Miami—Mullican Flooring is once again the exclusive hardwood flooring sponsor for the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway, the consumer promotion where viewers can enter online for a chance to win a fully furnished condominium, this year in Miami Beach. Now in its third year, Mullican was also an Urban Oasis sponsor in 2010.
Lindsay Pumpa, the project’s lead designer, selected Castillian Oak Driftwood, an engineered, wire-brushed, 6-inch plank in white oak, for the 1,700-square-foot residence, located on the 20th floor of a 47-story tower with panoramic views overlooking Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay.
“Driftwood has been the red Cadillac in the window,” said Neil Poland, president of Mullican. “It’s an attention grabber. We’re glad Lindsay found this product and is promoting it through the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway. I think it’s a fantastic floor, ideally suited for this décor.”
While Mullican is the exclusive hardwood flooring sponsor, Pumpa did not limit her specification of Driftwood to the floor. It also appears as a decorative element on a portion of the master bedroom’s walls and ceiling. “I think it was a fantastic idea,” Poland said. “Lindsay tied into an emerging trend of wood floors being used on ceilings. In fact, the last issue of Architectural Digest featured three homes with wood on the ceiling. I think this can only expand the applications of wood flooring.”
Pumpa said Driftwood fit perfectly with her inspiration of mixing natural, weathered accent pieces with modern furniture. “We wanted to focus on the contrast between modern and the driftwood look that is so popular right now. Driftwood reminded me of an old dock—a weathered sun look. And the gray color was perfect with the Sherwin Williams palette we chose. It offers just enough contrast and character that it doesn’t compete with the furniture.”
Pumpa tends to favor the “weathered, vintage, Restoration Hardware, mixed-element look. But for this project I went outside the box. I wanted to channel more of the Miami taste—clean, modern—and combine it with something you wouldn’t expect to see with modern furniture.”
Lynne Davis, director of public relations for HGTV, said it was important to find a designer who was intertwined with Miami. “We needed someone who was local to the area and whose vision would reflect its vibrancy. We wanted to make sure we used resources and furnishings that spoke to Miami.”
The choice of Miami for the third Urban Oasis Giveaway is somewhat of a departure from previous contests. “The first two years, we were in the concrete jungles of New York and Chicago,” Davis said. “We wanted to do something different for the third year. We picked Miami because we wanted folks to take advantage of the tropical setting, beautiful views and year-round balmy temperatures. Miami is known for its culture, food and nightlife, but it’s also a place where people can come and enjoy the beautiful weather.”
To win the condo valued at $900,000, consumers can enter once a day from Aug. 23 to Oct. 15 on hgtv.com/urbanoasis as well as frontdoor.com/urbanoasis. A sneak peak of the condo can be viewed at hgtv.com/urbanoasis.
Mullican returned to the Urban Oasis Giveaway after a one-year hiatus because of the “tremendous” amount of national PR it receives as the exclusive flooring sponsor. “We are running a TV ad campaign on HGTV and the DIY Network this fall. This will tie in with a fall promotion for the thousands of Mullican Flooring retailers across the country to hopefully enable them to take advantage of remodeling sales.”