Search results for "Typically involves" in Home Design Ideas

A tea pot, being a vessel, is defined by the space it contains, it is not the tea pot that is important, but the space.
Crispin Sartwell
Located on a lake outside of Milwaukee, the Vessel House is the culmination of an intense 5 year collaboration with our client and multiple local craftsmen focused on the creation of a modern analogue to the Usonian Home.
As with most residential work, this home is a direct reflection of it’s owner, a highly educated art collector with a passion for music, fine furniture, and architecture. His interest in authenticity drove the material selections such as masonry, copper, and white oak, as well as the need for traditional methods of construction.
The initial diagram of the house involved a collection of embedded walls that emerge from the site and create spaces between them, which are covered with a series of floating rooves. The windows provide natural light on three sides of the house as a band of clerestories, transforming to a floor to ceiling ribbon of glass on the lakeside.
The Vessel House functions as a gallery for the owner’s art, motorcycles, Tiffany lamps, and vintage musical instruments – offering spaces to exhibit, store, and listen. These gallery nodes overlap with the typical house program of kitchen, dining, living, and bedroom, creating dynamic zones of transition and rooms that serve dual purposes allowing guests to relax in a museum setting.
Through it’s materiality, connection to nature, and open planning, the Vessel House continues many of the Usonian principles Wright advocated for.
Overview
Oconomowoc, WI
Completion Date
August 2015
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

This project involved relocating a half-bath, adding an exterior door and landing and opening an existing stairway. The quarter-sawn White Oak island was designed and built to emulate furniture pieces typical to the vintage and quality of this majestic 1920's home.
Nathan Spotts- Photographer

While KSI designers typically work directly with homeowners on their kitchen and bath design projects, we also love partnering with interior designers - and they love partnering with us! We make it easy for interior designers to create beautiful and functional spaces for their clients by offering our cabinetry knowledge and design expertise to compliment their skillset. When Interior Designer Shannon Lawrason came to KSI to select cabinetry for her new build home, I knew our collaboration would result in a truly breathtaking kitchen!
As a client and an Interior Designer, Shannon had a vision from the beginning: Timeless beauty with a touch of classic elements. Everything involved in the mixture of textures – hardware selection, tile selections, marble, cabinetry materials – was fundamental to the execution of the design intent.
Find the right local pro for your project

A stunning Kitchen remodel that totally transformed this home. Completely changing the previous layout with builder grade cherry cabinets, a typical peninsula island extending from the left perimeter wall, paired with the non functional, small footprint, this Kitchen needed a complete gut. Our team had an immediate vision. One that would involve a new layout including different appliance locations and extending full width of the perimeter walls left to right to maximize the space. We included a prep area, small hidden appliance garage for storage and the extra large island allowing for enough seating to eliminate a traditional table and chairs. The full counter to ceiling tile backsplash adds the perfect detail to the warm wood floating shelves that enhances the tall ceiling height along with a custom, floor to ceiling wine refrigerator with custom iron and glass door in the center to the space creating a new focal point with the waterfall edge island. The refreshing light and bright palette, luxurious finishes while leaning in to the contrast and warm modern feel.

Landscape by Stonepocket located in Minnetonka, Minnesota Creating a elegant landscape to blend with a home with such character and charm was a challenge in controlled resistant. Did not want the landscape to overwhelm the home, nor did I want a typical landscape for this style that usually involves a box hedge. Utilizing light in the front to create a perennial garden give the home a sense of place. Keep the planting mostly to whites and greens in the back unifies the space.
photos by Stonepocket, Inc

