Understanding Colour Variation in Australian Timber Flooring
Timber flooring has maintained its position at the apex of flooring because of the undeniable appeal of having a natural product as part of an environment.
With timber, one embraces the inherent beauty of variation, as each board exhibits its unique tones and patterns. This diversity not only adds character but also echoes the authenticity of an organic product.
In selecting timber flooring for your project, it's essential to acknowledge and appreciate the potential for colour discrepancies across the boards. Therefore, we advise examining a range of samples to grasp the full spectrum of possible variations within a chosen colour.
Australian timber species will typically display more drastic colour variation than European Oak. This is because Australian timber is not stained or coloured like European Oak flooring. Instead, the natural rich colour of the wood is what defines these boards.
Certain Australian species will display more natural variation however, Spotted Gum will feature greater depth of colour variation than Blackbutt or Victorian Ash for example.
Spotted Gum
Spotted gum can display blonde through to chocolate with hints of green and red along the way. Additionally, every batch of timber flooring will represent the species differently. Species harvested from different parts of Australia, will inherently appear different, as the trees have experienced different environmental conditions throughout their lifetime. As such every batch of timber flooring will be different from the last. In short, you cannot assume that the same species of flooring used in another project will present the same on a new project.
Blackbutt
Blackbutt is a species of tree native to Eastern Australia and offers colour variations from creams and warm blondes to golden browns. It’s important to note that different species of blackbutt will display differing levels of colour variation. For example, New England Blackbutt will typically display more natural variation than the Coastal species of Blackbutt. Embelton’s Rustic Blackbutt range is defined by feature heavy boards for a distinctive timber aesthetic. As a result, it can be expected that greater depth of colour variation and features will be found in these boards.
Tasmanian Oak
Embelton’s Tasmanian Oak timber flooring uses Victorian Ash timber. This species typically presents as a cleaner board with less variation in colouration than Blackbutt or Spotted Gum. However, as with any timber product natural variations will occur across boards and batches.
Installation
When it comes to installation, it’s important to install from at least three packs at a time to effectively distribute the present colour variations for an ideal aesthetic. We recommend sorting the boards in piles of light, mid and dark to get a good mix on the floor.
Get in touch with the Embelton team today to discuss a bespoke flooring solution for your project.
