Advice | Finishes
surface…
wood flooring
is versatile and
works with all styles
of kitchen as well as
moving comfortably
into dining and
relaxing zones
T
he real beauty of wood is that it’s a totally
natural product so it just feels right in our
homes. It’s available in a wide range of colours
and grain patterns, widths and lengths, and a
surprisingly large choice of design options. The hard-wearing
material is ideal for living spaces that see a lot of traffic, so
works brilliantly in open-plan kitchen-dining areas. We used
to be advised against using wood for the floor surrounding the
cooker and sink, but this is no longer the case thanks to well-
‘Choosing the right wood is
designed products engineered to cope with spills and humidity.
essential – Hardwoods such as
With a little care, you can choose a beautiful wooden floor that
will continue to look fabulous for many years to come.
oak, maple and ash are the most
Douglas fir treated
with lye and white soap,
£104sq m, Dinesen
left
Saw Mill oak,
£95sq m, Junckers
<#X#> Beautiful kitchens
durable and best suited for the
demands of a kitchen floor’
Jeandré du Toit, sales director, Ecora
Beautiful kitchens <#Y#>
Advice | Finishes
Herringbone Black
parquet flooring,
£102sq m, Topps Tiles
SO LI D v s E NGI N EERED
There are just two main types of real-wood flooring – solid and
engineered – but there is often some confusion over the relative
benefits of each. Essentially it’s a question of stability. Solid floors
are, as the name suggests, solid all the way through, whereas
engineered floors have a top layer of timber, usually 3 to 6mm thick,
which sits on top of three to five layers of plywood and MDF that are
bonded together. This gives a much more stable structure than solid
wood and is less likely to bend or warp in hot and damp conditions.
It’s also the option to go for if you plan to install underfloor heating
– but always check suitability with the manufacturer before you
buy. Both solid and engineered floors will mark and wear over
time but, as wood is a natural material, this generally adds to its
character. Both can be re-sanded and finished, although there is a
limit to how many sandings a 3mm-thick engineered floor can take.
Ma k ing t h e gr ade
Knots and variations in grain are part of the beauty of wood, so it
helps to visit a showroom where you can view large boards of the
materials rather than small samples. Most showrooms will let you
borrow boards to view where you plan to use them. This is important
not only in terms of colour, but to see how the pattern works in your
room. Wood floors are graded in quality as prime (AB), select (ABC),
natural (ABCD) and rustic (CD), with prime having the least knots
and sap as this timber comes from the centre of the tree. But don’t
assume this will be what you want as some prime can look almost
unnaturally uniform, while you may prefer a little more character.
‘Wood floors in the kitchen
take a pounding, so buy the best
Fired Oak Natural
Oil Brushed, from
£155sq m, Element 7
left
Oak Polar White, from
£96sq m, Solid Floor
you can afford, and make sure
it’s primed and sealed well
for a stain-resistant finish’ John Sims-Hilditch, co-founder of Neptune
TYPE S OF WOOD
n Oak is, by a long way, the most popular choice for flooring, and it
can range from silvery grey through to golden and smoky shades
depending on how it’s treated and finished. It’s available in many
more board sizes, lengths and finishes than any other timber,
giving plenty of design scope. Warm shades have a traditional
feel, while lighter hues are more contemporary.
n Ash, maple and other pale woods give an airy, Scandinavian
feel and are perfect for making small rooms feel larger.
n Wenge, walnut and the darker woods have drama on their side,
though can feel claustrophobic if combined with dark walls.
TRE AT MENTS & FINISHES
Oak Dark Fulham Natural,
£95sq m, Solid Floor
right
Classic oak flooring in
Rustic, from £89.95sq m,
finished with Extra White
coloured oil, £36.95 per
litre, both Fired Earth
The final look of the floor is determined by what processes the
wood has undergone. Fumed or smoked wood is darker (it’s placed
in a chamber along with a little ammonia to bring the tannins to
the surface). Limed wood appears paler and gently aged – a look
achieved by the application of lime wax. The colour of the wood
can also be changed by staining, or treating with other chemicals
or heat. Tumbling inflicts a little wear and tear, sometimes
mechanically or else by hand-scraping the timber to give it a
bedded-in look – this is especially popular for parquet blocks. And
all wood flooring needs to be sealed – either with lacquer (varnish)
or oil. ‘Lacquer’ tends to refer to a modern, matt look than a
traditional glossy varnish. An oiled finish deepens the tone and
highlights the natural pattern in the wood, showing it off to its
best, but requires a little more TLC – ie an annual re-oiling. On the
plus side, if the floor gets marked, it’s easy to sand and re-oil just
that area. Lacquer lasts longer, between five and 10 years, after
which it too will need to be sanded back and a new coat applied.
