We’re celebrating Earth Day with a block party!

Join us on Saturday, April 21st from 10:30 AM to 4 PM at our showroom in Surrey for fun, eats and sales! We’ll have face painting, snacks and refreshments by donation with all proceeds going to Earth Day Canada. But that’s not all… we’ll also have some great early-bird specials and eco-sales, including:

Earth Day Savings

Teragren Bamboo – 28% Off

Synergy 3 3/4″ wide planks for $4.99/sq.ft. and Synergy Portfolio Natural 5″ wide planks for $5.99/sq.ft. – all colours!

Marmoleum Click Tiles 

1′x3′ tiles for $4.99/sq.ft. – 27% off!

1′x1′ tiles for $6.49/sq.f.t – 37% off!

CorkArt Floor Tiles – up to 48% off!

Burl Natural 1′x3′ tiles for $2.99/sq.ft.

Burl Mocha 1′x3′ tiles for $3.30/sq.ft.

Ledgestone – up to 60% off

6″x24″ square edge stone for interior or exterior wall surfaces in charcoal or white from $4.99/sq.ft.

+ Click to view more specials, including amazing lot end sales!

Fine print: Limited quantities! Sale starts April 21, 2012 at 10:30 AM and ends April 28, 2012 or when stock runs out. Taxes, delivery and installation are not included. Can not be combined with any other offer. Orders under 500 sq.ft. subject to $35 shipping fee.

Design Lighting Sale

Our neighbour Design Lighting is joining in on the fun!

On Saturday, April 21st all things LED will be 10% off, including light bulbs, landscape lighting, table lamps and fixtures.

Join them on Facebook for more info.

Fine print: Sale ends at 5:30 PM on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

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Visit the Earth Day Canada website to find out how you can get involved or check out this handy list of local events in British Columbia.

Sign up for our month newsletter for your invitation to our very own Earth Day celebrations.

The good news is that there are safe and eco-friendly alternatives to traditional synthetic carpets. One of those great alternatives is a locally owned and operated Nature’s Carpet.

Nature’s Carpet manufactures a wide range of environmentally friendly 100% wool carpets. They have three levels of green: Dark Green, Medium Green and Light Green. Their Dark Green carpets are the most environmentally friendly (see chart below) and are available in nine stylish colours:

Here at The Eco Floor Store we love Nature’s Carpet for a number of reasons, including:

- Their carpets are made with very natural 100% New Zealand wool.

- They have a large selection of beautiful styles and colours.

- For people who suffer from allergies, Nature’s Carpet will provide you with a free sample for a 3-day period to determine whether you are sensitive to the materials in the carpet.

- All of their wool carpets are LEED™ compliant, CRI Green Label Plus approved and ISO certified.

- Nature’s Carpet is a local company based out of Vancouver, BC

Learn more about Nature’s Carpet in this short and informative video:

Video: About Nature’s Carpet.

Project Spotlight

Thermal and noise insulation are alluring benefits of cork, but the comfort of cork floors is the big draw for homeowners.

We recently installed cork floors in a home in Langley. The homeowner wanted to replace the existing run-of-the-mill laminate with a higher quality flooring material. They picked EuroCork in Olive Brick.

The project also included upgrading the flooring on the stairway. We hand painted and stained the Maple stair nosings to replicate the look of the cork on the steps. Finished with modern white risers, the stairway is seamless and beautiful.

+ Learn more about EuroCork

Meet the Team

To better service all of our eco-loving clients, we’ve recently expanded our team.

+ Meet the team

Spring Eco Tips

Spring has arrived! And with it comes Spring-cleaning… oh the joys. This year, make your Spring-cleaning environmentally safe. Tips:

1. Avoid cleaners that contain phosphates. We have Eco-Max cleaning products available in our showroom.
2. Try to recycle or reuse when possible. Green Coast Rubbish is a local environmentally conscious disposal service that can help you get rid of stuff.
3. Permanently replace one disposal product in your home. For example, food storage containers, paper towels, coffee mugs, ink cartridges and plastic shopping bags all have eco-friendly alternatives.

+ Click for more tips!

Stay Young!

“Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”– Henry Ford

We might not be able to promise you everlasting youth, but we can promise to help you learn a little!

Invite us to your office for a Lunch & Learn to discover the newest eco-friendly products to help inspire your team for upcoming residential and commercial design projects.

+ Click for more information

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ECOuture is a student-run environmentally-friendly fashion show that is affiliated with McGill University’s annual GreenWeek event. One of the students is my sister-in-law! ECOuture promotes and encourages sustainability in urban centres while raising funds for Evergreen (a non-profit we also support).

Event details: a fabulous evening of music, fun and eco-chic fashion at Karina’s Lounge (1455 Crescent Street in Montreal) on Wednesday, March 7th at 8 PM.

Top Eco Picks from Surfaces 2012

We’re back from Las Vegas with our favourite eco picks from Surfaces 2012.

From reclaimed barn wood wall tiles, cast aluminum vents to FSC certified teak floors, we’re excited about all the new eco surface solutions we found!

