ATFA Floor of the Year! French Oak Australasia was approached by an Interior Designer we had worked with before, for this very special home renovation project. The circa 1890s Terrace House was to be renovated, a new extension built, and new terrace and garden constructed at the rear.
A special floor, in keeping with the style and era of the original home, was called for. We recommended our most beautiful of French Oak, Antique Original Patina Flooring, for this project, in a Herringbone Parquetry.
This floor was originally laid in a Federal Government building in the Canton of Zurich, not far from the German border, in about 1805. The building was sold by the District of Zurich in about 1970, and after a few tenancies, became an art gallery. In 2010, the art gallery commenced re-development, opening one side of the building into a courtyard vestibule, with plans for a cafe adjoining the streetscape. Once works began, it became apparent that major structural works for joists and bearers were required, and hence the whole floor was pulled up and salvaged by our French partner.
The parcel of parquetry was strapped, wrapped and palletized, trucked to France, and offered to French Oak Australasia. We imported the entire in 330m2 of this floor. Some of it has featured in a Bar in Melbourne, some went to Brisbane for a feature formal lounge floor in an expansive Bayside home, and this parcel came to South Melbourne.
A picture paints a thousand words, and for this floor, a You Tube video of how the floor was cleaned, installed, put together and finished is even better:
The Interior Designer and home owner engaged the craftsman brilliance of Andrew Urbaniak, from Colour My Floors. Each piece of Oak was worked and treated with care. To soften the overall look of the Herringbone Pattern, Andrew U made the suggestion of a double Herringbone design, which he Owner accepted, and this has softened the long run of flooring through the galley kitchen zone.
Working closely with the Owners and their Interior Designer, Andrew U offered some brilliant ideas for door thresholds, stairs in our own solid French Oak leading to the front original area of the home, and even the re-finishing solution for the original Baltic Pine boards which were kept in this front part of the Terrace home.
Buffing and then finishing in multiple coats of hard wax oil, the sharp edges of the blocks have been tapered and softened, and the finished cobbled effect has an amazing softness when walking in bare feet!!
The floor perfectly complements the mixture of new and old, in both materials and fixtures, inside and out, as well as furniture and soft furnishings. One of our finest projects. Contact us if you would like to receive Andrew Urbaniak’s details, or the details of the Interior Designer engaged by the owners of this beautiful home. We could not have achieved such a great result for the Client without them.
