What Is Colour Variation?

Colour variation is part of the woods natural character, its what makes the tree distinctive!

Colour variation refers to the different colours within the wood.

All Woodpecker floors feature beautiful colour variations which naturally occur in real wood. Due to this authentic effect, all of our wood floor ranges are inclusive of a range of lighter and darker shades.

More intense colour variations may be found where sapwood is present in the wood. Sapwood is the younger, outer part of the tree which is lighter in colour than the retired inner part which makes up the majority of wood floors. The grading of the floor will depend on how much sapwood is present in the wood.

Lighter sapwood appears on the outer edge of the wood

Some floors are “smoked” to give a greater depth to the appearance, and this often accentuates the colour differences more. Even the Stratex Brecon range, which is produced with a photographic print, is designed with colour variation to make it look more natural.

Stratex Flooring – Brecon Shoreline Oak, a classic example of a photographic vinyl print floor designed with a colour variation.

Select grades – look natural yet consistent, with few knots. Up to 10% sapwood can be found in select boards along with considerable grain and colour variation, but only small knots.

Rustic grade – More of the wood’s character shines through in rustic floors – including large knots, dark streaks, filled knots and colour variation. Again, up to 10% sapwood is likely in this grade.

Extra rustic – Very little is graded out in the extra rustic category. Large knots, splits, cracks and any amount of sapwood makes this a characterful choice, and means that your floor will be all that more distinctive.

When laying a floor, it is important that colour variation is taken into account so that the floor planks are laid sympathetically to avoid contrasting shades being next to each other.

A example where a lighter plank hasn’t been laid sympathetically creating a stark contrast

Remember, colour variation is all part of the woods natural character, its what makes the tree distinctive!