Black Wood Flooring

It is rare for woods to be naturally very dark; there are a few tropical woods like Panga Panga or Wenge that grow very dark, but these are highly uncommon.

Most of our dark and black wood floors are coloured this way because of the specialist development techniques that we use. Our Cheshire-based craftspeople have been honing their skills for the past three decades and it is only through their handcrafting techniques that we are able to achieve these striking black and dark colours.

Probably the most well-known way to make a floor black is to stain it.

Dark pigments are applied by hand in our workshops, with air drying always permitted before applying additional coats. This takes longer than mass produced floors that are finished by machines in factories, but it is the very best way to assure that the colour is deep and even across the boards. We then finish them by hand too, again letting the oil or lacquer air dry.

Fuming is another way to darken wood floor, giving a rich and opulent colour. With fuming, the wood is treated so that it darkens all the way through the board. You may not achieve a black that is as rich as a stain this way, but it does mean that the floor can be sanded down more times throughout the years to return to the just-installed black look.

Another technique to blacken wood, which is the method used for our Woodworks Carbonised collection, is to char it. Our Carbonised wood pays tribute to the ancient Japanese process of Yakisugi, which is the intricate process of charring wood to produce deep, silvery tones. The boards are then heavily brushed to remove soft summer growth and some harder winter growth revealing the beautiful grain patterns of the wood.

These handcrafting treatments and techniques keep our woods looking natural, even with deep black colouring. This is what we strive to achieve – floors that look natural regardless of their design.

Black wood flooring works in any number of spaces, both in in large commercial spaces or more intricate spaces within your own home.

Black floor can lend itself to both classic and contemporary environments with its opulent look. Perhaps the best way to choose the black flooring for your space is to consider the edge detail. A sharp micro bevel edge is most commonly associated with modern builds, whilst hand-rolled edges lend themselves best to rustic, traditional areas.

Other ways to change the look of your space with black hardwood flooring is to opt for oversize planks or herringbone versus smaller, narrow planks. These different designs can manipulate the space to the eye, making smaller areas appear large and larger areas, more intricate.

Our black wood flooring has been specified in all manner of projects throughout our decades of crafting.

One of our favourites is Manchester Gin, a distillery and bar in the heart of Manchester. We collaborated with Up North Architects to produce a handcrafted herringbone block, which was a bespoke twist on our Woodworks Assier floor. The careful considerations and customisations resulted in stunning dark oak flooring that aligned seamlessly with the Manchester Gin brand.

Flooring isn’t the only way to use black wood, as Issho proves. Collaborating with DesignLSM, a bold yet simple palette for the scheme was used, which revolved around natural materials and elements including traditional oak. The black wood cladding used in the bar area is Augite, from our Woodworks Carbonised portfolio.

Installation of black wood flooring depends on the construction and design.

Wood flooring can be installed anywhere throughout your space – there are various installation methods that you can use, which depend on the type of sub-floor you have; installing such is a complex process so it’s important to have this carried out by an expert.

You can view our installation guides here.

Cleaning your black wood floor depends on which finish it has. Regardless, caring for your engineered wood flooring couldn’t be easier.

If you have a lacquered finish, such as Naked Skin Lacquer, then you’ll need to use Care System 1.

Alternatively, if you have an oil based finish, such as Burnished Hardwax Oil or Restoration Oil, then you’ll need Care System 2.

Both of our Care Systems include Ted Todd approved cleaners that can be used without the worry of stripping the finish off the floor.

Ordering a free sample of any of our black wood flooring is the best place to start your Ted Todd journey – simply select the three floors that most catch your eye, enter your details, and we’ll ship your samples direct to your door.