Several products from Mafi Timber Flooring were specified for the renovation of a family home located in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Teneriffe. Designed by owner-architect Chris Hing Fay and wife Kia, the beautiful home is an eclectic mix of timbers, antique furniture pieces and Scandinavian vintage paintings.
Mafi is used in unique ways throughout the family home, beginning with the main seating in the dining room, which consists of a bench along the length of the room. Mafi Oak Country Brushed Natural Oil was installed from the floor up for the bench as well as the wall panelling behind, completing a magnificent wooden feature that doubles up as a practical storage solution.
The unique three-layer cross-section of the engineered Mafi boards is highlighted by the finishes on the cabinetry, furniture and benches. The cross-section shows the symmetrical solid wood construction of a Mafi board where the top and bottom layers of European Oak contrast against the middle layer of spruce with a different grain, direction and colour.
According to Kia, using Mafi for the cabinetry has pulled the house together.
Mafi engineered boards have also been used on the sideboard next to the kitchen as well as one of the children’s bedrooms. When building the kitchen, extra care was taken to keep the grain going around the cabinetry. Chris and Kia oiled the Mafi boards themselves prior to installing the cabinetry, demonstrating the passion and thought that has gone into every detail of the home.
Different timbers were incorporated into the design including Mafi European Oak for flooring and cabinetry, pine for the bed frames and picture frames, and a slightly darker timber for some of the walls. Timber has also been used in the bathrooms for the towel racks, newspaper racks and toilet paper racks as well as a vanity and floor made from Mafi boards.
Though advised against it, Chris and Kia installed Mafi timber for the bathroom flooring instead of tiles. Mafi floorboards are guaranteed in bathrooms as they can be used in wet areas due to the all-natural oil finish that allows the timber to process moisture, as well as the perfectly balanced three-layer construction of the Mafi plank. The timber boards remain incredibly stable and will not warp or cup in a damp area application.
Mafi timber floors are cleaned with an all-natural oil soap, which lathers up with warm water and flushes the wood pores, allowing the natural plant fats and oils of the soap solution to soak back into the wood to replenish and strengthen the floorboards. Similar to all Mafi products, the oil soap cleaning product is also 100% chemical-free.
Both Chris and Kia feel a real connection with their Mafi floor - they decided to choose Mafi for its natural oil finish, which is not possible with lacquered or polished timber floors.
Photography by Shantanu Strarick
