Returning customers delighted with soft, warm mid-brown tones of ebony oiled oak and feature stair cladding, Forest Hill SE23

#CraftedForLife

This project is set in an exceptionally large, three storey Victorian house, full of period character and charm. Our loyal returning customers originally came from a family friend recommendation. The couple were determined to rid their fabulous period home of old carpet and replace it slowly with soft, warm mid-brown tones of ebony oiled oak. Ebony oiled oak has a traditional look which compliments the property’s period features. As it was a significant investment they chose to phase the project in three stages over a number of years. We had already successfully completed two projects at this property and installed ebony oiled aged oak parquet in the reception rooms, hallway, the refurbished kitchen extension and boards in the children’s bedrooms. Now, three years later, the family were ready to continue the ebony oiled oak floor in the living room, three-storey staircase, multiple landings and remaining bedrooms to complete the main house.

Ebony oiled aged oak parquet, a special design for downstairs

The customers opted for an aged oak herringbone parquet downstairs. Parquet is a great design statement floor and a worthwhile investment in large spaces such as entrance halls and reception rooms. We recommend aged effect parquet blocks as an ideal family friendly option as it camouflages stains and accepts dents easily. We removed some boards from the existing hallway floor to seamlessly connect to the new living room floor to make it look like a single floor despite the three year gap.

We used the same dark ebony oil finish throughout the property to bring out soft, warm mid-brown tones in the oak. Ebony oil oak parquet was a perfect match for a Victorian home with many fabulous period features including working fireplaces, ornate cornicing and ceiling roses. We preserved the original skirting boards by undercutting the base to install the floor underneath for a tiny seamless finish. Like most woodfloor craftsmen we loathe unnecessary, clunky, beading.

Have a look at the ebony oiled oak collection at FinWood.uk.

Ebony oiled wide boards, a more practical choice for upstairs

Boards are more affordable and give a more relaxed look which especially works well upstairs in more private domestic spaces. A parquet design is often too busy for smaller upstairs bedrooms. We also find that in bedrooms floors are often covered by furniture, beds etc and so it’s not worth investing in expensive designs that will be largely unseen. The customers also opted for wide boards which enable you to enjoy the wood grain more.

Ebony oiled oak clad stairs, a long-term beauty

For the stairs we used similar oak boards to match the wide boards used upstairs and the parquet downstairs, all with the same dark ebony oil finish. A key craftsmanship challenge which we enjoyed was the open cut stringer design for the staircase. The spindles rest onto the treads and the boards go under the spindles. Curving the bottom step was another challenge that we rose to using our experience and craftsmanship skills.

The benefit of customer trust

One of the benefits of a long-term business relationship with the family is that we have established and maintained trust. For this project the family were happy and comfortable to go on holiday and give us full access to deliver the agreed brief uninterrupted and unsupervised. The family were delighted to see their much loved oak floor now fitted across the whole house. They are certain they made the right long term floor investment for their home and look forward to enjoying the transformed floor for many more years to come.

Location: Forest Hill