All the floors in the house — living room, bedrooms, corridor, laundry, entrance — are natural oak parquet, laid in wide boards and finished with oil (not lacquer). The bathroom is the only space with tiles, for practical reasons to do with water. It's real wood, not laminate: you can see the grain, the knots, the tones that change board by board. You feel it underfoot.
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Warm underfoot · easy on the eye · good for the house
The oak is one of the things in the house we like most. It gives back warmth in winter, stays cool in summer, softens your footsteps. Barefoot it's a completely different feeling from tiles or laminate. It's also a natural material — it gives off nothing into the air, it lives with the house.
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One small courtesy · no dragging
Oiled oak is beautiful but a little delicate: deep scratches show and are hard to hide. The thing to avoid is dragging heavy or sharp objects — chairs, suitcases, boxes, furniture — straight across the floor. To move something, lift it or put a cloth underneath. The dining chairs already have felt pads under their legs.
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The marks of time are part of the wood
A few small marks here and there are normal — oak is a living material, it takes in the passing of people and changes a little over time. From time to time we go over it with oil to revive it. Don't fret over a fine scratch or a water mark dried in time: it's the patina of a lived-in house.
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If something falls or stains · what to do
Clean as you would at home: a damp cloth is perfectly fine, even washing the floor if needed. The one thing to avoid is leaving puddles of standing water on the wood — oak absorbs and swells. If the stain is a serious one (red wine, oil, very brightly coloured juice) let us know straight away on WhatsApp: we'll see it anyway at the changeover, but between one departure and the next arrival we have less than four hours to hand the house back clean — knowing in advance lets us deal with it properly, without rushing.
Coffee