A Master Of Hardwood Floors

Floors are the often overlooked "6th Wall" of interior design and remodeling projects.

Hire Charles Peterson to work on your wood floors and you'll never look at them the same way again. The 48-year-old owner of Connecticut-based CP Wood Floors has gained national attention for his ability to transform plain-Jane floors into works of art using little more than pieces of wood cut and precisely fitted into colorful medallions, sinuous borders, and geometric parquet.

Peterson's love for wood began when he was a kid building furniture alongside his grandfather. In college he worked for a curmudgeonly flooring installer whose only advice was "Shut up and keep working!" Nevertheless, when Peterson quit his career as a nuclear engineer, he decided he'd rather deal with floors than repair power plants.

Charles Peterson dedicated his life to learning the trade. "I read every book I could find on the subject, traveled all over the world, and studied with people whose families have been doing floors for five generations," he says. [read more on a master of hardwood floors]

American Craftsman: Charles Peterson by Keith Pandolfi, This Old House magazine