The same single-origin French oak creates both the tactile furniture pieces and the patterned floor, giving the lobby a continuous material language from underfoot to touch point.
Project Overview
This hotel lobby was designed as a calm, welcoming threshold between the city and the guest rooms above. The brief called for a central point of interest that would anchor the seating areas while working comfortably with the surrounding stone, metal and soft furnishings.
Solid French oak was used in two complementary ways: substantial coffee tables formed from 100 x 100 mm sections, and 600 x 600 mm French oak floor panels laid in a geometric parquet-style pattern.
Design Response
The low, oversized coffee tables act as quiet focal points within the open lobby. Their expressed timber mass is balanced by simple black metal bases, allowing the oak to appear visually substantial without becoming heavy.
Underfoot, the panelised oak floor introduces texture and craftsmanship at a larger architectural scale. Matching the tone of the furniture and flooring ties the entire lobby together and gives the space a tailored, residential quality while retaining the durability required for hospitality use.
Section 100 x 100 mm solid oak sections
Material Solid single-origin French oak
Base Inset black powder-coated metal
Origin Single-origin French oak
Certification PEFC Certified forests in France
Expressed timber mass – 100 x 100 mm solid oak sections give the tables genuine visual weight and make the material itself the primary design feature.
Metal base contrast – slim black bases are inset from the table edges, creating a floating effect and allowing the warm oak to remain dominant.
Panelised flooring – 600 x 600 mm French oak panels enable a complex geometric pattern to be installed as a controlled modular system.
Unified finish – a natural hard wax oil system maintains the tactile quality of the timber while visually connecting the furniture and flooring
Material continuity – the same French oak language moves from furniture to floor, creating a coherent interior rather than a collection of unrelated finishes.
Visual warmth – the oak provides warmth against the lobby’s stone, glass, dark metal and neutral upholstery.
Hospitality durability – both the solid tables and hard wax oil finished floor are designed to be maintained and refreshed over time.
A strong example of how one timber can move across furniture and architectural surfaces while maintaining consistency in colour, grain and character.
