In wood floor design and installation. (NWFA Applauds The Finest).(National Wood Flooring Association)

The National Wood Flooring Association's (NWFA) Floor of the Year Awards annually showcase the finest craftsmanship in wood floor design and installation. The 2002 edition of the contest was no exception, netting 141 entries in 11 categories.

Entries are supplied by NWFA members in good standing to be judged by a panel of professional designers from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Traditionally, winning floors are announced at NWFA's annual Education Conference and Wood Flooring Expo, which this year was conducted April 18-20 in Orlando, Fla.

For the second straight year, top honors in the Master Division went to Chicago-based Birger Juell Ltd. The award-winning installation in a private home office in Florida makes use of hickory with faux alligator leather inserts. The floor was designed as a large square grid with smaller diagonal grids within each square. Sam Rosenberg designed the floor. Birger Juell installed, manufactured and finished it.

A win in any category in a past Floor of the Year competition is required for consideration in the Master Division. Overall quality and appearance are two primary criteria used in judging Floor of the Year winners.

Old Country Hardwood Flooring Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, won two awards for their 2,300-square-foot family room installation. The company won for Floor of the Year in the Expert Division, as well as for Best Limited Species Design. The installation incorporates maple and black walnut, and features hardwood planks within an oblong grid. Connie Young, an architect in Calgary; helped design the floor. Old Country Hardwood designed and finished it. Madawaska Hardwood Flooring Inc. provided the flooring. Basic Coatings manufactured the finish.

To win in the Expert Division, the entrant cannot have previously won in any Floor of the Year category. To win for Best Limited Species Design, the company's installation cannot use mote than two woods or stained components.

Another Expert Division entrant, Prairieville, La.-based Crescent Hardwood Supply, won the 2002 Member's Choice Award for a 685-square-foot showroom installation. The installation features a "path" of darker wood used to mark traffic lanes, as well as insets and border work. Species used for the installation include white oak, red oak, dear Brazilian cherry, royal mahogany; light and dark cumaru, tigerwood, ivorywood, hickory/pecan, ash, new heart pine, Australian cypress, and select walnut and maple.