The owner of this private residence in Queens realized he made a mistake in not hiring an interior designer to help renovate his home—somehow, his spiral staircase was plopped directly in the entryway, an odd focal point at any rate. But he saw an opportunity to save the space when it came time for his wood floors to be installed, and for that job he contacted Avedis Duvenjian, president of Archetypal Imaginary Remodeling Corp. "We took a negative and turned it to a positive," Duvenjian says. For design duties, Duvenjian usually enlists the talents of Vartan Arutyunian, whom Duvenjian describes as an authentic and inspired artist, and by the looks of this floor, the description is spot-on.

For many, passing gifts to the next generation is life's primary goal, so it's no wonder that Avedis Duvenjian, partner at Archetypal Imaginary Remodeling, is so pleased with his company's second Wood Floor of the Year award. Helping Duvenjian on this end-grain mosaic project at the headquarters of AriZona Iced Tea in Woodbury, N.Y., was a typical cast of architects and designers, but there was also a young boy who often lent a hand: Duvenjian's 8-year-old son, Tigran, who also went on stage in San Diego to help his dad claim their latest trophy.