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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Ash is a member of the olive family, but it does not bear fruit. The sapwood is almost white and the heartwood ranges from grey through light brown to light yellow with brown streaks. Some grades have very special figuring, which gives the floor an entirely unique and lively character. It is strong and withstands impacts.
Ash undergoes a medium degree of change over time from a lighter freshly sanded tone to a straw/tan colour. Ash is approx. 10% harder than Oak.
Botanical name: Fraxinus Excelsior
Beech
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Beech ranges in colour from light cream to medium tan/brown with pink-orange overtones. It undergoes a medium degree of colour change with a slight muting of the orange colours and ambering over time.
It is usually straightgrained, with dense figuring and its hard surface resists impacts. It adds warmth, and its uniform appearance makes the room seem airy. Beech has about the same hardness as Oak.
Botanical name: Fágus Silvática
Birch
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Birch is a stiff wood with excellent shock resistance, commonly used in fine furniture. Birch is usually straight-grained, with a fine, often wavy, structure. A birch floor gives the room a light, elegant look and can help to accentuate the rest of the decor.
Birch undergoes a medium degree of change from freshly sanded cream to reddish yellow as it ages. Birch is 25% softer than Oak.
Botanical name: Betula Alleghaniensis
Cherry
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Cherry is America's favourite wood for cabinet and furniture production. A beautiful and versatile species, warm, individual and charming. The sapwood is creamy white while the heartwood can vary from deep red to reddish brown, which together forms a fine figured, straight grain.
Cherry undergoes an extreme degree of colour change with pronounced darkening to a dark reddish colour when fully aged. This process occurs within a few weeks in direct sunlight. Cherry is 25% softer than Oak.
Botanical name: Prunus Serotina
European Maple
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
European Maple is famous for having no taste or smell, and it is often used for kitchen worktops and chopping boards. Compared with Hard Maple, European Maple has a lustre all of its own that gives the room a clean airy feel. The thin annual rings and soft figuring make it unique. Despite being 15–20% softer than Hard Maple, it is still very hard and durable. It takes coloured stains easily, and is popular because of its wide area of application in interior design and furniture.
European Maple undergoes a medium degree of colour change. It will go to yellow tones over the years.
Botanical name: Acer pseudoplatanus
Hard Maple
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Hard Maple is famous for its sap which is turned into Maple syrup. The sapwood is cream-coloured, with a tendency to reddish brown, and the heartwood varies from light to dark brown with red highlights. It usually has fine figuring with straight, but sometimes slightly wavy, grain.
Hard Maple grows in North America, and is 10–15% harder than Oak and undergoes a medium degree of colour change, from a creamy white to golden over time.
Botanical name: Acer Saccharum
Jarrah
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Jarrah has been used traditionally for boatbuilding, railway sleepers and telegraph poles because of its durability and hardness. Jarrah has a smooth surface and straight graining, which has also made it sought after for the manufacture of furniture, doors and floors.
The sapwood and heartwood vary from salmon-pink to deep red. Finished floors often have a dark brown to reddish purple colour, which also deepens over the years.
Botanical name: Eucalyptus Marginata
Jatoba
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Jatoba is often used for hardwearing products such as handrails, sports equipment and floors because of its hardness. The sapwood can have broad figuring, light pink and sometimes greyish tones. The heartwood ranges from salmon pink to reddish brown with dark streaks.
Thanks to its inherent beauty, rich colours and exceptional hardness, it is one of the most popular of all exotic species. Over time Jatoba deepens in colour to a rich vibrant red.
Botanical name: Hymenaea courbaril
Merbau
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Merbau is used for joinery, panelling, cabinet making, instruments and, of course, floors. The heartwood ranges from yellow to orange-brown, but darkens to reddish brown or brown. The graining varies from straight to wavy and sometimes even interlocked.
One of its special characteristics is that a type of yellow flecking in the wood's pores changes the character when it is sanded. The result is wood with a surface that seems to be speckled with gold. Merbau is one of the hardest floors available.
Botanical name: Intsia Bijuga Palembanica
Oak
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Oak is the most popular species for floors and furniture in Europe and the USA due to its lovely appearance and long life. An Oak can live for up to 1,000 years in favourable conditions and possesses a straight long graining with a silvery texture.
Oak can be processed easily to give numerous colour tones, and is available in lacquered or oiled finishes. The light brown to darker tones of Oak undergoes a medium degree of colour change with slight ambering over time.
Botanical name: Quercus Robur, Quercus Petraea
Walnut
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| The Wood | Colour Change | The Tree | The Floor |
Walnut is a dark, exclusive wood used in fine furniture. The sapwood is creamy white but the heartwood is a light brown to dark chocolate brown, sometimes with a tendency to purple. The wood gains a special lustre over the years. It usually has straight graining, but can have wavy shapes that offer exciting variation.
The wood undergoes a medium to high degree of colour change with the dark brown heartwood lightening over time to a more golden brown. Walnut is 20% softer than Oak.
Botanical name: Juglans Nigra