“Almost like a piece of driftwood that you would find on a beach”

Oscar Niemeyer created a style that has become synonymous with the modernist architecture of Brazil. His design language married his inspiration from Brazilian landscapes with his desire for the social fulfillment of architecture—his love of graceful curves and natural lines informed all his projects, both feats of engineering and exemplary of his eye for sculptural beauty.

He is remembered for the iconic Ipanema beach of Rio, his civic buildings throughout the capital, and designs around the world that planted more organic architectural roots that would extend through the 21st century. Niemeyer’s legacy continues as contemporary designs push form further through shapes only more recent computing could make structurally sound.

“It has a kind of luminosity that comes from within the wood”

Sir Edwin Lutyens was an English architect who revitalized the traditional, darker Victorian style, bringing light and breathing life into the English country house he would redefine. Sweeping roof-lines, buttressed chimneys, and long runs of windows became the hallmark of his designs he would often finish with added touches of local influence.

One of his masterpieces is the Great Dixter house in England—a romantic recreation of a medieval manor. Playful knee-high windows ensured even the youngest children would have a view of the gardens below as, in true Lutyens style, the magic lies in the relationship between the house and the garden landscape.

“This beautiful, very bleached colored floor captures a little bit of sunshine”

Richard Neutra created Modern living in California, where he lived and dedicated his career. All his designs embrace the surrounding outdoors, often through porches, patios, or gardens, and with many of his houses living elegantly and precisely within the landscape.

A turning point in Neutra’s career was The Lovell House in Los Angeles—a balanced reflection of his interests in cubism, in transparency, and in quality of life. Neutra is now most remembered for his masterpiece, the 1946 Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, CA.  It was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann, a businessman who also commissioned Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright.

“Emperor Napoleon the Third, or Napoleon Trois, really changed the face of the Paris we know today. Before he came along, it was a very medieval city, dark and quite dirty, so he hired Haussmann, an extraordinary architect of the period, to come in and redesign the city. And the great neoclassical buildings that we see today are really Haussmann’s invention. It is the new Paris, the beauty of Paris, that we love the world over. But one of the great signatures of Haussmann were the extraordinary floors that he added. It today is the real signature of Parisian-style. These wonderful blond wood floors that really capture that old meets new experience. It’s desaturated yet it has a little color. And that color lets us build upon it anything we want to.”

– MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD

“It’s a color that flows across the board, always giving life to a room”

Pierre Jeanneret was a Swiss master architect known for his urban planning, unique furniture, and fruitful, lifelong partnership with his cousin, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier. Together they put into brick and mortar their ideas of modern living as they designed the city of Chandigarh in India. Their town planning,  landscaping, architecture, and furniture became the grounds for them to explore their vision.

Among his chairs he designed for administrative offices was a V-legged teak-and-cane  armchair. These chairs have been rediscovered for the simple and minimal, yet profound sculpture they are.

“I wanted it to be bold”

Award Winner. Architectural Digest Great Design Awards 2023.

“Andrea Palladio, the greatest architect Italy ever knew. He really influenced the way design evolved within all of society across Europe. From the grandest palace to the most humble of homes. But his real trick was an understanding of drama, and for me that was one of the most important parts of our design ethos, and the reason why I wanted a dark wood floor in our collection. I wanted it to be bold. I think one of the great things to look for in a dark floor is not just the intensity and richness of color, but an evenness—it has to have that depth. It is, without doubt, one of the greatest design statements within this collection.”

– MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD