One of the pleasures of working with imaginative and creative clients is adapting as a project proceeds; the hidden layers that appear during a project often provide opportunities to do something different, or better, or truer to the original spirit of the home.

A recent case in point is the living room floor in a condo remodel that we did in downtown San Francisco. The “before” picture shows the existing berber carpet. It was a reasonable choice in the apartment: functional, attractive enough, durable. But after some years, the client wanted it replaced.

When we pulled up the corners, to see what removing the carpet would entail, we found oak parquet floors. The finish was dark, and there were some isolated problems, but the floors were in essentially good shape. And the acoustic treatment that was originally installed beneath the floors, and that was required in this building of several hundred units, was still intact.

The client decided it was worth refinishing the floors, and after getting multiple quotes, we had Tree Lovers Floors sand and finish them with a modern, water-based, catalyzed finish. The finish was Basic Coatings’ Street Shoe, clear (non-amber) in a satin finish. Catalyzed finishes were originally developed for high-traffic commercial applications, but they have become the favored finishes for wood floors in many fine homes – they are beautiful, durable, and they maintain really well.

Tree Lovers recommended the satin finish in order to reduce the afternoon glare from the glass doors to the patio. They did their usual incredible job, and the parquet looks great.