NEWS
A TALE OF TWO BUSINESSES
MODERN PAINT TURNS 20, UNITED FLOORS TURNS 50
E
ven after several expansions, moves, ownership changes and splitting into two separate businesses, United Floors and Modern Paint and Décor are still making history together. This year marks a milestone for both businesses, as Modern Paint and Décor celebrate 20 years and United Floors celebrates an astounding 50 years in business. Modern Paint and Décor’s current owners, Terry and Leanne Naturkach, acquired the business in 1995, but the story begins 1965 when Ken Horneland, Leanne’s father, and his partner Bob Clarke opened Modern Paint & Home Furnishings—a paint, wallpaper and flooring store in downtown Peace River.
The partners moved to a larger facility almost a decade later and expanded their focus to decorating products, which complemented their paint and wallpaper supplies. In 1976, Horneland and Clarke sold the business to Jim Ashton and Cliff Weger. Then, a year later, Aston bought out Weger and joined forces with his wife, Judy. In 1979, the Ashtons moved to a new facility on River Road. In the 1980s, the Ashtons would become a Benjamin Moore paint retailer and join the United Carpet family, which had 40 stores across western Canada at the time. Also during this time, the name changed to United Floors as the company moved
toward becoming a one-stop decorating centre. In 1987, Terry Naturkach began working at the store in a retail sales position. In 1994, Lyle Horneland, Ken Horneland’s son and Leanne Naturkach’s brother, began working alongside his brother-in-law, Terry, at United Floors. In 1995, Terry and Leanne bought the paint and sundries part of the store and Modern Paint & Décor Ltd. was born. Because of this purchase, the original business was split in two, with United Floors owned by Jim and Judy Ashton and Modern Paint and Décor owned by the Naturkachs. In 2002, Lyle Horneland and his wife, Marie, bought
United Floors from the Ashtons when Jim retired. Dan Doucette would subsequently buy it from the Hornelands in 2014. Today, with this rich combined history, the two businesses still thrive sideby-side on Peace River’s West Hill providing the Peace Region with an excellent customer experience and a vast selection of products and services. For Leanne and Terry, Modern Paint and Décor has always been a family business. Just as Leanne and her brother Lyle grew up with Modern Paint & Home Furnishings when her dad owned it, her children, Amanda and Jordan, have also grown up with Modern Paint and Décor.
Top Left: Modern Paint and Decor in its current location on Peace River’s West Hill, Top Right: Modern Paint’s downtown location, Bottom right: Modern Paint’s River Road location. [Photography submitted] 8
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