By Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber
When I go to events such as the International Builders Show, I never know what I’ll see or who I’ll meet, and this week was no exception.
The combined 2014 International Builders Show and the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show had over 1,700 exhibitors, 650,000 square feet of floor space, and more than 75,000 attendees. And I had two days to see it all!
I try to always go with a plan in mind, then just wander through the show to see what promising products I can find hidden in a corner. As luck would have it, I think my favorite find of the show was one of the last booths I visited.
I was on the lookout for Authentic Reclaimed Pine Floors for some of my clients who are building new homes. They wanted the look of a home that had been there for decades even though it is new construction, and recycling floors from old buildings has lots of potential. The company specializes in antique and reclaimed heart pine flooring that has been salvaged from American Tobacco, John Deere, and the Old Crow Distillery. When I found their booth, not only did I see these beautiful floors, but another one that really caught my interest — The Reserve Barrel Collection that is being produced as part of the new Mondavi Home Collection.
This very nice man greeted me at the booth and his enthusiasm for the flooring was contagious — by the time I learned all about the floor from him I was as excited as he was about it and couldn’t wait to share. He introduced me to his beautiful wife who also has a skin care line that is available at Neiman Marcus and is made with grape seeds — 29 Cosmetics.
I try to always get the correct names and spelling when I’m sharing things, so I asked to take a picture of Rob’s show badge and when I looked at it I realized I’d been chatting with Robert Mondavi Jr. of the Mondavi Wine family. Talk about understanding lifestyle – this fourth-generation winemaker has an incredible history (and great stories!) of growing up in Napa, working for his family, and branching out on his own to create companies that do mountain bike tours of the Napa vineyards, import great cigars, and of course are responsible for crafting spectacular wines. The couple has a lot of exciting products in the works, and they gave me an exclusive glimpse of what to expect from Mondavi Home in the future.
One of the things that drove Rob and and his wife, Lydia, to start Mondavi Home and to create this beautiful flooring was their commitment to a sustainable lifestyle. Rob personally selects each decommissioned wine cask that is used in the flooring, and as a result each piece is truly a part of winemaking history.
Rob and Lydia are busy not only with designing new products for the lines, they also have a 3 year old to keep up with and they are starting construction on a show home in South Carolina where they will be using the Reserve Barrel floors and other products in their collection.
We can’t wait to see the finished product!
Suzanne Felber is a design and branding expert who runs the website Lifestylist.com. An Oak Cliff resident and lover of all things design, keep up with Suzanne by following her on twitter.
