About Floor Craft

A LEGACY BORN FROM THE GROUND UP

Floor Craft was founded on its principles of quality and service many decades ago and continues to deliver on those principles to this day. Floor Craft is the oldest flooring & carpet store in Colorado Springs, with its humble beginnings dating back to 1942. The small shop was founded by the current owner’s grandfather, Larry Strauch. The company began as S&H Floor Coverings (Strauch and Hendricks, his partner) and was located downtown, across from the Antlers. The original company focused primarily on linoleum products and wallpaper back in the 40s.

Larry bought out his partner in 1953, and the company was renamed Floor Craft. Following the rebranding, Bob, Larry’s son, began learning the tricks of the trade and taking interest in the business. A few years later, the operation was moved to 2031 W. Colorado Ave. During a time where Union Blvd was the eastern end of the city and Academy Blvd didn’t exist, this new location was bigger and more central, allowing for greater growth. Bob continued in the business, managing new accounts and customers. The Colorado Ave location is where Larry retired in 1977, leaving the business to Bob and his wife, Sheila.

Bob and Sheila ran the local carpet & flooring store as a husband and wife duo, while their four kids cycled through the business to learn the ropes. At one point, all four kids were employed at Floor Craft. As time wore on, sons Mark and Larry began to develop a knack for the business and show promise as a succession plan for Bob and Sheila. In 1998, Bob and Sheila stepped down and sold the company to Mark and Larry.

Mark and Larry inherited a well-established business, but they were not content to rest on their laurels. After ushering in the 60th anniversary of the business, the brothers decided to double down and move Floor Craft to a new promising location in 2003. The leap of faith took them from their existing 11,000 square foot Colorado Ave location with offsite warehouse to the current 28,000 square foot building on N. Academy with an attached warehouse. This space allowed for greater product offerings, simplified operational management, and overall growth.

Mark and Larry ran the company together for 16 years; however, in 2014 Larry decided to pursue another opportunity in Texas. Today, Mark and his wife, Kristine, are the sole owners of Floor Craft, and both of their children, Kelli and Ethan, work at Floor Craft. There have been down times when the goal was to simply stay afloat, and prosperous times when the business flourished. The one thing that has always kept the doors open for Floor Craft is its loyal customer base, focus on quality and service, and absolutely, its family of employees. An old saying coined by the late Bob Strauch is, “You cannot make decisions solely based on the almighty dollar.” This mantra guides our customer interactions, business relationships, overall ethics, and has resulted in over 75 years of business.