Dallas, TX – November 17, 2014 – Quick-Step’s celebrity designer partner Erinn Valencich recently met with some of the Metropolitan Builder Association’s (MBA) most influential members as part of Quick-Step flooring’s “Long Live Style” campaign. MBA is a trade association representing 1,000 companies involved in the construction, development, and remodeling of single and multi-family housing and light commercial properties throughout much of Wisconsin. Collectively, the group’s members employ tens of thousands of workers in the metro-Milwaukee area and do over $800 million worth of business each year. Erinn’s “Designing With Imagination & Innovation” seminar was sponsored by Quick-Step flooring and hosted by their retail partner Nonn’s Design Showplace. Valencich is nationally known for her unique, contemporary-glam style and has been Quick-Step flooring’s designer partner since 2010.

“There has truly never been a better time to be a designer,” said Erinn Valencich, interior designer, Quick-Step celebrity design partner, and recent contestant on NBC’s hit new design reality show American Dream Builders, hosted by renowned designer Nate Berkus. “Technology allows us to now have many different fabulous materials to choose from — giving both designers and builders greater design possibilities. The flooring industry is a perfect example of this new potential to achieve design, functionality, and great value in every project. Gone are the days of constraints — a homeowner can essentially ‘have it all’ when in the hands of a good builder or designer using the right materials.”

As Beautiful As They Are Functional
“For instance, in the past, the ‘function’ of a room many times dictated that hardwood was just not an option,” said Valencich. “As builders and designers, we are now able to offer beautiful hardwood visuals in the material that ‘best suits the room’s functionality’ thanks to savvy flooring brands harnessing today’s technology to create innovative flooring options. In today’s world, if you select the right flooring material, a high-traffic area can be as beautiful as it is functional.”

“As a designer, many times I run into a room that is a high traffic area … yet the warmth and charm of hardwood would be the perfect design direction for the floor,” said Valencich. “My solution — I like to put down high quality laminate planks, such as Quick-Step’s Reclaimé that offers the visuals and charm of vintage reclaimed hardwood floors, but with the durability and low maintenance of laminate. By selecting the right flooring material, a builder or designer can offer clients low-maintenance living that is as stylish as it is easy.”

Better Design Potential
“Also, in the past, price would many times limit the options that builders and designers could offer their clients and still stay within budget,” Valencich told the builder group. “A client’s wish list may have initially included a hand-scraped hardwood floor running from room to room in their new home, but the reality of the construction budget meant that high-end hardwood just wasn’t a viable option. Now with innovative flooring such as Quick-Step high quality laminate planks, we can bring just about any look into our clients’ homes ‘affordably’, expanding our design options exponentially. By choosing the right modern flooring, you can now bring a very high level of style into a home at a price that fits into just about any budget.”

“A perfect example is reclaimed wood … Reclaimed hardwood floors are extremely popular right now,” said Valencich. “Reclaimed wood adds an attractive level of style and artistry to a room. The roadblock most consumers run into is that real reclaimed hardwood is scarce, so reclaimed hardwood prices are high. I’ve found an exciting solution in Quick-Step’s Reclaimé Collection — high quality laminate planks that provide consumers with the rich visuals, texture, and charm of vintage, reclaimed hardwood floors at an attractive price.”

“I have personally used Reclaimé in many of my clients’ homes,” added Valencich. “The level of realism, sophisticated design, and texture makes it difficult for a consumer to tell the difference between a Reclaimé plank and real reclaimed, vintage wood. My clients love their Reclaimé floors and it allows me, the designer, greater aesthetic possibilities while staying within their budget.”

About Quick-Step
Quick-Step is a market leader in flooring, providing solutions for a wide variety of interiors. Beautiful, durable, and virtually maintenance-free, Quick-Step puts the style in lifestyle. Widely-known as the style, design, and innovation leader in laminate flooring, Quick-Step continuously earns the flooring industry’s most prestigious awards including: 2014 Award Of Excellence - Laminate Manufacturer Of The Year (4rd consecutive year); 2014 Dealers’ Choice Award - Best New Laminate Product Of The Year (3nd consecutive year); 2013 RECO Market Intelligence Report - #1 Quality #1 Product Availability #1 Consumer Preference; and 2014 Floor Focus Retailer Survey - #1 Quality, #1 Service, #1 Design (5th consecutive year). Quick-Step is a registered trademark of Unilin Flooring, a Mohawk Industries company. Mohawk Industries is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a Fortune 500 company. Visit www.us.quick-step.com for more details on Quick-Step’s entire product assortment, www.quickstepstyle.com for exclusive Designer Tips from Quick-Step’s celebrity designer partner Erinn Valencich, http://www.facebook.com/#!/quickstepflooring to follow the latest news and information on Quick-Step’s Facebook page, http://www.pinterest.com/quickstepfloors to view Quick-Step on Pinterest, http://www.houzz.com/pro/usquickstepflooring/quickstep-flooring to interact with Quick-Step’s presence on Houzz, and https://www.youtube.com/user/quickstepfloors to watch Quick-Step videos on a myriad of topics.

About Erinn Valencich
Erinn Valencich, who has used Quick-Step floors in her own room designs, is known for her unique, contemporary-glam style and is among an elite group of interior designers selected to compete recently on NBC’s hot new design reality show American Dream Builders, hosted by renowned designer Nate Berkus. Valencich has also designed rooms for numerous celebrities through her own Los Angeles interior design business. She has introduced her own line of furniture and blogs for HGTV’s Design Happens, Decorati, and Erinn V Style. Erinn has hosted a number of specials for HGTV and has been featured in many design publications including Elle Décor, Town & Country, House Beautiful, and Better Homes and Gardens. View some of Erinn’s design tips and videos on www.quickstepstyle.com.

About Nonn’s Design Showplace
Nonn’s Design Showplace is recognized as a national leader in the flooring industry, ranked among the nation’s top 75 flooring retailers. For over a quarter of a century, Nonn’s Design Showplace has been the place for cabinetry, countertops, and flooring in Wisconsin. Staffed with a talented team of interior, kitchen and cabinet designers, and with crews of experienced certified installers, Nonn’s stands ready to guide their customers from making showroom selections to guaranteeing their project is completed timely and professionally. For more information, visit nonnsdesignshowplace.com.

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