Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.At the start of a renovation project, many clients share a folder brimming with images to use as inspiration. In the case of the owners of Verdant House, there was only one — a picture of a forest. “It didn’t give us much to go on!” laughs Mat Barnes, founder of architecture studio CAN.The open brief for the Victorian terrace in Stoke Newington, London, turned out to be an invitation towards playfulness, particularly with the approach to timber. An Ikea kitchen was fitted to keep costs down, though it was supplemented with bespoke cabinet doors made from Douglas fir plywood, stained in a combination of jade green and velvety brown, and fixed panels made from chiselled oak. The result, paired with striped, two-tone oak flooring, is bold and tactile.Renovators are increasingly leaning towards natural materials, particularly wood of all kinds, Barnes says. And not just solid timbers: engineered woods such as plywood, no longer seen as simply cheap alternatives, are becoming focal points. Particularly when designers have fun with the palette. Staining rather than painting wood means clients can have ‘wood’s grain and texture while allowing it to be bold and colourful’A number of new products are expanding the range of colours available for hard-wearing wood treatments. Staining the wood rather than painting means clients can have “wood’s grain and texture while allowing it to be bold and colourful”, says Barnes. “It’s making sustainable colourful.”Colour was important for Tanya Grigoroglou and Rupert Worrall, founders of London based art gallery RAW Editions, when developing their home gallery in Clapham, south London. They wanted to counter the art world’s predilection for large, white spaces and display their postwar and contemporary prints in a warmer setting. Architect Amalia Skoufoglou, of O’Sullivan Skoufoglou, suggested using coloured stained wood.A soft baby blue was chosen for the lower cupboards, along with a creamy pink and pastel green for the shelving and upper cabinets. Combined with the deep burgundy and white marble counter and a fluoro orange tap, the result is an arresting patchwork. Softer hues allow the grain and knots to show through more than darker colours, though the choice of wood is also important. Skoufoglou chose birch-faced plywood but says that today she’d opt for Douglas fir plywood or recycled MDF, because of supply chain issues. “If you want something crazy looking then you need to go for spruce or pine” — materials with plenty of visible grain — says Thor Grabow, founder of Danish company Linolie & Pigment. Both Barnes and Skoufoglou used the company’s Satin Wood Oils in their projects, available in a dramatic kaleidoscope, from hot pink to a deep royal blue. Grabow highlights a recent kitchen project designed by Brussels-based Label architecture, where the company’s vibrant Rio de Janeiro green has been used on Polish pine plywood, contrasting with a reflective stainless steel counter and knife-thin stools.Grabow took over the traditional business nearly 20 years ago, and uses cold-pressed linseed oil and natural pigments; everything is made by hand without plastics and minimal volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Satin Wood Oils allow the moisture to wick out of wood, preventing wood rot. Originally developed for flooring company Dinesen, they would only need to be sealed if used for flooring in high-traffic commercial settings, Grabow says. He has plans to expand the range from 56 colours to 101. UK-based linseed paint specialists Brouns & Co began importing Linolie oils a few years ago but is now developing its own line of bright tints. It opened a warehouse in the US last year; those in Canada and the Netherlands are coming soon. OSMO’s Polyx-oils may have a more limited colour range, but bespoke colours can be mixed, as Ned Scott, founder of Foils architecture practice, discovered when restoring his own home, an old coach house. In cobalt blue, the statement stair is not only a bold aesthetic choice, but thanks to the translucent stain it doesn’t chip or scuff like regular paint — which is helpful with two young children around. “It’s such a vibrant colour it sort of glows,” he says. “It’s very uplifting.”Find out about our latest stories first — follow @ft_houseandhome on Instagram