This private residence involved construction of a modern architectural style estate property in Highland Park, Texas. Dee Brown Inc’s role came into play late in the project, when corrections were needed to some specialty stonework.
The home’s center is formed around the main entry. The floorplan is largely open, but parallel core wall areas serve to define the foyer, kitchen, dining, and living areas. As key areas, the architect put special focus on materials selection for the core walls. It was decided that Indiana limestone would be the finish, and that the cladding panels would all have unique continuous horizontal grooves.
Material was received and installed by the original subcontractor. Upon seeing the completed work, it was evident to the architect and owner that grooves in the fabricated material were not consistent, and that the installation process had left numerous chips to the panels. It was at this point that the partially completed work was removed, and the second fabricator/installer was contacted.
Dee Brown Inc ordered the Indiana limestones slabs. There, special care was taken to hold tight tolerances to the horizontal grooves as well as to the typical cut-to-size aspects. Erection of these mechanically set panels was done very carefully. The result was a clean finished product with none of the tolerance and chipping issues of the original installation.
Dee Brown, Inc also created and installed special stone finishes at the adjacent half-bath. Semi-precious white onyx was transformed into a lavatory top/bowl assembly, water-closet wall cladding, and even tissue and towel holders.

A tea pot, being a vessel, is defined by the space it contains, it is not the tea pot that is important, but the space.
Crispin Sartwell
Located on a lake outside of Milwaukee, the Vessel House is the culmination of an intense 5 year collaboration with our client and multiple local craftsmen focused on the creation of a modern analogue to the Usonian Home.
As with most residential work, this home is a direct reflection of it’s owner, a highly educated art collector with a passion for music, fine furniture, and architecture. His interest in authenticity drove the material selections such as masonry, copper, and white oak, as well as the need for traditional methods of construction.
The initial diagram of the house involved a collection of embedded walls that emerge from the site and create spaces between them, which are covered with a series of floating rooves. The windows provide natural light on three sides of the house as a band of clerestories, transforming to a floor to ceiling ribbon of glass on the lakeside.
The Vessel House functions as a gallery for the owner’s art, motorcycles, Tiffany lamps, and vintage musical instruments – offering spaces to exhibit, store, and listen. These gallery nodes overlap with the typical house program of kitchen, dining, living, and bedroom, creating dynamic zones of transition and rooms that serve dual purposes allowing guests to relax in a museum setting.
Through it’s materiality, connection to nature, and open planning, the Vessel House continues many of the Usonian principles Wright advocated for.
Overview
Oconomowoc, WI
Completion Date
August 2015
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

A tea pot, being a vessel, is defined by the space it contains, it is not the tea pot that is important, but the space.
Crispin Sartwell
Located on a lake outside of Milwaukee, the Vessel House is the culmination of an intense 5 year collaboration with our client and multiple local craftsmen focused on the creation of a modern analogue to the Usonian Home.
As with most residential work, this home is a direct reflection of it’s owner, a highly educated art collector with a passion for music, fine furniture, and architecture. His interest in authenticity drove the material selections such as masonry, copper, and white oak, as well as the need for traditional methods of construction.
The initial diagram of the house involved a collection of embedded walls that emerge from the site and create spaces between them, which are covered with a series of floating rooves. The windows provide natural light on three sides of the house as a band of clerestories, transforming to a floor to ceiling ribbon of glass on the lakeside.
The Vessel House functions as a gallery for the owner’s art, motorcycles, Tiffany lamps, and vintage musical instruments – offering spaces to exhibit, store, and listen. These gallery nodes overlap with the typical house program of kitchen, dining, living, and bedroom, creating dynamic zones of transition and rooms that serve dual purposes allowing guests to relax in a museum setting.
Through it’s materiality, connection to nature, and open planning, the Vessel House continues many of the Usonian principles Wright advocated for.
Overview
Oconomowoc, WI
Completion Date
August 2015
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

