Oscar Ono | The Art of End Grain, Reimagined

There are floors that cover a space, and there are floors that define it. Oscar Ono is a collection that draws from the material heritage of 19th-century Paris and brings it into the present with exceptional craft.

Designed in collaboration with Paris-based designer Raphael Navot, Oscar Ono is quite simply the most considered wood flooring collection in our range. It's a rare find where history, artisanship, and material intelligence converge in a single product.

A designer worth knowing

Raphael Navot graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven with a degree in Conceptual Design before settling in Paris - a city that shaped both his aesthetic and his approach. His work sits at the intersection of noble raw materials and traditional techniques, developed in close collaboration with some of Europe's finest ateliers and craftspeople. The result is a body of work that carries real weight: from the interior direction of celebrated Parisian nightclub Silencio, to artisanal carpets for Galerie Diurne, to a truly unique flooring range with Oscar Ono.

What makes end grain different

End grain oak is cut perpendicular to the tree's growth rings rather than along them, exposing the circular growth pattern and, with it, a surface of exceptional density and durability. Because the wood fibres run vertically, end grain withstands wear in a way flat grain simply cannot. It also offers superior acoustic properties and a depth of visual texture that rewards closer inspection.

Its origins are industrial: end grain paving was widely used in 19th-century factories, workshops, and Parisian streets precisely because it could take the punishment. Oscar Ono reinterprets that legacy for interiors where beauty and performance are equally non-negotiable.

Each floor is engineered with a 10mm wear layer of aged end-grain oak - built not just for today, but for generations.

The collections

Opus

Inspired by Venetian mosaic and the wooden cobblestone streets of Paris, Opus achieves an organic, endlessly shifting pattern from a single tile. A hidden repetition within the design allows seamless multi-directional installation - tile by tile, with no visible repeat.

Forêt

A handmade marquetry collection that functions as both flooring and wall covering. Six interchangeable patterns allow for genuine personalisation, installed plank by plank with seamless connection. It's a more expressive, architectural application of the same end-grain tradition.

Qubes

For projects where the end grain aesthetic is essential but budget flexibility matters, Qubes offers an engineered solution without compromise on character. It retains the durability and visual depth of the collection at a more accessible price point.

Colour + Application

Oscar Ono is available in three finishes, each capable of transforming a surface into something that functions as much as artwork as it does flooring. Natural celebrates the inherent character of European oak, classic in tone, with a play of light across the end grain pattern that shifts with the angle of a room. Smoke is achieved through a core-smoking process that penetrates the full depth of the timber, revealing rich, layered brown tones that give the surface an intensity rarely found in a wood floor. Opus Black draws from the Japanese technique of Shou Sugi Ban, producing an intense, deeply textured black finish that is as much a design object as a building material.

The scope of application across all three finishes is broad. End grain oak at this level of craft is not confined to floors - it translates with equal conviction to walls, stairs, furniture, joinery, and headboards. A single tile or plank installed as a wall panel becomes a considered artwork in its own right. The intricate, repeating geometry of the end grain pattern means that wherever it is applied, the surface holds its own as a design element, not merely a material finish, but a defining feature of the space.

Oscar Ono speaks for itself. There's nothing quite like it available in New Zealand and very little that comes close anywhere in the world. If you're specifying for a space that deserves something genuinely rare, Oscar Ono is where we'd start the conversation.