Santos Mahogany Flooring

Santos Mahogany is an absolutely gorgeous hardwood that grows from southern Mexico down through Central & South America. It gained popularity in the early nineties as a harder & stronger alternative to Genuine Mahogany flooring, which at the time was becoming more difficult to acquire and was steadily increasing in price.

Ironically, Santos Mahogany is not a Mahogany at all, but rather Mahogany-like in color & appearance. Its heartwood ranges from light golden brown to reddish-brown and will darken to a deep red-brown with hints of purple upon exposure. The sapwood of Santos Mahogany is typically a creamy white color and generally only seen in lower grades.

The grain of Santos Mahogany is generally interlocked with a fine to medium texture. Many of its quartersawn pieces will exhibit a beautiful iridescent and ribbon-like figure. The wood has a hardness rating of 2200, which is just under Brazilian Cherry and 70% harder than Red Oak. Santos Mahogany is commonly considered to be one of the most stable exotic hardwood flooring species available.

One unique characteristic of Santos Mahogany is its smell. The wood has a pungent spicy aroma, which is unmistakable. The upside to this is that it makes identifying unmarked pieces very easy; especially when cutting or sanding. The downside is that some people may experience adverse skin & respiratory reactions when exposed to its dust. Because of this, proper safety precautions should always be considered when working with this species.

Stone Wood Design imports Santos Mahogany in 3/4" x 3”, 3-1/4”, 4”, & 5” widths. The product is typically Clear or Select grade with 1’-7’ lengths and is available both Prefinished & Unfinished.

If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to contact us. http://stonewoodstore.com

Patagonian Rosewood Flooring

Patagonian Rosewood, also referred to as Curupau or Curupay, is commonly found throughout Argentina as well as the sub-tropical forests of Brazil and Paraguay. When freshly milled, and prior to exposure, it is a pale to light reddish brown color with distinctive black streaks.

Upon exposure the heartwood of Patagonian Rosewood darkens rapidly much like Brazilian Cherry to a beautiful deep reddish-brown. Another key characteristic of this species is its hardness. Patagonian Rosewood has a Janka rating of 3840 psi, which makes it even harder than Ipe at 3680. This extremely dense & durable wood is excellent for high traffic installations and will hold up to even the heaviest levels of abuse. Stability-wise, it performs similarly to Brazilian Cherry.

Stone Wood Design Center's Patagonian Rosewood, although natural in appearance, does have a light stain applied to it. The stain is not intended to change the natural look of the species, but to instead mimic the darker post-oxidized color. By doing this it eliminates discoloration concerns/complaints due to area rugs and low lying furniture. Additionally, it makes it easier from a design standpoint when the customer can see the final color right out of the box rather than waiting until it has darkened.

Stone Wood Design stocks Patagonian Rosewood in 3/4" x 3”, 4”, & 5” widths. The product is Clear grade with 1’-7’ lengths and is only available Prefinished.

If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to contact us. http://stonewoodstore.com/

Tigerwood Flooring

Back in the “old days” when white floors were really cool and waterbase finishes were still in their infancy, there was a beautiful exotic hardwood species just starting to make headway in the North American flooring market called Goncalo Alves. That name, however, didn’t really catch on in the flooring world so the more eloquent trade name Tigerwood was coined and the rest is history so-to-speak.

Tigerwood trees can be found from Mexico all the way down through Central & South America. The color of the heartwood is a stunning golden brownish-orange to reddish-brown with subtle to very defined black striping throughout. As the wood ages it will darken to a deep reddish-brown color accentuating its characteristic stripes. The grain of the wood is interwoven or wavy and sometimes straight with a fine texture. Tigerwood has a hardness rating of around 2000 psi, which puts it just under Brazilian Cherry at 2350. It also has an average stability rating for an exotic and historically performs well in service.

One of the most commonly asked questions about Tigerwood has got to be, “How much striping can I expect to see?” This is a slippery slope much like, “How many quartersawn boards will be in my Rift & Qtr’d shipment?” There are some broad parameters, but it really just depends on the luck of the draw. As a general rule, when it comes to Tigerwood, we usually tell people 50% of the boards will have some degree of striping and 50% won’t. Don’t hold us to this however. Like we said before, it just depends.

