Located in West Yorkshire, The Swell Dwell is a 1950’s detached home that Mark & Lauren originally bought in 2017 before starting their rather drastic home renovation journey in 2018. Whilst this initially started as a home renovation, they ended up only keeping one external wall from the original 1950’s property, so the process has been much more that of a new build. The home now proudly boasts striking architecture and contemporary interiors for a stunning look that is sure to make your jaw drop. We spoke to Mark & Lauren about how they used 250 square meters of our engineered Goodrich Haze Oak flooring (chevron pattern) to achieve their utterly fascinating interior…

“A former quantity surveyor by trade, I changed profession a decade ago but have remained interested in property and particularly new build and renovations. I bought the house with my wife as our family home, and I managed the project around my full-time day job in financial services. We have a two-and-a-half-year-old son and a crazy little Boston Terrier called Trouble.”

Mark and Lauren originally hadn’t heard of Woodpecker Flooring before they started their renovation, but they discovered our website and went to view samples locally. “This [seeing samples] was brilliant for seeing the true colours of the floor – which were represented very true to life on the website – under different lights and also to put up against potential carpets that would be used to determine how well they would sit next to each other once laid. The quality, colour and chevron meant the Woodpecker floor we chose stood head and shoulders above other alternatives.”

They explained that the process of selecting their chosen floor took about two months, and involved around 50-floor samples from various suppliers – primarily of engineered timber flooring. “We had a strong sense of the end look we wanted but were initially open-minded in terms of colour (albeit varying degrees of natural) and style, although we’d always liked parquet floors. We were able to rule out many of the other suppliers when we received the samples; even some which were relatively expensive could look ‘cheap’ and as one of the most dominant aspects of the house in terms of first impressions and the proportion of floor space it would occupy, the end result needed to be just right.”

“A strong influence on the overall look and feel of the house is the inclusion of crittall walls and doors throughout the ground floor and on the second-floor gym. They require a floor (and overall finish) that not only complements and reinforces their high-quality but that is subtle enough in order for them to remain a focal point. That said, we continue to receive an equal number of compliments about the floor!”

“We absolutely LOVE the end result. The floor has been down almost a year now and we can’t fault it, it looks amazing and remains a huge asset to the overall look and feel of the house… The other thing we would say is that we are religious with the cleaning and care of the floor; following the technical advice that Woodpecker gave to ensure it stays looking its best, which it definitely does.”

How was your experience using Woodpecker Flooring?

“Brilliant and Kirk [from Woodpecker HQ] in particular was AMAZING! Even though we bought through Travis Perkins we had direct engagement with Kirk as a result of initially contacting him to understand some of the technical considerations, such as suitability to use with underfloor heating. He was also able to provide advice on the subfloor we used and he was consistently quick to respond to us and keep us updated and informed. We would 100% use Woodpecker again without hesitation.”

Thank you to Mark & Lauren of The Swell Dwell for sharing your incredible renovation story with us, if you would like to keep up to date with their journey then be sure to follow them on Instagram for even more mesmerising photos!

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