We thought you might like to see a few candid behind the scenes shots of these handmade Versailles panels being installed at a prestigious project in North London.

The raw oak panels were fumed in our workshops and to give a rich, luxurious colour.  The fuming process reacts differently with each piece of the panel depending on the level of tannins present in the wood -as the wood is fumed, the tannins are brought to the surface of the wood which then begins to darken.

The panels will be sanded and sealed with a hardwax oil to accentuate the beautiful variations and tones of the wood.

Interestingly, the process of fuming was discovered by accident in a stable more than a hundred years ago.  It was noticed that the beams above the horses were a lot darker than those in the rest of the stables and the cause of this turned out to be the ammonia from the horses’ urine.  History lesson over – we’ll update with finished photos as the project comes to an end.

If you’re interested in knowing more about fumed flooring for your project, please feel free to get in touch.

the panels, prior to fuming