A tea pot, being a vessel, is defined by the space it contains, it is not the tea pot that is important, but the space.
Crispin Sartwell
Located on a lake outside of Milwaukee, the Vessel House is the culmination of an intense 5 year collaboration with our client and multiple local craftsmen focused on the creation of a modern analogue to the Usonian Home.
As with most residential work, this home is a direct reflection of it’s owner, a highly educated art collector with a passion for music, fine furniture, and architecture. His interest in authenticity drove the material selections such as masonry, copper, and white oak, as well as the need for traditional methods of construction.
The initial diagram of the house involved a collection of embedded walls that emerge from the site and create spaces between them, which are covered with a series of floating rooves. The windows provide natural light on three sides of the house as a band of clerestories, transforming to a floor to ceiling ribbon of glass on the lakeside.
The Vessel House functions as a gallery for the owner’s art, motorcycles, Tiffany lamps, and vintage musical instruments – offering spaces to exhibit, store, and listen. These gallery nodes overlap with the typical house program of kitchen, dining, living, and bedroom, creating dynamic zones of transition and rooms that serve dual purposes allowing guests to relax in a museum setting.
Through it’s materiality, connection to nature, and open planning, the Vessel House continues many of the Usonian principles Wright advocated for.
Overview
Oconomowoc, WI
Completion Date
August 2015
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

I received an enquiry from a property in Crowthorne to come and survey an unknown Flagstone Floor in a converted barn that was ready to be rented out. The owners where concerned the stone was letting the rest of the property down due to it being dirty and heavily stained, particularly around the kitchen and entrance areas. If your selling or renting out a property it really needs to look its best if you want to achieve a good price. Having spoken over the phone we agreed a date for me to pop over to complete a survey.
From further inspection I confirmed the stone was in fact a Sandstone, it was also clear that the sealer protecting the stone from ingrained dirt had worn away and was now allowing dirt and staining to ruin the appearance of the flagstones. It was a large floor so I measured up so I could work out the quantities of cleaning and sealing products needed and then walked the customer through the cleaning process. Later that day I sent over a detailed quotation which was accepted, and a date agreed for my return.
I should mention this work took place during the Covid restrictions, fortunately being a rental property, I was able to work in the property alone.
To deep clean the floor and remove the ingrained dirt and staining I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. It is sprayed onto the floor and left to soak in for five minutes before agitating with a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a weighted buffing machine. The resultant slurry was then wet extracted away using a powerful high-pressure van mounted extracting system.
This action cleaned up most of the stone nicely however certain areas where heavily stained, particularly in the kitchen area where food and drink stains were more apparent. To tackle this, I applied a stronger cleaner/stripper product called Tile Doctor Remove and Go this time allowing ten minutes for it to soak in before scrubbing the surface with a very coarse 100-grit soft milling pad. This took quite a few attempts each time extracting the slurry away and then inspecting the floor to see if more work was needed.
Happy the stains have been removed, I then focused on renovating the surface Sandstone after the application of the coarse pad. This involves the application of several finer grit burnishing pads which close the pores and adds a subtle polish to the Sandstone. As I started with 100-grit pad it was necessary to gradually refine the surface with an incremental series of pads that included 200, 400 and finally 800-grit pads. Then to ensure a uniform finish across the floor I continued the 400 and 800 grit pads throughout the property. Water is used to lubricate the process and this turns into a fine slurry that is rinse extracted as before.
The cleaning process took up the whole of the first day and I am pleased to say the Sandstone floor looked very clean after I had finished.
The stone was then allowed dry off overnight with the aid of an industrial air mover and I returned later the next day to apply a new protective seal. In the meantime, my customer had been over to check out the floor and were over the moon with how it looked and wanted to keep the finish as natural as possible.
With this in mind, I applied Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealer to the Sandstone throughout, only two coats were needed. This is a premium sealer that is almost invisible and works by penetrating the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained. Once done the floor looked very clean and much brighter than before, it now had that wow factor which will help it attract a good yield in the rental market.
The trouble with rental properties of course is making sure the tenant uses the right product to maintain the floor and not a typical supermarket tile cleaner that are only designed for use on Ceramic and Porcelain tiles. In fact, these types of cleaning product can slowly strip the sealer off the floor so it’s always worth checking the label before purchasing. Fortunately Tile Doctor sells a product called Neutral Cleaner that is ideal for maintaining sealed stone floors, so I left them with a complimentary bottle and recommended they get some more to leave under the sink for the new tenant.
Dennis Buckland
Berkshire Tile Doctor

