The homeowner herself fell in love with our Magma range; a collection of premium, hand-finished floors. Magma’s distinctive character is achieved through a series of treatments: first burned by hand, then brushed with metal wire, then bleached, and finally coloured. The colour in this case is Pacaya, a sophisticated warm brown hue with grey overtones.

The stage is set upon opening the front door, where the visitor is greeted with the first expanse of Pacaya in the capacious, double-height entrance hall. The hand-finished nature of the boards, with their colour variation, is effectively illustrated here.

The floor carries on into the cathedral-like kitchen, illuminated by its enormous arched window. The Pacaya, in its mixed-width format – featuring planks 145mm, 185mm, and 245mm wide – is particularly striking in this setting with its exposed rafters.

It was on the staircase where Solid Floor’s expertise really came into play. While the flooring throughout the house was a straightforward installation of the engineered Magma Pacaya board, the staircase was another matter entirely. Painstakingly detailed by the architects, the stair is composed of thick, solid oak Magma Pacaya treads with risers rendered white to match and adjoin the walls.

As the stair ascends, it curves gently to address its meeting of the landing edge, whereby each tread has been individually carved, by our installer, to follow the arc of the curving stair.

The landing encircles the entrance hall and functions as a dramatic gallery, the Magma Pacaya flooring running throughout. The same chunky solid Pacaya of the stair treads is found on the landing edges as well. The entire composition is simple to look at, yet complex in its rendering.