Floor Focus

Skip to content ABA Studios specified carpet tile from Mohawk Group for the West Valley College Learning Resource Center in Saratoga, California. By Meg Scarbrough There was a time when many college buildings seemed designed to do one thing well: hold students. Classrooms were classrooms. Dining halls were rows of tables. Residence halls were functional, and not exactly comforting.

Skip to content Briard SPC by Shaw Flooring is a waterproof product featuring PawDefense scratch-resistant technology. By Meg Scarbrough Pets have long influenced flooring decisions in subtle ways—scratches on hardwood, stains on carpet, muddy paw prints tracked across entryways. Today, however, their impact is far more profound.

Skip to content Mirage’s Bluum collection of white oak in Camellia. By Jessica Chevalier Chaos is how Dan Natkin, CEO of Essex Finishing, describes 2025 for the hardwood business. “Last year started out fairly normal, albeit much slower than post-Covid uptick, then the news about tariffs hit.

All photos courtesy of Fulton Homes. By Jessica Chevalier The general economics of the U.S. have not yet swung back in favor of homebuilders, flooring dealers serving the channel, or for that matter, Americans seeking a newly constructed home, so industry players faced a sub-par market in 2025, much like they did in 2024, and expectations around 2026 remain tempered. It’s a peculiar situation for a nation literally short of millions of homes.

Skip to content Interview by Kemp Harr Ohio native Pat Oakley accepted a position with Harris-Tarkett in 1997, hired by Neil Poland to develop a laminate flooring line to complement Harris-Tarkett’s hardwood program. One year later when Poland left Harris-Tarkett to serve as president of Mullican, Pat followed him to take a regional sales manager role. In 2005, Pat was promoted to national sales manager and in 2017 became vice president of sales and marketing.

Skip to content By Andrea Durbin In the world of commercial architecture and flooring specification, some partnerships are built on aesthetics, while others are built on something far more permanent: resilience. For MA+ Architecture and the Canadian Valley Technology Center (CVTech), their bond was forged in the eye of a literal storm. A FOUNDATION OF TRUST The story of this collaboration began in 2013.

Skip to content Each year, the Spark Awards spotlight projects installed by Fuse commercial flooring contractors that showcase exceptional craftsmanship, innovative design and the effective use of flooring to elevate commercial environments. Just as important, they recognize the creative problem-solving and technical expertise required to navigate complex installation challenges.

By Meg Scarbrough On Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast, the province of Castellón forms the heart of one of the world’s most concentrated ceramic tile manufacturing regions. Factories, design studios and research centers stretch across the landscape, supporting an industry that exports Spanish ceramic tile to nearly every corner of the globe.

Skip to content AHF Products acquired this 328,000-square-foot facility in Cartersville, Georgia, in late 2025. By Meg Scarbrough In the evolving conversation around domestic manufacturing, AHF Products’ recently acquired facility in Cartersville, Georgia represents a different kind of investment—one rooted not in legacy, but in acceleration.

Skip to content By Jessica Chevalier Elaine and David DeLuco started Interiors on Pleasant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in 1992. David has previously owned a flooring store in Ohio and decided to launch a new venture when he moved to Pennsylvania. The early operation offered flooring—carpet, vinyl and a little ceramic—as well as window treatments and wallpaper.