One of the most popular hardwood floor finishing which offers Tom & Peter Flooring is provided by WOCA. If you’ve decided that you want a natural looking wooden floor that is lacquer-free, then the likelihood is that you’ve chosen oil as your way of protecting your wood and making your floor look great at the same time. WOCA for wood flooring comes in various forms and is a great way of making sure that your wood is protected, but at the same time looks natural. A highly popular as well as effective way of treating wood floors, oils effectively penetrate into the wood and in some cases harden into the surface of the floor to stop damage and to maintain the wood in its optimum condition.
WOCA Oil finish hardwood flooring has taken the United States market by in 2014 and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016 and now. Here are some of the most common questions we have regarding this type of finish which we will I’m to answer in today’s my blog:
Is oil finish as durable as traditional factory urethane finishes with aluminum oxide?
When it comes to durability, oil finish flooring tackles the issue with a completely different method. The penetrating oil serves as protection from moisture and wear while allowing the user to feel the wood grains in their bare feet. If compared directly to factory finished aluminum oxide finish, the oil finish flooring will not perform as well to abrasion and impact. However, the beauty of this finish is the fact that it will camouflage any scratches which will inevitably accumulate over time.
Will this finish evaporate over time and will this be harmful for indoor air quality?
Another concern for oil finished floors its effect on indoor air quality. For on-site applications, some varieties suggest several coats which typically require the residents to be out of the home due to mild odors. However, there are factory finished UV-cured or single coat applications which lessen the downtime. Despite the odors produced during the drying process, oil finish floors rank amongst the lowest for VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. Certain brands even boast true zero VOC. This fact alone makes oil finished floors one of the best options for green building solutions.
“WOCA products are certified by independent laboratories, the German Institute for Biological Building Materials, and are in accordance with DIN–Norm 53–160. WOCA WoodCare Denmark products meet or exceed the most stringent U.S. standards for volatile organic compounds.” –WOCA Oil Finish Manufacture
Does this type of finish require additional maintenance which I am not familiar with?
For weekly cleaning, oiled floors use a special cleaner which contains an oil and soap mixture. After a period of 12-18 months some oil may evaporate causing the wood grains to appear dry. An additional layer of oil can be reapplied to keep the floor looking fresh. Although oil finished floors require more involvement in periodic maintenance in high traffic areas, this maintenance can be done much easier than the equivalent of an onsite sand and refinish.
WOCA Master Color Oil contains pigment, which provides a single-step hardwood floor staining process. Laying down the stain and the finish in one step.
This product comes 14 different colors, from Black to Extra White, and you can mix them freely to create various color palettes that will meet the demands of any job.
Below are some pictures of the finished job…

