Oil Finished Floors, You Know You Want One

by Heather Tissue, Green Designer

Have you dreamed of having a home with hardwood floors? Do you worry about upkeep and having to refinish them? An oil finished floor might be the right choice to solve both issues and give you the look you want. 

DuChateau Riverstone Collection: Danube at the Playboy Headquarters

What is an Oil Finish?

An oil finish is applied on site, not at the factory, and becomes part of the wood penetrating the top layer of the unfinished floor and bonding with the material. Over time, the oil actually hardens the fibers of the wood. You don’t have to be “shoes-off” worrying about scratching the finish of your floor. If there is an area that gets scuffed or just receives the concentration of traffic, a refresher application of the oil will restore the floor and keep it looking good. And you’ll never have the expense of sanding and refinishing.Think of it this way, instead of living on your floor, you’ll be living with your floor.

Eco-friendly benefits

The oil used in this finish is no VOC, that means no volatile organic compounds off-gassing into your home. And many oil finished floors are constructed with FSC certified wood or bamboo. So a non-toxic finish combined with a sustainably-sourced material provide you with a high-quality, durable, long-lasting eco-friendly floor.

Floor Care

Caring for an oil-finished floor requires regular sweeping with a microfiber mop or vacuuming with a canister vacuum with a hardwood floor attachment, the same care recommended for any hard surface floor. Periodically, you will need to mop with a special oil soap and once a year, a refresher oil should be applied. 

The natural oil repels water and most stains. But If you do get a stain on the floor—-say red wine or crayon or Sharpie marker—-you can treat the area with a little refresher oil and quadruple 0000 steel wool and watch the stain disappear.

. 

Practicality

While an oil-finished floor is beautiful in any application, that beauty is transcended by practicality in a commercial application. When the floor needs refreshing, a busy restaurant need not lose business hours for the treatment. Refresher oil can be applied in about an hour in the average size establishment and will dry in 5 hours and the floor is ready for business as usual.

DuChateau The Terra Collection: Zimbabwe at Tori Tori Restaurant, Mexico City

Style

Oil finished floors have been around forever. Many of today’s oil-finished floor styles are inspired by floors found in castles and chateau’s in Europe. With wide planks and lot of knots and character, these floors add elegance to your design whether in a contemporary loft or a traditional home. 

US Floors Navarre Montalbaun 

And now bamboo floors are also available with an oil finish taking this popular flooring material in a new style direction.

Wire brushed, strand woven bamboo oil-finished floors from Teragren

Applications beyond flooring

Because an oil-finished floor does not have that shiny, acrylic finish, the natural beauty of the wood can stand alone. This quality lends itself to application beyond flooring, like wall paneling, cladding, wainscoting and feature walls. 

Du Chateau The Vernal Collection: Davos at the House of Rock project.

Eco-friendly, durable, beautiful, easy to care for, consider an oil-finished floor for your next project. You know you want one.