Current trends
PARQUET is big news this year.
It comes in the same types of
wood and many of the same
finishes as standard floors. The
overall look is determined by
the individual blocks and also
how they are laid. Herringbone
and chevron are classic patterns
that are enjoying a resurgence,
while a brick design gives a more
cutting-edge, industrial feel.
bold & striking Dark wood
makes a dramatic, contemporary
statement that can be achieved
with a variety of woods. It’s best
used in neutral schemes or rooms
with one or two bold splashes of
colour. Again, take care not to
make smaller spaces feel gloomy.
PALE & INTERESTING More
petite kitchens will benefit from
the space-enhancing effect of
white-washed boards. This also
gives a rustic, beach-house feel.
WIDE BOARDS are fashionable
at the moment and can look
wonderful in larger rooms. The
effect may be lost in smaller areas,
however. A good size for most
homes is a width of 180-200mm,
but, generally speaking, the higher
the ceiling, the bigger the width
of board the room can take.
RECLAIMED You may be lucky,
and peel back an existing floor to
reveal the original wood beneath.
If not, you can still enjoy the beauty
of aged boards by using ones that
have been reclaimed. Salvage and
restoration companies, such as
Drummonds Flooring, Lassco
and Victorian Woodworks, supply
boards they have rescued from
houses in the UK and abroad.
Beautiful kitchens <#Y#>
Advice | Finishes
D E S I G N I NG WI TH WO OD
It’s not just colour, texture and board size – the pattern or direction
the boards are laid in is also key. ‘One-strip boards suit larger
rooms and, like all designs, work best when laid towards the source
of light,’ says Harvey Booth, UK sales & marketing director, Kährs.
A combination of different wood types can be stunning –
but make sure that the ones you choose contract and expand at a
similar rate. If your worktop or cabinetry is also wood, mix rather
than match, to avoid an over-coordinated design. ‘To add depth
and ensure kitchen cabinets stand out, look for difference in colour
and texture,’ advises Peter Keane, director of The Natural Wood
Floor Company. ‘Go lighter or darker in shade. Grey-and-white
finishes, dark dramatic tones, distressed boards, rustic knots,
textured surfaces, distinctive grain and figuring patterns
– any of these can be used to great effect,’ he adds.
Combining a wood floor with predominantly painted cabinetry
is a classic choice. Alternatively, contrast wood in the living/dining
area with a bold, patterned tile in the cooking workspace.
WO O D A LT ERN ATI VES
If the effort required to care for real wood puts you off, there are
some highly convincing alternatives that deliver the look without
any hassle. High-quality vinyls and laminates have come on leaps
and bounds, and offer texture as well as pattern in a wide range
of colours and board sizes. Porcelain tiles with wood grain are
also popular, and the perfect partner for underfloor heating.
Light-oak flooring adds warmth
to this modern scheme. Schüller
Glasline kitchen, £13,000,
InHouse Inspired Room Design
right
Duo Living wood floor in natural
oak, £42sq m, Kersaint Cobb
Rye Harbour porcelain planks
in Limed, £90sq m, Fired Earth
left
Gare Du Nord vintage oak
parquet, £93sq m, Broadleaf
CARING FOR WOOD
Kitchens are busy, messy places. You need to be on constant guard
to protect your floor, removing debris before it can scratch or dent,
and wiping spills as soon as they happen. Regular vacuuming is
vital, as is weekly wiping with a damp cloth or microfibre cloth, using
a specialist wood-floor cleaner. Wood flooring used in kitchens may
also require more frequent oiling or lacquering, but this will depend
on use and your care programme as well as the type of finish.
key contacts
broadleaf 01269 851910,
broadleaftimber.com
dinesen 00 45 7455
2140, dinesen.com
eco flooring 01904 796272,
ecoflooringuk.com
ecora 020 7148 5265,
ecora.co.uk
element 7 020 7736 2366,
element7.co.uk
fired earth 0845 366 0400,
firedearth.com
junckers 01376 534700,
junckers.co.uk
kährs 023 9245 3045,
kahrs.co.uk
kersaint cobb 01675 430430,
kersaintcobb.co.uk
quick-step 00 32 56 675211,
quick-step.co.uk
solid floor 020 7486 4838,
solidfloor.co.uk
the natural wood
floorcompany 020 8871
9771, naturalwoodfloor.co.uk
the solid wood flooring
company 01666 504015,
thesolidwoodflooring
company.com
topps tiles 0800 783 6262,
toppstiles.co.uk
victorian woodworks
020 7730 6957,
victorianwoodworks.co.uk
Coming next month: Designer splashbacks