Meet Our Team, Part 3: NE 122nd Store

Welcome to the third and final installment of the Stone Wood blog’s latest series, “Meet Our Team.” In this feature, we share a little info about the installation and design experts who you’ll be working with when you visit one of our Portland design stores.

This time, we’ll meet the Portland interior design professionals of our NE 122nd Avenue location.

Nancy

First up is Nancy, who comes to the Portland interior design community by way of Oregon State University, where she earned a degree in Interior Design. She brings six years’ experience in design and remodels to the job, and specializes both in Craftsman-style and ultra-modern installations. Nancy is an award-winning interior designer and holds a certification from the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

Alisha

Next we have another degreed interior designer, Alisha, who earned her sheepskin at Washington State. She brings broad experience to Stone Wood’s Portland design stores, having designed residential, commercial and urban projects. Alisha has a passion for bringing a contemporary touch to classic designs, often with a European flair that reflects her old-world heritage.

Justin

Justin’s 15 years of experience in the design and building industries makes him the seasoned veteran of the group. His hands-on experience in the Portland interior design scene helps him find the perfect materials suppliers, and his breadth of knowledge gives him a steady hand when it comes to guiding clients through even the most challenging projects.

Meet Our Team, Part 2: Tigard

Welcome back to our introductory blog series, Meet Our Team! As you'll remember from the last installment, we have a lot of talented new designers and installation experts at each Stone Wood Design Center location. This week we're shining the spotlight on the professionals at our Tigard location. Enjoy!

Christina

Christina graduated from the Art Institute of Portland with a degree in Interior Design. She focused her studies on Urban Design, Residential and Commercial Design, and has over 4 years of interior design and historic home restoration experience.

Sarah

After receiving an Architectural Design and Drafting degree from Portland Community College, Sarah worked for over 13 years in various interior design and retail showroom management jobs. She specializes in stone, tile, hardwood flooring, and cabinetry.

John

John has been working in the building materials industry for over 10 years and is now the Tigard store manager. His passions include incorporating environmentally sustainable building materials into high-end home design projects and working with homeowners to create a warm, welcoming design in every room of their home.

Spring Cleaning: Preparing Your Outdoor Decking for Nicer Weather

With the summer months fast approaching, it’s time to start to start think about your exterior decking and how to prepare it for the warm-weather season.

Protecting your deck from the sun is just as important as protecting it from the damp. Why? Most of the hardwood decking Portland homeowners use is treated with oils and chemicals to keep out the damp. The heat of the sun boils off these essential oils, leaving your exterior decking vulnerable to warping and rot.

What to do? Each spring, clear your deck completely and wash it down. Now is the time to check for algae and mold spots that may have formed over the winter. If you find any, scrub them out with a mild bleach solution.

Next, check for loose fasteners and rotted or broken boards, replacing as necessary.

Finally, use a manufacturer-approved deck sealer to seal your deck. Your Stone Wood Design Center representative can help you choose.

These simple, regular maintenance routines can be the difference between a deck that starts looking shabby after just a few years and one that lasts for decades. If you take good care of your hardwood decking, Portland weather will be no match for it!

SWDC Top Sellers: Grand Mesa Laminate Flooring

Welcome back to your favorite design-focused blog series, Stone Wood Design Center Top Sellers. You may recall that our last installment covered Peruvian Travertine tile. This time, we’ll be examining a wood-style flooring solution, a laminate flooring product called Grand Mesa Laminate Flooring.

Among the many strong points of this particular flooring product is a factory-applied aluminum oxide finish. This “crystal finish” lasts on average two-and-a-half times longer than traditional urethane finishes, making Grand Mesa one laminate flooring Portland homeowners should seriously consider if they want to save time and money over the life of their installation. It’s so durable, in fact, that Stone Wood Design Center backs each residential installation with a 25-year warranty.

Unlike some laminate flooring products, Grand Mesa presents with a textured wire brush finish, making it a good choice for that vintage, “lived-in” look, rather than the flat, painted-on appearance associated with less-advanced laminate flooring products.

Since Grand Mesa laminate flooring comes as a single plank per piece, with beveled edges on each plank, when installed it has the appearance of true hardwood. The handscraped look of the wire-brushed relief make the illusion complete.

Grand Mesa is available in four rich finishes: Pecan Rustic, Gunstock Oak, Sierra Hickory, and Saddle Walnut. Stop in one of our three Portland locations today and see which is right for you.

Product Showcase 2012

We've been cleaning and organizing all Winter long - and now we are pleased to invite everyone to come on down to the Yeon store on Friday night and check out all the awesome new products, design-inspired vignettes and enjoy a glass of wine.

Friday March 2nd from 4pm to 8pm - Wine Tasting provided by The Wine Shop. Light snacks as well.

Here's one of the cool vignettes put together by our interior designers to help inspire you:

New products include Italian Glass Mosaics, Award Winning Porcelain Tile from Emser and the Provenza line of wood flooring.

Trust me, you will be inspired. This is not a sale event - we just want everyone to enjoy the beautiful new products.