Buford floor designer is man with golden hands

By Medge D. Francis
Staff Correspondent

These golden hands have been given a golden opportunity. Sergey Volzhskiy, owner of Artistic Hardwood Floors (d.b.a. Golden Hands Inc.) is grateful for where he is today.

“The U.S. has been good to me, and thank you to all American people who let us stay here,” said Volzhskiy, as he tries to hold back the emotions and tears while reminiscing about his journey to the United States.

So many in this country are proud to be part of the American dream. Six years ago, he left a thriving business and moved his family to Georgia to escape the challenges they faced in Russia.

“It was difficult coming here.” Volzhskiy said. However, he’s proud of the fact that he was able to move to the United States and build on a dream that sometimes seemed impossible. Three years ago, Volzhskiy opened Artistic Hardwood Floors in Buford. Golden Hands is an adopted name given to those in Russia who are truly talented and can achieve greatness using their hands. Volzhskiy is a master in his industry, creating hardwood floors, designs, inlays and ceiling medallions that are one of a kind.

His experience dates back 27 years ago to his homeland of St. Petersburg, Russia. He started out with a civil engineering degree and later went on to architect school to further pursue his love of designing hardwood floors. Volzhskiy has been instrumental in new and restoration projects in such European palaces as Marly Petrodvoretz, the Great Palace at Petrodvortez, the Residential Palace of Russian Tsar Peter III and projects here in his new homeland of Georgia. His showroom in Buford is a must-see, with every possible hardwood imaginable. Some, he said, describe it as a museum. The showroom is complete with hardwood designs, such as inlays which can be placed around the fireplace or in the foyer, and medallions to accent a light fixture, floor or simply to be hung on the wall.

“The wood is easily accessible in the U.S. You can get any type of wood from all over the world,” Volzhskiy said, unlike Russia, where it was difficult to find such variety. There are about 200 different hardwoods in the showroom, including bamboo, red oak, cherry, white oak, ash, Brazilian cherry, pine and hickory, to name a few. Volzhskiy said he has created most of the displays. He has a dedicated crew for his smaller jobs, however, Volzhskiy said he prefers to do many of the custom designs. About 60 percent of his current business is renovations; the rest is custom design projects.

“It’s exciting,” he said, “when you get a customer who’s just discovered that they’ve had this beautiful hardwood floor hidden underneath carpet. You want to help them.”

Volzhskiy’s showroom offers the best wood for every type of situation. Out of all the woods, red oak is the more traditional, and the most popular, especially in new homes. If you have a high-moisture area, he recommends bamboo as the best wood. There are about 12 different types of bamboo in the showroom. Bamboo is quite popular because of its advantages. It’s very versatile and can also be used almost anywhere in the home. “It fits any kind of taste in terms of designer aspects,” the business owner said. Bamboo can be installed on slab and is sandable.

Cost is always a factor when customers are looking into hardwood. Volzhskiy said hardwood is a wise choice dollar-wise.

“You’re actually wasting money staying with carpet,” he said. “You have to change it every five to six years. Everything stays under the carpet and it becomes unhealthy. So, hardwood is one of the recommendations in flooring to prevent all the allergies and remove the dust mites.”

Volzhskiy is truly an artist. Many of his beliefs and devotions are visible in his artwork.
One of the finer pieces is called “Look for the Universe.” It is 7.5 feet tall and 5.5 feet wide. This piece was completed with several different pieces of wood – one piece of wood in the center is in the shape of an eye. Volzhskiy said it symbolizes that somebody is watching over us all the time.

Another piece was one he completed for his church recently. The cross serves as the centerpiece of the worship area. The church had caught on fire, and the cross was completed from charred pieces, he said. A third piece, “The Wild Orchard in the Night,” is composed of 2,000 different pieces of wood and took him one year to build.

“Every day is open for you here,” Volzhskiy said. “It’s really up to you to make it happen.”

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