Apex in the News

Apex Team Member Profile: Phil Dedic

Sales team member Phil Dedic recently celebrated his 10th anniversary with Apex Wood Floors. Many of you know Phil and have collaborated with him over the past decade. Phil says that one of the most enjoyable aspects of his job is working with homeowners and getting to know them.

“From the very first time I meet a new client in their home to the follow-up calls and visits after their floors are installed or refinished, I love listening to their feedback and exploring their ideas for the space and everything in-between. My job is not about selling a floor; it’s about collecting data, understanding the clients’ needs, styles, likes and dislikes, and ultimately providing them with the most viable solution that fits their home and lifestyle perfectly. They rely on us to educate them and design the flooring to suit their space and needs. I really get to know them and – in the process – feel as though I helped contribute to the uniqueness of their home,” said Phil.

In addition, Phil joins forces with interior designers on behalf of clients to create one-of-a-kind features including designer patterns, inlays and medallions.

“Once a client sees what our capabilities are and they start enjoying their space, they call us back for their next project. It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling to work with the same homeowner two or three times. Repeat business represents the largest percentage of our projects at Apex. That’s something we’re very proud of and will always strive to maintain.”

Product Focus: Naperville Home Remodel

One such repeat client is Patricia Delrosso in Naperville, Illinois, whose charming home literally was a barn before she purchased it and began converting it into her living space.

Four years ago, Apex Wood Floors installed new custom flooring in the first-floor family room and vestibule. The original flooring in this area was Naily-Plank Heart Pine, and the homeowner wanted to extend the floor to create a more open, airy feeling once a wall was removed. Phil and the team at Apex produced the exact same flooring and seamlessly weaved it into the new layout of the remodeled area.

New floor and winding staircase

View of staircase from below	New vs. old stairs

Fast-forward to 2010: Ms. Delrosso was so pleased with her first collaboration with Apex that she contacted Phil once again as she began to map out her second-floor remodeling plans. Ms. Delrosso decided that the carpeted area upstairs had to go. When Phil came by for a consultation, he recognized the hidden beauty of an architectural feature within the house that shouldn’t be ignored: the winding staircase leading to the second-floor loft area. Phil suggested ridding the staircase of the old carpet as well in order to bring a cohesive look between both levels of the house.

“We all love the rich, rustic interior look of this home, so we knew preserving that feeling was our first priority. I recommended that we create a custom handcrafted Live Sawn White Oak floor for the loft area. As soon as Ms. Delrosso saw the sample of the handcrafted floor, she was drawn to it. I showed her different degrees of distressing, shapes, and sizing of the bevels, and the array of colors and finishes. We used our library of samples to narrow down our choices and began creating customized samples. Once she saw her custom sample, she knew she had found the right floor for her home," said Phil.

The result: We just wrapped up the installation of the stunning new hand-scraped and hand-beveled White Oak Live Sawn hardwood floor in her loft area. The wide-plank handcrafted, distressed floors with a tung oil finish range in size from 6 to 8 inches wide and 5 to 12 feet in length. The result is a one-of-a-kind antiqued Live Sawn floor that looks phenomenal.

Custom handcrafted Live Sawn White Oak floor in the loft area	Note the hand-scraped distressing that gave the Delrosso floor an antiqued appearance

“To say it looks perfect is an understatement. It fits into the rustic charm of her home and she couldn’t be more pleased with it,” Phil said. “This spring, we’re going to work with Ms. Delrosso on our third endeavor together: the kitchen!  We’ll be sure to show you how that turns out, too!”

To find out more about Apex Wood Floors or to set up an appointment, please visit our Web site: www.apexwoodfloors.com or call 630-963-9322.

I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas and happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

John Lessick
President
Apex Wood Floors

About Apex Wood Floors

Based in Downers Grove, IL, the award-winning team at Apex Wood Floors has been providing customized hardwood floors to clients in the Midwest and across America since 1982. Apex uses its own highly trained craftsmen to provide unparalleled excellence to flooring projects that include wide plank, handcrafted floors, exotic species, patterns and design work. The company custom fabricates its own handcrafted and distressed plank flooring in several finishes and styles spanning the interior design spectrum.

Apex works with designers, architects and their clients to provide a floor that will satisfy even the most discriminating clients. Every project provides longevity of beauty and character to any setting as they continually mature. In addition to an extensive selection of premium domestic and exotic wood species, Apex offers three destination flooring styles: Renaissance wide plank, Designer patterns and inlays and Select premium and exotic hardwoods.

Apex provides complete design and installation services, including the removal of existing flooring, disposal of waste, and layout and finishing of new wood floors.