Let’s Talk Floors with Unik Parquet

A few weeks ago I shared that we are beyond excited to be working with Unik Parquet for the floors in our new build, and I wanted to give a little more detail into the floors that we’ve decided on, what drew us to Unik Parquet and some of the things I’ve learned since meeting with their team and visiting their showroom (which you will see more of on the next episode of Thompson Teardown).

Even though I knew exactly the look I was envisioning for our home, a LOT of consideration went into the floors because they’re truly an aspect of the house that is going to have a lot of wear and tear (if not the most wear and tear), and also something that I never plan to change.

Our last two properties I’ve gone with a natural light oak floor, and I love how fresh + airy it makes the space feel, and how nicely it goes with the rest of our design aesthetic. I also love that light floors are WAY more forgiving as far as dust, crumbs, etc. The rental we’re in right now has dark floors and I can’t tell you how many times a day I vacuum.. it makes me crazy!!

That being said, we’ve gone with a wide plank European oak floor in UP’s ‘Melilla’ stain. The floors are real wood, crafted in Quebec, custom stained and hand oiled and follow UP’s ethos of slow production and commitment to sustainability. Sustainability is a theme you’re going to see me talk about a lot with our home because it’s so important to me to minimize our impact when building where possible, and it’s really refreshing to work with a company that shares that mentality (& even better that they’re Canadian!). The floors are also ‘brushed’ which means they have some texture and will feel great on the feet and age incredibly well (a great option if you have kids, pets, etc.).

Speaking of how the floors age, I was fascinated to learn that Unik Parquet hand oils their stains … how they explained this to me is to imagine a leather shoe – even if the leather is excellent quality, if you put a plastic finish over it, it will crack and peel eventually as you wear the shoes. The same is true for floors – a lot of the wood on the market is stained with synthetic lacquers that sit on top of the wood and don’t wear well with time. By hand oiling, Unik Parquet floors and stains are compatible to mature beautifully. This is a HUGE point of differentiation in the flooring market and promotes the ability of the wood to breathe, improves its stability and cleanses the interior space where it is installed. UP also ensures there is consistency in the length of their planks.. what this means is since majority of your planks are the same length, they don’t look choppy when you lay them (something I didn’t consider before, but is so important!)

Overall, there was really nothing I found that came close to Unik Parquet’s craftsmanship + quality and I cannot WAIT to get these floors down and show you guys the final product!! If you’re in the market, I highly suggest you check them out and make an appointment to visit their showroom!

*This post is in partnership with Unik Parquet, but all thoughts are my personal & unbiased opinions*