There are many ways to describe a floor, but have you ever heard someone compare it to a tiger? The wood in this floor that won an Australian Timber Flooring Association Floor of the Year award came from the brushbox tree, which has dramatic grain and color variation between each board—a key reason Lyn Marafioti, who owns award recipient Aarrans Timber Flooring Solutions, says she chose the wood for her own home. While some boards have conventional grain patterns, others look like tiger stripes. The 955-square-foot floor, installed by her husband and Aarrans co-owner Sam, spans an entryway, kitchen and dining room. The best example of brushbox's ornate patterning is in the entryway. Marafioti, inspired by quilting patterns, designed a floor with two columns of oak-bordered squares. Inside each square is an eight-point star. The wood for each star ray was cut from the brushbox floorboards used in the rest of the installation. The Australian says the floor wouldn't have happened were it not for Daniel Boone and Chris Coates of NWFA fame. They held classes in Australia starting in the 1990s, and the Marafiotis attended. "Boone really taught the boys some fabulous skills," Marafioti says.