Mannington Mills came out the big winner in NFT’s 2007 Styling Excellence Awards. The flooring maker brought home the most awards of any company, including top honors in the Ceramic, Laminate Floors, Luxury Vinyl Tile and Wood categories. Additionally, Armstrong Floor Products and Johnsonite were each recognized with first place awards in two categories. Other top winners of the third annual competition included Shaw Industries, Nourison and Decorative Carpets.

Betsy Amoroso, spokeswoman for Mannington, said she was “thrilled and honored” that her company was recognized. “These awards are significant to us because they tell us we are creating products that look great,” she said. “To be recognized by our customers through these awards is validation that we’re doing the right thing.”

Emily Morrow, Shaw’s director of color, style and design, was also elated about her company’s win. When she learned that Shaw’s Inspired Spaces collection of residential carpet won in its category, she hastily assembled her design team to break the good news. “As you can imagine, our team has been very excited about the reception their beautiful patterns received,” she noted.

Award winners were selected by retailers, distributors and others working in the flooring industry. Contest participants on hand at Surfaces showcased their entries at the meeting and attendees were asked to vote at NFT’s exhibit on the show floor or online.

NFT publisher and editorial director Jeff Golden noted that the competition continues to gain momentum each year. He said that fashionable and style remain the core of the flooring business.

“We have said time and again that flooring is a fashion-driven business, and our Styling Excellence Awards reflect that,” said Golden. “Each year,  the level of creativity and commitment to innovation is increasing. We congratulate not just the winners, but everyone who participated in our competition. Whether you submitted an entry or took the time to cast your vote at Surfaces, you have contributed to the cause of elevating the importance of style and design.”

And the 2007 Winners are...

The following is a list of award winners by category, with the winning entry (listed first) and the first runner up.





Area Rugs,

Decorative Carpets, Crackle

Kane Carpet, Golden Treasures Collection



Carpet, Commercial

Nourison, Grand Textures



Carpet, Residential

Shaw Industries, Inspired Spaces

Mohawk Industries, Summer Splash



Ceramic

Mannington Mills, Monterey porcelain tile

Mohawk Industries, Primabella



Cove Base, Moulding/Feature Strip

Johnsonite, Integrated High-Performance Flooring

Seneca Millwork, Stair Nosings



Laminate Floors

Mannington Mills, Heritage Cherry

Armstrong Floor Products, Nature’s Gallery Exotics Collection



Luxury Vinyl Tile

Mannington Mills, Stainmaster Luxury Floors

Armstrong Floor Products, MODe flooring



Merchandising

Armstrong Floor Products, Armstrong Wood Tower System

Mannington Mills, Sobella merchandising unit



Resilient Floors

Armstrong Floor Products, CushionStep

Mannington Mills, Sobella



Rubber Floors

Johnsonite, Integrated High-Performance Flooring

Flexco Corp., Evolving Styles rubber tile and sheet



Wood

Mannington Mills, Inverness

Anderson Hardwood, Virginia Vintage Reclaimed Heart Pine