Texture in hotel interiors is often treated as a textiles conversation, but the floor has a say too. At Manhattan Loft Gardens, a band-sawn oak shows how one characterful surface can change what everything around it needs to do…
There’s a lot of talk about texture in hotel interiors, but it’s easy to think of that as a textiles conversation: boucle chairs, heavy curtains, woven headboards, rugs underfoot. The floor is part of it too.
Timber already brings texture into a room before anything soft is added. Grain, brushing, saw marks, plank width and finish all change how the rest of the scheme feels. A smooth oak floor can disappear quietly into the background. A more heavily worked surface does the opposite. That’s where things get interesting.
Manhattan Loft Gardens, Stratford
At Manhattan Loft Gardens in Stratford, The Solid Wood Flooring Company worked with the project team on a floor that needed to feel almost unfinished. The reference was older loft flooring: timber with visible character rather than something polished and overly perfect.
A narrow band-sawn engineered oak was developed for the project, with the cross-sawn surface deliberately left visible. It gives the boards a slightly rougher, more worked appearance, while a UV-oiled finish provides the protection needed for the space.
The band-sawn light oak flooring does quite a lot visually, which changes what needs to happen around it. If the floor already has grain, saw marks and a strong rhythm from the narrower boards, the textiles don’t necessarily need to compete. A heavy wool can work because of the contrast. Linen can bring softness without adding another strong pattern. Upholstery can be relatively simple and still feel considered because there’s already plenty happening at floor level.
That doesn’t mean everything has to become beige and quiet. It’s more about knowing where the detail is coming from. The same applies the other way around. If the room is built around a patterned rug, a heavily woven textile or a statement piece of upholstery, a calmer timber floor might make more sense. Put too many surfaces with something to say into one room and they can quickly start talking over each other.
Pattern
Pattern is part of that conversation too. We tend to think about pattern in terms of fabric, but herringbone, chevron and parquet bring their own geometry. Pairing a strong floor pattern with equally busy curtains, rugs and upholstery can work, but it needs a fairly confident hand. Sometimes the more interesting decision is to let one element do less.
There’s also a practical reason to look at flooring and textiles together. Samples can change considerably once they’re side by side. A pale oak can suddenly look warmer next to one fabric and greyer next to another. A smoked timber can pull unexpected colours from a rug. Lighting shifts things again.
That’s why the material palette is worth looking at as a whole, rather than signing off the floor and then moving on to the soft furnishings. At Manhattan Loft Gardens, the floor wasn’t chosen simply because a band-sawn surface looked interesting. It made sense for the character of the building and the loft-style interior the design team was creating. The fact that the engineered oak is FSC 100% certified and suitable for use with underfloor heating gave the specification the practical grounding it needed too. And that’s really the point.
Wood, wool and weave all bring something different to a hotel interior. They don’t need to match, and they don’t all need to be the loudest thing in the room. The best combinations usually come from working out which material should carry the character, then giving everything else enough space around it.
The Solid Wood Flooring Company is one of our Recommended Suppliers and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our Recommended Suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.
Main image credit: The Solid Wood Flooring Company