February’s been a busy month! From Vegas to Richmond, we’ve been busy finding, supplying and installing the latest in eco surface solutions. Check it out:

Top Eco Picks from Surfaces 2012     We’re back from Las Vegas with our favourite eco picks from Surfaces 2012.  From reclaimed barn wood wall tiles, cast aluminum vents to FSC certified teak floors, we’re excited about all the new eco surface solutions we found! + Take a peek at our top five finds here                         Project Feature: Dunlin Shore  This beautiful 3,400 square foot home in Richmond features a variety of eco-friendly building technologies and products – including our very popular Ernest Hemingway® engineered hardwood floors and Pro Garage flooring.  + Take a virtual tour of the home here                       Bragging Rights!   That’s right! We want to feature your project* on our blog.   If you’ve recently completed a project with one (or more!) of our eco surface solutions, we’d like to hear all about it. Simply send Meliha a description of the project and a few photos at inspired@ecofloorstore.ca – don’t be shy!   Fine print: We reserve the right to use and modify the photos submitted. Photos received become the property of The Eco Floor Store. We will attempt to use most of the photos we receive, but we can’t promise they will all be featured.

February’s been a busy month! From Vegas to Richmond, we’ve been busy finding, supplying and installing the latest in eco surface solutions. Check it out:

The Dunlin Shore by Balandra Development is located on Richmond’s west waterfront and has gorgeous views of Sturgeon Banks. The beautifully designed 3,400 square foot home features a variety of building technologies and products that make it one of the most energy efficient homes in the Lower Mainland – including environmentally friendly flooring by The Eco Floor Store.

In the main living area, we supplied and installed over 1,300 square feet of our popular FSC Certified Ernest Hemingway ® engineered hardwood floors. The Dunlin Shore’s interior designers selected the colour San Cristobal in the Old Havana Collection, an elegant dark-stained maple with 4 ¾” wide planks, artisan hand scraped finishing and pillowed edges.

In addition to being FSC Certified, Ernest Hemingway floors also:

+ qualify for LEED™ credits

+ are C.A.R.B Certified

+ and comply with the Lacey Act.

The Eco Floor Store also supplied and installed flooring for the staircase in the great room. They feature custom white risers with subtle recessed lighting every few steps. In the 550 square foot garage, we supplied and installed Pro-Garage flooring.

The Dunlin Shore is aiming for Platinum Level 82 EnerGuide rating. Read about all of the other green features of the home here.

[Show as slideshow]

Flooring: Eurostyle FSC Certified laminate flooring in Aspen Oak.

TorZo ™ Sustainable Surfaces

TorZo ™ is an elegant, durable and sustainable surface material for commercial and residential spaces. Made from agricultural byproducts, recycled wood, and infused with an acrylic resin, TorZo products are ideal for high wear applications.

Everitt & Schilling Wood Tiles

Everitt & Schilling manufactures wood tiles made from old barn wood and other reclaimed wood. Available in a variety of natural tones, every tile has a unique heritage and history to help create eye-catching interiors.

Finium FriendlyWall Panels

FriendlyWall panels are made from solid hardwood. The wood strips are available in different sizes and colours to create warm, contemporary spaces.

Ventique Metal Flush Mount Vents

Ventique flush mount vents are made of cast aluminum. Unique and durable, they are available in three styles and five colours.

IndoTeak Design Reclaimed Teak Floors

Our favourite eco pick from Surfaces 2012 was FCS recycled teak solid and engineered hardwood flooring by IndoTeak Design.

All of the teak wood is reclaimed by hand from historic buildings and old fishing boats from Indonesia. They also make sure that all adhesives and special finishes are formaldehyde and VOC free. Naturally weathered over time, the hand selected teak wood has stunning colour variations that result in a truly unique and special floor.

*Although we don’t have these products in store yet, we do plan to add them to our selection in the near future. Stay tuned!

Looking for new eco-friendly products for your upcoming projects? So are we! We’re starting off the year with two new wall surfaces and we’re off to Surfaces 2012 in Las Vegas to find more:

New Wall Surfaces

The Eco Floor Store has two new environmentally friendly wall surfaces: Pearlamina and Nature Flex.

Pearlamina
Pearlamina is a semi-flexible surface material made from natural Capiz shells. With a pearl-like finish, Pearlamina is ideal for accent walls, cabinetry and other interior surfaces. + Learn more

Nature Flex
Nature Flex interior wall coverings are made with beautiful Water Hyacinths (also known as Water Lilies). Nature Flex is available in three classic colours: white, raw umber and charcoal. + Learn more

Surfaces 2012
Next week, we’re off to Las Vegas for this year’s Surfaces – the leading floor covering industry event in North America. We’ll be looking for the newest and hottest trends in eco-friendly floors and surfaces from around the globe.

Follow us on Twitter to get live updates or keep an eye out for our February newsletter where we’ll share our finds (in this case, what happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas!).

Winter Eco Tips: Installation in Winter Months

In cold temperatures, make sure to allow for extra time for your wood flooring to acclimatise to its future home before installation.

It’s also important to check the moisture content of the wood and the surface it will be installed on – otherwise, installation won’t stand the test of time.

Hint: Wood meters to measure moisture are available for sale or rent at local building supply stores.

Lunch & Learns

Invite us to your office and we’ll thank you with lunch!

We’ll also bring along our newest eco-friendly products to help inspire your team for upcoming residential and commercial design projects.

Call us at 604.576.4400 or email us at jared @ ecofloorstore.ca for more information.

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