Stone Wood Design Center imports Tigerwood Flooring in 3/4" x 3”, 3-1/4”, 4”, & 5” widths. The product is typically Clear grade with 1’-7’ lengths and is available both Prefinished & Unfinished.

If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to contact us.http://stonewoodstore.com

Penny Rounds and Hexagon Tile

Ah Portland, we love our bungalow homes here, and appreciate the quirky tiles and colors that come with them. I once had a 1920’s bungalow with pink and black tile running up the walls. …tres chic!

“Hexes” and “penny rounds” have been around longer than some may realize, starting in the 1800’s actually, but fell out of favor sometime when suburbia boomed after WW II. They were quite practical (more grout lines means more traction), and not nearly as expensive as a “mosaic,” even though they are technically mosaics. They had their day during the Arts and Crafts movement, certainly.

However, we still prefer to give them the love they deserve and update while retaining the original character. Character is why we buy them in the first place.

At Stonewood, we have launched a new product line specifically for this, and it’s full of hexagon, penny round, and octagon dot patterns.

Hexagons

Penny Rounds

Now, I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out. There are plenty of Portlanders who prefer the clean, simple, slightly edgy look for their lofts, condos, and yes, even suburban homes. Penny rounds, especially, “modernize” very well.

And while the bungalow owner may prefer the “hexes” on the floor, in the traditional setting, the loft owner might prefer them on the walls of a living room for a super modern feel.

Hexagons and penny rounds….they’re not just for your grandmother’s house. Unless you want them to be, of course.

A Step In The Right Direction

It is often said that your home represents your frame of mind and body. A cluttered mess and disorganized surroundings can represent chaos within. At the same time, a clean and well-organized home can represent more balance, clearer thoughts and a healthier lifestyle.

As you walk through your home, look around at the things you would like to change. Perhaps you’d like to replace your dark, outdated cabinets in the kitchen, or brighten up the hall bathroom for guest. Maybe you’d love to get the garage organized, so you’d finally feel inspired to finish all the small projects that you’ve started. Perhaps you want to have a place where you can entertain guest and celebrate with family, like a back porch, or a deck with a huge BBQ pit and hammock. Very much like standing in front of a mirror and pointing out little things you’d like to change about yourself, all of these home improvements are attainable.

Great, so we have this bucket list of what we’d love to improve around our house. Now what? Well, now we work towards changing what is most important to each of us. Everyone is different. Finally installing hardwood flooring in the living room, may be a priority for one person, while laying new tile in the master bath may be a priority for someone else. The point is, you don’t have to overwhelm yourself, because once you’ve decided what you want to change, Stone Wood Design Center can help you with the rest.

When you walk through our doors, you’ll be greeted by the smiles of our ‘degreed’ Interior Designers. The best part is, that it’s a complimentary service that Stone Wood Design Center offers to all their customers. Do you know what that means? Are you sitting down? It means that you get to work with a real Interior Designer on your project. It’s kind of like deciding you want to lose a few pounds, so you head to the gym, to tackle the treadmill alone. Instead, as you walk through the doors, you are given the opportunity to work with a certified trainer, as a complimentary service offered by the gym. You have to admit, that’s pretty cool.

Our Interior Designers will help walk you through your entire project, which comes in handy when deciding on colors, material and how much product to buy. If you decide to tackle the project yourself, we even have a full time DIY guru, who is available to give you step-by-step instructions. This is just another complimentary service that Stone Wood Design offers.

Before you know it, your home will begin to brighten and look more alive. You’ll feel excited about the changes you’ve made and the encouraging words from friends and family. You might even look back and remember a time when you seriously thought about moving, because you had such a strong urge for change. Yet, with a little creative thought and far less stress, you realize you have built a new home for yourself, by just making some changes here and there, with the help of Stone Wood Design Center.

Somewhere down the road in life, you might even hear it again, how your home represents your frame of mind and body. You’ll smile, realizing that you’re feeling less stress, you have a healthier lifestyle and you’re happier than you’ve been in a long time. Could Stone Wood Design Center really be attributed to such positive changes, inside and outside of your home? We like to think so.