The National Wood Flooring Association announced the winners of its 2010 Wood Floor of the Year Contest during its annual convention in Washington, D.C., last March. Since the program began in 1990, more than 200 awards have been presented to NWFA member companies throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Russia and Finland.

The 2010 Wood Floor of the Year Contest drew nearly 100 entries from six countries, including the United States, Canada, Latvia, Egypt, Finland and Russia. All entries in the competition featured flooring installations completed between January 2009 and January 2010.

Winners were:

Best Restoration and Members' Choice awards - Universal Floors of Washington, D.C., for a 13,000 sq. ft. job that included 4,800 sq. ft. of parquet in red oak, maple, American walnut and cork.

Best CNC/Laser Cut - Czar Floors of Newtown, Pa., for a 280 sq. ft. parquet and medallion installation made using white oak, merbau, maple, wenge and American walnut.

Best Commercial - Schmidt Custom Floors Inc. of Waukesha, Wisc., for a topographical map design with laser-cut end-block pieces to recreate North and South America. The 1280 sq. ft. installation includes walnut, cherry, maple, hornbeem and brass.

Best Extreme Makeover - Inex Floors of Richboro, Pa., for a 25 sq. ft. dragon inlay in the existing floor, made using kempas, merbau, maple, wenge and oak.

Best Limited Species    - Archetypal Imaginary Remodeling Corp. of Little Neck, N.Y., for a 2,800 sq. ft. installation of wenge soldiers between polished aluminum pieces.

Best Manufacturer Factory Finished - John Yarema, Oakland, Mich., for a 310 sq. ft. of Macassar ebony and aluminum.

Best Reclaimed - DM Hardwood Designs of Farmington, N.M., for a 350 sq. ft. design that features heart pine, chestnut, maple, black cherry, black walnut and end grain logs.

Best Residential - John Alford Floorcovering Inc. of Milan, Ind., for a 210 sq. ft. custom pattern using white oak and walnut.

Honorable mentions (Best CNC/Laser Cut) went to: John Yarema, Oakland, Mich., for a 8,500 sq. ft. installation comprising 200 linear feet of quarter sawn walnut in a herringbone pattern, set off with a stone border; and Yantarnaya Pryad Parquet of Khimki, Russia, for an installation that includes maple, walnut, wenge and teak.