One of the most popular hardwood floor finishing which offers Tom & Peter Flooring is provided by WOCA. If you’ve decided that you want a natural looking wooden floor that is lacquer-free, then the likelihood is that you’ve chosen oil as your way of protecting your wood and making your floor look great at the same time. WOCA for wood flooring comes in various forms and is a great way of making sure that your wood is protected, but at the same time looks natural. A highly popular as well as effective way of treating wood floors, oils effectively penetrate into the wood and in some cases harden into the surface of the floor to stop damage and to maintain the wood in its optimum condition.
WOCA Oil finish hardwood flooring has taken the United States market by in 2014 and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016 and now. Here are some of the most common questions we have regarding this type of finish which we will I’m to answer in today’s my blog:
Is oil finish as durable as traditional factory urethane finishes with aluminum oxide?
When it comes to durability, oil finish flooring tackles the issue with a completely different method. The penetrating oil serves as protection from moisture and wear while allowing the user to feel the wood grains in their bare feet. If compared directly to factory finished aluminum oxide finish, the oil finish flooring will not perform as well to abrasion and impact. However, the beauty of this finish is the fact that it will camouflage any scratches which will inevitably accumulate over time.
Will this finish evaporate over time and will this be harmful for indoor air quality?
Another concern for oil finished floors its effect on indoor air quality. For on-site applications, some varieties suggest several coats which typically require the residents to be out of the home due to mild odors. However, there are factory finished UV-cured or single coat applications which lessen the downtime. Despite the odors produced during the drying process, oil finish floors rank amongst the lowest for VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. Certain brands even boast true zero VOC. This fact alone makes oil finished floors one of the best options for green building solutions.
“WOCA products are certified by independent laboratories, the German Institute for Biological Building Materials, and are in accordance with DIN–Norm 53–160. WOCA WoodCare Denmark products meet or exceed the most stringent U.S. standards for volatile organic compounds.” –WOCA Oil Finish Manufacture
Does this type of finish require additional maintenance which I am not familiar with?
For weekly cleaning, oiled floors use a special cleaner which contains an oil and soap mixture. After a period of 12-18 months some oil may evaporate causing the wood grains to appear dry. An additional layer of oil can be reapplied to keep the floor looking fresh. Although oil finished floors require more involvement in periodic maintenance in high traffic areas, this maintenance can be done much easier than the equivalent of an onsite sand and refinish.
WOCA Master Color Oil contains pigment, which provides a single-step hardwood floor staining process. Laying down the stain and the finish in one step.
This product comes 14 different colors, from Black to Extra White, and you can mix them freely to create various color palettes that will meet the demands of any job.
Below are some pictures of the finished job…

During the planning phase we undertook a fairly major Value Engineering of the design to ensure that the project would be completed within the clients budget. The client identified a ‘Fords Garage’ style that they wanted to incorporate. They wanted an open, industrial feel, however, we wanted to ensure that the property felt more like a welcoming, home environment; not a commercial space. A Fords Garage typically has exposed beams, ductwork, lighting, conduits, etc. But this extent of an Industrial style is not ‘homely’. So we incorporated tongue and groove ceilings with beams, concrete colored tiled floors, and industrial style lighting fixtures.
During construction the client designed the courtyard, which involved a large permit revision and we went through the full planning process to add that scope of work.
The finished project is a gorgeous blend of industrial and contemporary home style.

The primary objective of this project was to enhance the layout of the ground floor and expand the kitchen area. Similar to many single-family cottages constructed before the 2010s, the typical ground floor layout consisted of a kitchen, formal living room, formal dining room, dinette, vestibule, and a den. However, in recent years, the demand for formal spaces has waned while the desire for larger and more practical kitchens has significantly increased.
To achieve this goal, we embarked on a project that involved demolishing the wall separating the existing kitchen from the formal dining room. This allowed us to expand the kitchen into the former formal dining room space. We relocated the dining room to what was previously the formal living room, effectively eliminating the need for a formal living room. The result is a new kitchen with significantly enhanced storage and prep areas, making it much more functional.

Discover our revolutionary line of customizable biophilic home-office furniture WellthyFlex. WellthyFlex is crafted from natural stone and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic with its tree branch-inspired form. It brings the beauty of nature indoors. Each piece is thoughtfully designed to create a harmonious and soothing environment, allowing you to thrive in your work. Immerse yourself in the tranquility of your surroundings as our furniture's gentle curves and organic textures evoke a sense of calm and balance. Experience the power of biophilia as you tap into the therapeutic qualities of nature, boosting your focus, creativity, and overall well-being. Embrace the future of work with our biophilic home workplace furniture and create a sanctuary that inspires success.
Lightweight carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, which would be algae-based in the near future, is used for table structure. With tensile strength at one-quarter the weight of steel, and lighter than aluminum, carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic legs are further optimized with generative design algorithms to use less material.
Algae-based carbon fiber:
https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/technical-university-of-munich-researchers-explore-using-algae-to-make-carbon-fiber

