
home, including the great room, side-entrance foyer and the upstairs hallway
and bedrooms. Total cost: $20,000.
"The house is a hundred years old, and when you walk into it you can tell
we've maintained its original architectural integrity," Kriss Gulbrandsen says.
"At the same time, the two different floors also give each of the rooms great
character."
The Gulbrandsens maintained tradition. But some homeowners like the idea of
mixing and matching. For example, combining exotic woods that are newer to the
American market and standard hardwoods to create patterns and borders is
becoming more common. "You might find a homeowner looking for a border of
Brazilian cherry or Brazilian walnut with the majority of the floor being oak
or birch," Calvagna says.
What's the difference in a traditional wood floor and one with details?
"Let's put it this way," Dennis Costello says. "I've always loved my home,
but now I truly enjoy it."
The National Wood Flooring Association, a Missouri-based trade group, has
links to many companies that manufacture and distribute design elements for
wood floors. Visit the site's link for designs and details:
woodfloors.org/consumer/
designElements.aspx.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
A little detail goes a long way, says Mike Calvagna, owner of Prestige Wood
Floors in Holbrook.
"In a small dining room, a border that is too wide will make the room look
small," he says. Ditto for a medallion that overtakes a room.
"There's a relationship between the border or design element and the width
or depth of the room," he says. Trust the advice of a floor professional or
designer.
- GARY DYMSKI
