Luxury oak flooring for stately homes, manor houses and barn conversions
Charles Lowe & Sons has been in business for two centuries and thats down to a heritage of quality. The firm has long been regarded as the creative department for many large contractors. We source the perfect colour and texture, no matter how modern, or unusual the request. Heres some examples in prestigious residences, that we would like to share with you for inspiration.
Our bespoke oak floors provide beauty, character and detail to grand projects. It’s why we have been exclusively commissioned by world famous interior designers.
Special requirements for a luxury finish in floors
Some customers have very specific technical and visual requirements they want from the floor boards. Our seasoned craftsmen can make adjustments in the polishing, edge detail, sheen level, board width or if there are highly unusual differences needed. For an example of what’s possible, we have what we lovingly refer to as the ‘rice pudding floor’, a unique pearlescent white oak aged flooring, with coloured glass randomly inlaid.
Other more traditional contracts include providing engineered hardwood parquet. For an example of the floor in situ, look at this Victorian terraced house in Belsize Park, Camden that we enjoyed working on.
This beautiful floor was for a project in Belsize Park, Camden
Our team have provided the expertise and workmanship for a range of flooring projects for large country estates in Oxfordshire, Hampshire and on the Dorset-Wiltshire border. As artisans we have developed a natural ease at accomplishing that sought after authentic finish for oak floors, but every project is different and it all begins with the customer’s needs.
Relaxing by the fireplace, this is a good example of how oak adds comfort to living spaces, in this classical family home in Wiltshire.
The tradition of working at grand residences was an early development, as far back as 1885, when Charles Lowe was commissioned to furnish and fit Beaumanor Hall, a stately home owned by Lady May Herrick, Lady in waiting to Queen Victoria. By the time work was completed five years later, Charles was firmly established as the pre-eminent name in fine furnishing and cabinet making.
Whilst it is true that many of our commissions are for properties in the UK, we have had requests from around the world. For instance, we carried out a project for a luxury Black Diamond Ski Lodge in the French Alps. Distressed engineered oak flooring, compatible with under floor heating, was installed in this beautiful lodge, nestled on a snowy mountain-side, in the picture-postcard resort of Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise.
Underheated oak floors at the Black Diamond Lodge in the French Alps.
A personal favourite, a barn conversion
Five generations have now held the reins of the business since our early beginnings and it is craftsmanship that remains at the heart of this family business. At the turn of the Millennium, the company’s products became the leading alternative to reclaimed oak floorboards. They offer the modern performance of engineered oak, combined with the refined aesthetics of aged oak boards.
We hand plane boards with an expert eye. Handcrafting floorboards this way means we can make sure quality is never compromised.
A defining hallmark of floors by Charles Lowe & Sons is this characteristic blending of the old and the new, evident in this barn conversion in rural Rutland, which is a favourite project of the firm’s Managing Director, Gordon Lowe: “Poplars Barn was a very special project for us because it shows how aesthetically, our floors can pull a lot of different styles together. The property has many different elements. Once part of an old cottage, it has low ceilings and tiny little rooms, yet there is a new extension with a games room and modern bedrooms.
Our Generations range is versatile in the way it can complement different styles of furniture.
“But the common theme throughout is the oak flooring, a linking narrative through it all, giving a sense of permanence and a warm, homely feel. Even though parts of the house are new, the floors contribute to a sense of longevity and timelessness that gives a home that really peaceful ambience, as a place you want to live in.”
Oak floors can turn a house into a home.