An unforgettable first impression of the external image of the building consists of its aesthetically perfect forms. Design Studio Dubai Luxury Antonovich Design offers its customers a unique approach to the creation of architectural projects. The exterior design of buildings takes into account all the nuances of modern trends in design and architecture. The combination of the author's ideas, creative solutions form integral and expressive images.
The harmony of the external image of the house
Exterior design is a deep and multi-faceted process which involves the creation of a perfect and harmonious image of the building with clean lines and forms. In order to harmonize the forms of facades in any style, from classical to modern, Dubai architects skillfully use all methods of composition. This is the right scale, rhythm of the building, its perfect proportions, proportionality, texture of materials and shades. As well as exterior lighting of the house. Gracefully combining such traditional architectural elements as portals, stairs, doors, windows, railings, balustrades, balconies, and others, we create luxurious exteriors of homes that are true masterpieces of architecture.
Basics of exteriors expressiveness
By creating unique and visually appealling exteriors of buildings, we aim to reflect the respectability of the house and elegantly hint that interior is not less luxurious than exterior. Often, the house exterior design is closely related to interior design. Such things as color, texture, light and shade are the means of architectural composition, with which the architect Dubai creates facades of the unique beauty. To make the exterior more clear and vivid, we use materials with a natural texture, as well as those treated in special ways. And we also combine advantages of natural light and additional artificial lighting of buildings.
The exterior design and landscape design
The basis of the ideal image of the building is its perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape. Typically, the exterior design of the building is closely related to landscape design. The surrounding landscape becomes a beautiful frame of a nice building. Sculptures in the garden can pick up the elegant decor motives of the building. The highlight of the modern houses design becomes vertical gardening. Especially popular this decor in projects, which are designed in a modern style. Modern technologies allow to create beautiful vertical landscapes, giving the image of a cozy and warm character.
The building exterior design is a very important moment in the work on each project. We offer our customers 3D visualization of the exterior, which can also include 3D visualization of landscape design.

This private residence involved construction of a modern architectural style estate property in Highland Park, Texas. Dee Brown Inc’s role came into play late in the project, when corrections were needed to some specialty stonework.
The home’s center is formed around the main entry. The floorplan is largely open, but parallel core wall areas serve to define the foyer, kitchen, dining, and living areas. As key areas, the architect put special focus on materials selection for the core walls. It was decided that Indiana limestone would be the finish, and that the cladding panels would all have unique continuous horizontal grooves.
Material was received and installed by the original subcontractor. Upon seeing the completed work, it was evident to the architect and owner that grooves in the fabricated material were not consistent, and that the installation process had left numerous chips to the panels. It was at this point that the partially completed work was removed, and the second fabricator/installer was contacted.
Dee Brown Inc ordered the Indiana limestones slabs. There, special care was taken to hold tight tolerances to the horizontal grooves as well as to the typical cut-to-size aspects. Erection of these mechanically set panels was done very carefully. The result was a clean finished product with none of the tolerance and chipping issues of the original installation.
Dee Brown, Inc also created and installed special stone finishes at the adjacent half-bath. Semi-precious white onyx was transformed into a lavatory top/bowl assembly, water-closet wall cladding, and even tissue and towel holders.

During the planning phase we undertook a fairly major Value Engineering of the design to ensure that the project would be completed within the clients budget. The client identified a ‘Fords Garage’ style that they wanted to incorporate. They wanted an open, industrial feel, however, we wanted to ensure that the property felt more like a welcoming, home environment; not a commercial space. A Fords Garage typically has exposed beams, ductwork, lighting, conduits, etc. But this extent of an Industrial style is not ‘homely’. So we incorporated tongue and groove ceilings with beams, concrete colored tiled floors, and industrial style lighting fixtures.
During construction the client designed the courtyard, which involved a large permit revision and we went through the full planning process to add that scope of work.
The finished project is a gorgeous blend of industrial and contemporary home style.

