The incursion in the small world of high end parquet floors continues with a restoration (a punctual one) made by Mr. Filip Redant (d. 08.08.2021), a parquet floor specialist from Atelier Passe Partout, Belgium. A missing part of a parquet border flower is being replaced together with its underfloor support. The repaired part is a part of a large, intricate parquet floor in a high end building.
Courtesy Mr. Che Polfliet - from C-Parket.be company - I publish below a few images from a restoration process of a most probably Lachappelle Parquet creation, most probably somewhere in the beginning of the XX century. Somewhere in Belgium. The parquet floor is made of small parquet blocks laid in a herringbone pattern - in the center area - and surrounded by a wide border with a floral design. After border the space to the wall is laid with Oak battens or smaller cuts. This arrangement takes advantage of the different chromatic obtained when light reflects from Oak.
Unfortunately the old Lachappelle does not exist today even if the trademark is still owned and active. Floors like the one in the images probably can still be found in different villas. Of course a reproduction of this parquet floor is still possible today.
For me there is nothing more interesting in this field I work than to see an old work of art like this one being carefully restored and given a new period of life ahead.
As the visitor can see an exceptionally maintained parquet floor - most probably having over 100 years, nailed down piece-by-piece. Yes, that means every piece of wood in this parquet floor has been individually nailed down with more that one nail. Imagine doing this today... I wish we could see works like this today more frequently. Unfortunately the low aesthetics seems to rule in parquet floors today but there are some pockets of excellence still in place. Properly maintained this work will last one hundred years more. This parquet floor is composed of a chess arrangement in the middle and a hardwood floor border is used to create a perimeter around the parquet pattern area.
The 1900's left us with some exceptional works in the field of parquet floors. A time (if you can believe it!) when each parquet floor component was nailed down, piece by piece. In USA there were a few companies providing borders and field patterns whose works still endure today. One of them is shown in the below image. But there are many whose pictures are not taken or published.
The incursion in the small world of high end parquet floors continues with a restoration (a punctual one) made by Mr. Filip Redant (d. 08.08...
