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On the Florida panhandle, in Destin just overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay, sits a coastal home surrounded by oak trees and situated on a gorgeous turquoise swath of the Emerald Coast. The homeowners were seeking to renovate the residence, which has been beloved by their family for three generations, to capitalize on the stunning views and natural tranquility of this idyllic location.
Patrick Ballasch of DAG Architects was tasked with making the space airy, comfortable, tranquil, and timeless. Ballasch increased the height and width of the windows and painted the walls white to expand the views and bring them inside, enveloping guests with glimpses of nature from every room. Cool tones of seafoam and light blues were chosen to mirror the shades found in the home’s natural environment and were balanced with earthy tones to warm up the space.
Since the flooring would be used throughout the entire home, selecting the right hardwood and color was a key decision in the project. Ballasch worked closely with Carlisle’s Wide Plank Specialist, who took the time to understand how the homeowners would live on the floor and what their vision was, and then provided custom samples to ensure all expectations were met.
Since Carlisle floors are customized, the homeowners could tailor every aspect of the flooring to achieve their exact vision, from the color to the cut. Ultimately, Ballasch and the homeowners opted for a custom coffee-colored floor that wasn’t too dark or too light, too red or too yellow, and perfectly complemented the cool tones of the surrounding sea. They selected quartersawn oak flooring, which—unlike plain sawn flooring—uses just a quarter of the log, avoiding the arched grain and leaving just the vertical grain for a more refined appearance.
“The wide plank floor plays a major role in providing a human scale to the rooms, warming the color palette, and connecting each room visually,” says Ballasch. “It also contributes to the home’s timeless quality.”
The floor truly transformed the Choctawhatchee Bay home into the warm, inviting, and sophisticated space the homeowners envisioned and brought new life to their coastal home.
While many homeowners choose a fully customized floor, building a floor “from scratch” can be challenging, as there are thousands of different flooring options. To simplify the process, Carlisle also offers thoughtfully curated Collection floors, which provide an excellent beginning point when selecting a wide plank floor. Homeowners can make numerous modifications to a Collection floor to finetune their desired floor.
Each floor, collection or custom, is handled by over two dozen pairs of hands from start to finish. The floors are all crafted one at a time, board by board, eliminating waste resulting from mass production, and making sure clients get the highest quality, and most beautiful, product available.
Taking inspiration from the authentic wide plank floors found in historic New England homes, Carlisle’s artisans have crafted luxury hardwood floors from their facility in southern New Hampshire for more than fifty years. The earliest wide plank floors, built by European colonists, were made from the heartwood from old growth trees with a dense grain pattern that would stand the test of time—many wide plank wood floors in homes along the Eastern Seaboard are hundreds of years old and have maintained their timeless beauty.
Carlisle has earned a reputation as the leader in wide plank flooring through innovation, integrity, and sustainability. All of Carlisle’s flooring is made in America with responsibly sourced domestic hardwood and reclaimed wood from sawyers who are committed to sustainable forestry practices and provide the highest quality material available.
Below, check out more details and imagery from the Choctawhatchee Bay project, and hear from architect Patrick Ballasch. To explore Carlisle’s Collections and learn more about their direct-to-consumer wide plank floors, visit wideplankflooring.com.