We’ve done work for a lot of fascinating people during our 50 years in business.
Some of them grabbed my attention because of their jobs. We’ve put in new floors for professional football players, musicians, local TV celebrities, and prominent business executives—to name a few of the many intriguing occupations represented among our customers.
Others stand out in my mind because of their passions and creativity. One customer, for example, was a big-time nautical buff. He loved navigating the open seas and travelling around the world on boating adventures. I realized just how deep this passion ran when he told us he wanted hardwood floors with a nautical theme … with a rectangular “Old World” map made of hardwood in the center, accented by a hardwood border featuring ships, mermaids, and sea serpents!
As someone who loves surprising customers with how beautifully we can make their dream floors come to life, I immediately got excited. Ralph’s has always taken pride in being able to create floors as unique and interesting as our customers’ personalities, and here was a real test of how well we could do that. What he was asking for wasn’t easy, but I knew we were up to it.
Happily, the floor turned out better than even I had hoped. And there’s no question that no one else has a floor like it.
Another very unique floor that I’ll always remember was the dream of a couple who were in a “mixed marriage”—the wife was a Packers fan, the husband pulled for the Vikings! They were very funny, and had a pleasant sense of humor about their rivalry, but I could tell it was an important part of what made them the couple they were.
They also had other passions. The husband was captivated by all things to do with printing presses and their history. The wife was a horse lover and equestrian enthusiast.
This couple had a brilliant idea about how to express their personality as a couple, while not sacrificing their distinctly individual personalities—and I was thrilled to hear that hardwood floors were the basis of their plan.
They wanted what they called a “family crest” on their floor. One side of the floor would feature green and gold color for the Packers, along with in-laid horse imagery. The other side would have purple and gold color for the Vikings, with a printing press image.
It’s hard to be more unique than that! But I’m pleased to say it wasn’t too unique for Ralph’s. The job presented some unusual difficulties, but we were able to create the floor they wanted, and they now have a floor that’s so much “them” that it’s like a personal signature.
These examples are extremes, but the lesson behind them applies to everyone—don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when deciding on the right hardwood floors for your home. We all have fascinating aspects of our personality, and hardwood floors are a way to express those parts of ourselves.
