Ebony oiled oak and feature stair cladding | SE23 Forest Hill
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.
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.
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.