This private residence involved construction of a modern architectural style estate property in Highland Park, Texas. Dee Brown Inc’s role came into play late in the project, when corrections were needed to some specialty stonework.
The home’s center is formed around the main entry. The floorplan is largely open, but parallel core wall areas serve to define the foyer, kitchen, dining, and living areas. As key areas, the architect put special focus on materials selection for the core walls. It was decided that Indiana limestone would be the finish, and that the cladding panels would all have unique continuous horizontal grooves.
Material was received and installed by the original subcontractor. Upon seeing the completed work, it was evident to the architect and owner that grooves in the fabricated material were not consistent, and that the installation process had left numerous chips to the panels. It was at this point that the partially completed work was removed, and the second fabricator/installer was contacted.
Dee Brown Inc ordered the Indiana limestones slabs. There, special care was taken to hold tight tolerances to the horizontal grooves as well as to the typical cut-to-size aspects. Erection of these mechanically set panels was done very carefully. The result was a clean finished product with none of the tolerance and chipping issues of the original installation.
Dee Brown, Inc also created and installed special stone finishes at the adjacent half-bath. Semi-precious white onyx was transformed into a lavatory top/bowl assembly, water-closet wall cladding, and even tissue and towel holders.

One of the most popular hardwood floor finishing which offers Tom & Peter Flooring is provided by WOCA. If you’ve decided that you want a natural looking wooden floor that is lacquer-free, then the likelihood is that you’ve chosen oil as your way of protecting your wood and making your floor look great at the same time. WOCA for wood flooring comes in various forms and is a great way of making sure that your wood is protected, but at the same time looks natural. A highly popular as well as effective way of treating wood floors, oils effectively penetrate into the wood and in some cases harden into the surface of the floor to stop damage and to maintain the wood in its optimum condition.
WOCA Oil finish hardwood flooring has taken the United States market by in 2014 and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016 and now. Here are some of the most common questions we have regarding this type of finish which we will I’m to answer in today’s my blog:
Is oil finish as durable as traditional factory urethane finishes with aluminum oxide?
When it comes to durability, oil finish flooring tackles the issue with a completely different method. The penetrating oil serves as protection from moisture and wear while allowing the user to feel the wood grains in their bare feet. If compared directly to factory finished aluminum oxide finish, the oil finish flooring will not perform as well to abrasion and impact. However, the beauty of this finish is the fact that it will camouflage any scratches which will inevitably accumulate over time.
Will this finish evaporate over time and will this be harmful for indoor air quality?
Another concern for oil finished floors its effect on indoor air quality. For on-site applications, some varieties suggest several coats which typically require the residents to be out of the home due to mild odors. However, there are factory finished UV-cured or single coat applications which lessen the downtime. Despite the odors produced during the drying process, oil finish floors rank amongst the lowest for VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. Certain brands even boast true zero VOC. This fact alone makes oil finished floors one of the best options for green building solutions.
“WOCA products are certified by independent laboratories, the German Institute for Biological Building Materials, and are in accordance with DIN–Norm 53–160. WOCA WoodCare Denmark products meet or exceed the most stringent U.S. standards for volatile organic compounds.” –WOCA Oil Finish Manufacture
Does this type of finish require additional maintenance which I am not familiar with?
For weekly cleaning, oiled floors use a special cleaner which contains an oil and soap mixture. After a period of 12-18 months some oil may evaporate causing the wood grains to appear dry. An additional layer of oil can be reapplied to keep the floor looking fresh. Although oil finished floors require more involvement in periodic maintenance in high traffic areas, this maintenance can be done much easier than the equivalent of an onsite sand and refinish.
WOCA Master Color Oil contains pigment, which provides a single-step hardwood floor staining process. Laying down the stain and the finish in one step.
This product comes 14 different colors, from Black to Extra White, and you can mix them freely to create various color palettes that will meet the demands of any job.
Below are some pictures of the finished job…
14