Walking into a business started by the owner’s grandfather hits different. When the family name has been in the business for nearly 80 years and the person measuring your floors grew up running carpet rolls across the warehouse your flooring came from, you’ll know.
That’s what makes Nielsen Brothers Flooring different. It’s also the owner, Mike Nielsen’s story.
How did it get started? Back in 1946, two brothers, Mike’s grandfather and his great-uncle, founded Nielsen Brothers in the Greater Seattle area. Post-war Western Washington was growing fast and families needed reliable flooring for new homes and businesses. That’s where the Nielsen brothers came to the rescue, they started building a legacy made to outlast trends, economic shifts and transform the flooring industry.
From Two Brothers to Three Generations
After running a successful business for many years, the founders passed the legacy on to the next generation: Mike’s dad Jim Nielsen, his uncle Tom Nielsen and their first cousin Pat Nielsen. It was time to expand so they built buildings, grew the operations and brought amazing flooring to thousands of families across Greater Seattle.
As for the owner, Mike, he literally grew up in the business. Some of his fondest memories were hanging around the warehouse, running big rolls of carpet with his brothers and visiting his dad in his office. It wasn’t work at the time because that’s where his family was. Those times growing up shaped how Mike approaches the business today.
Back in 2007, Mike started working for his family business full-time after graduating from school. By then, his father had been retired for the last 10 to 15 years, leaving Mike as the sole owner of Nielsen Brothers Flooring. His brothers took different paths. His younger brother became a therapist (Mike still measures his floors because he doesn’t know how), while his older brother pursued art, working for the company on and off over the years.
What 80 Years Means to Us
2026 is the 80th anniversary of Nielsen Brothers Flooring. In the past eight decades, they’ve seen carpet go from luxury to standard and watched how solid hardwood gave way to engineered products, then luxury vinyl. They’ve installed flooring in homes built in the 1940s all the way up to new construction.
What hasn’t changed? When you call Nielsen Brothers Flooring, you’re choosing to work with someone whose family name is based on your satisfaction. You’ll get honest advice from someone who’s been in the industry his entire life and installation services from people who have been working with the company for over 20 years. To Mike, his team is like family, not worker bees.
Mike has heard so many stories from customers like: “Your dad did my flooring 30 years ago.” “Your grandfather installed carpet in my parents’ house.” “We’ve used Nielsen Brothers for three different homes.” The Nielsen family has always lived and worked in this community and continues to today.
Why Family Matters in Flooring
Sure, you can buy flooring anywhere, but when your family name is on the building, your grandfather started the business and you grew up in the warehouse, there’s a big difference. Mike isn’t here to make a quick sale, he’s here to protect a reputation that’s taken 80 years to build.
Whether you have a question now or five years after installation, you call and ask for Mike. Our installers have been with us for decades because relationships always come before transactions. When you choose us, you’re getting advice from a team that’s lived and breathed flooring since childhood instead of a salesperson reading off a script.
Legacy matters. Nielsen Brothers Flooring has shown that it’s not just about how long you’ve been in the business, but about whether you’ll be there when customers need you. Standing behind your work and treating people like family makes a difference.
Want to experience the difference of shopping firsthand? Visit our Lynnwood, WA showroom or contact us to book an in-home consultation!
