Treading the boards

Timber has been an enduring partner in our man-made history, proving itself to be ultimately adaptable and durable. From some of the most covetable, intricate pieces of furniture and objets d’art to more utilitarian and functional items, timber has proven its worth time and again.

There is one area where the two facets of timber have collided over the years, beginning in earnest in the 1600s—parquetry flooring. This decorative system is still popular today, some 400 years later, and is a testament to our long-standing love affair with timber.

Many examples of these early, highly decorative floors exist today thanks in most part to the durability of the hardwoods—mostly oak—from which they were constructed,” says Lily Ng, Brand Manager Creative for Artisan.

“As well as offering longevity, oak is preferred as a flooring material for its prominent grain structure—which in itself is quite beautiful—and for its ability to hold stains.”

Lily says Artisan has long been known as a distributor of quality soft flooring—carpet, sisal rugs—but has, more recently, moved into offering a whole raft of interior and exterior products such as tiles, engineered oak flooring and blinds and shades.

“Our focus has always been on offering the market quality products for the home but over the years we have come to greatly expand our offering and have become known as a flooring surfaces company and a supplier of outdoor awnings and blinds.

“Across all of our ranges, we collaborate with brands we respect and who have the same eye for quality and aesthetics. We also try to find a good-quality local manufacturer to complement our international offerings—our credo is ‘shop for the needs of the local market utilising local and international suppliers’.”

Wild River, Artisan’s original timber flooring brand, is right on trend, says Lily, offering a more modern and rustic look. Made from engineered oak, the boards are handcrafted and finished with an eco-friendly, natural oil produced in Germany.

“Wild River has proved to be a popular choice for our customers. However, In the spirit of allowing our customers to choose the product that best suits their requirements, Artisan has added three new timber flooring/walling brands to its stable of products.

“D’Arbre is a European, wide-board engineered oak flooring range, which comes with a standard width of 220mm, with wider options available. It is pre-finished, which means it can be easily installed with no additional onsite finishing required. It also features an eight-coat, Treffert lacquer finish, which provides scratch resistance and UV protection.

“Foret is our premium range of engineered French oak flooring, manufactured in the Loire Valley from oak that is milled from sustainably managed and PEFC-certified forests. This company is renowned for tradition, innovation and expertise.

“Lastly, for those who cannot find what they need from our vast collection, we offer Artisan Bespoke—a bespoke colour and finish range/service. Customers choose from a selection of board lengths, widths and lamella thicknesses, as well as custom colour and finish. Especially good if you’re after a particular colour that you can’t find in our staple ranges or you are trying to colour match with existing timber flooring and finishes,” says Lily.

“Each of our timber flooring partners has been chosen because they offer multiple variants, thus providing our customers with the widest selection possible. For example, our Wild River brand features board widths of 190mm, 240mm, 260mm and 305mm, while the highly durable D’Arbre range offers a 4mm or 6mm lamella, which, in terms of wear means you get the same number of resands as a solid timber product.

“All products are oak, being either an American oak or European oak lamella over an engineered timber base and all products are available now. The Foret and Artisan Bespoke ranges are stocked here, while the Wild River and D’Arbre ranges are ex-Australia.”

Lily says the Artisan team carefully curates each product range to give consumers what the market wants.

“That’s true of timber trends, too. Grey tones, especially the warmer greys, are still on trend. Wider board formats are proving popular and a matte finish is preferred over gloss. Chevron and herringbone patterns are big right now—going back to the decorative parquet floors we mentioned earlier—and consumers are expressing a preference for hard wax and oil finishes over lacquers.

“One of the constants, though, is the popularity of timber flooring overall. The richness of the colourways and grain detail make it a perennial favourite and it easily complements other flooring types such as carpet and tiles.

Learn more about incorporating engineered oak flooring into your next project.