Veneer-Art Adds a Breezy Elegance to the Windstar Clubhouse

When S&S Craftsmen, Inc. took on the millwork to complete the clubhouse of the Windstar community in Naples Bay, Florida, they had to meet several unique challenges. Windstar is an exclusive country club community withan18-holegolf course, marina, tennis courts, and a private beach club. The clubhouse is the social heart of this upscale community and, as such, was designed to exemplify the beauty, refinement, and grace of the Windstar lifestyle.

To achieve this effect, the foyer interior was to be covered in wood from the floor to the ceiling on both the lower and upper floors. This pervasive use of finished wood suggested the opulent glamour of a bygone era in a design as new as tomorrow.

“Thelookishighlyunusual,” says Ed Houde, Director of Maintenanceat Windstar.

It creates an attractive sense of warmth, which is especially important in this particular building where everything is very contemporary.

But covering the walls and floors of the club’s interior with natural wood was more expensive than the management had anticipated. There was also some concern about the practicality of maintaining fragileveneer inaninteriorextensivelyused byresidentsand visitors.

Maximizing functionality on a minimal budget

Fortunately, Windstar cameup withanexcellent solution. Instead of conventional wood veneer, theyelected to use Veneer-Art by Lamin-Art. Veneer-Art is ahigh-performance decorativesurfacethat is madeusing real wood veneers (not reconstituted) and is pre-finished withahighly durable melaminefinish—thesamefinishused for decorativelaminates. Veneer-Art, therefore, retains thetextureand beauty ofnatural wood while providing a surface durability and scratchresistancecomparableto that of high-pressurelaminate.

Althoughit costs morethantraditional veneer, S&S Craftsmen, thefabricators onthe project, wereableto realize significant savings because Veneer-Art is ready to fabricate with thesametools typicallyused forhigh-pressurelaminate. “It waseasy to install,” says Joe Rowley, project manager at S&S Craftsmen

It saved us time and money on finishing, making it a valueengineered product when compared to other materials.

Rowley also found another benefit of using Veneer-Art. “Since it’s pre-finished, we were even able to stay within green building guidelines becauseno toxic spray finishes wereused.”

Natural beauty at every turn

Once Veneer-Art was installed, the Windstar maintenance crew found that a simple periodic wipe down with wood polish kept the surface beautiful despite the wear and tear of constant use. Of course, the biggest bonus of all was the way Windstar residents and their guests reacted to the stunning design. As Ed Houde put it, “Veneer-Artcreatesanair ofnatural beauty. Everyoneseems to respond to it. They loveit. And so do we.

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