Dallas, TX – February 18, 2015 – Quick-Step’s celebrity designer partner, Erinn Valencich, has selected the newly-launched Nickel Oak from Quick-Step’s Dominion Collection as one of her Designer’s Choice products for 2015. A Designer’s Choice product is a floor that Valencich feels is an exceptional example of the latest trends in the home decorating market, or that she thinks will bring something extra special to a room.

“Quick-Step is a fashion-based product line, on pace with the latest styles and trends,” said Erinn Valencich, Los Angeles-based interior designer, contestant on NBC’s hit design reality show American Dream Builders, and Quick-Step’s celebrity designer partner. “The brand’s newly-launched Nickel Oak definitely lives up to Quick-Step’s reputation as the style leader in laminate flooring. Grey-toned Nickel Oak is a stunning new fusion design inspired by today’s popular ‘ceramic wood tiles’. This inspired decor offers a distinctively different design that lends a high level of contemporary style and artistry to a room. Nickel Oak is truly unique and is definitely a must for my 2015 Designer’s Choice picks!”

Nickel Oak’s Inspired “Ceramic Wood Tile” Visual
“A hot new trend making a big splash in the design industry right is to feature ‘fusion’ elements in a room. These contemporary ‘fusion’ or ‘blended’ decors combine the best visuals of several things to create a stunning new design, rather than trying to identically copy an original material.”

“In the past, the primary visual goal of superior laminate flooring was to authentically replicate (as perfectly as possible!) exactly what real wood, stone, or ceramic flooring looked like. While extremely realistic wood visuals are still the mainstay of superior laminate flooring designs, interior design’s new fusion movement gives the laminate industry motivation to start introducingsome brand new, ‘fusion, blended’ looks.”

“As the style, design, and innovation leader in laminate flooring, Quick-Step is at the forefront of introducing fusion designs. Quick-Step’s newly-launched Nickel Oak from the Dominion Collection ‘takes its inspiration’ from the fabulous visuals we are seeing in the tile industry where hardwood designs are produced on ceramic tiles. Quick-Step’s Nickel Oak is not trying to perfectly replicate real hardwood, nor is it trying to mimic the look of ceramic tile exactly. Rather, this fusion design strives to achieve an attractive visual that combines the interest of hardwood graining with the added sleekness and purity of color usually found in ceramic tile.”

“Quick-Step has chosen to present this unique design in grey-tones which are very on point with the design industry’s most popular colors. Each Nickel Oak plank features coloring that ranges from a pure steele grey; to a soft, muted, lighter grey-brown; all the way to highlights on each plank that add very delicate pops of soft white. I personally love a grey-toned floor — so much can be done with it from a design perspective!”

“In today’s world of design, it doesn’t really matter from what the inspiration is taken, just as long as the ultimate designs are good. And, Quick-Step’s new Nickel Oak is fabulous! Definitely worthy of my Designer’s Choice distinction.”

Additional Product Details
Nickel Oak features soft-scrape texturing, a single plank design, and is offered in longer length planks (6-1/8” x 54”) on a 12mm platform. This Made in the USA product also features GenuEdge Technology, allowing the surface design to “roll over” the edges of the plank for a truly authentic look.

The top layer of each plank features a special anti-static surface that repels dust and dirt, making the floor virtually maintenance-free. Nickel Oak features wear-layer materials found in AC4 rated floors and is backed by a Limited Lifetime Residential Warranty as well as a 5-Year Medium Commercial Warranty. The product is also CARB compliant and NALFA Certified.

This Quick-Step floor qualifies as an Environmentally Preferred Product in most green rating systems; helps a project get up to four LEED points; holds the prestigious FloorScore certification for indoor air quality; is made from 70% pre-consumer recycled material; can be re-used up to three times; and does not require glue during installation, avoiding introduction of volatile organic compounds.

Nickel Oak features Uniclic, the most widely-used glueless installation locking system in the world and one of the best systems on the market. Patented Uniclic provides quick and easy installation as well as increased protection against water damage and warping. This floating floor may be installed on, above, or below grade level.

The level of sophisticated design in Nickel Oak ensures that this new product offers consumers the best combination of style and value in the industry.

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 (4th consecutive year); 2014 Dealers’ Choice Award - Best New Laminate Product Of The Year (3rd 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.