
Like many homeowners stuck in lockdown at the start of the pandemic, Page Nazarian of West Hollywood, Calif.-based Fame Hardwood seized the opportunity to renovate his own home. Unlike many homeowners, however, Nazarian is a wood flooring expert with more than a few notable design experts in his contact list. To trick out the bar room in his Brentwood, Calif., home’s basement, Nazarian worked with Alana Marie of Alana Marie Interiors, who originally envisioned elaborate marble flooring for the space. When Marie asked Nazarian if he thought a wood floor with the same tile-like look could work, his response was, “Heck yeah, let’s do it!”
“For all the many times the tile industry has copied us in the wood flooring industry, for once we thought we’d copy their tile look,” Nazarian says.
They selected engineered rift white oak for the 650-square-foot space, and Nazarian tapped his most trusted wood floor pro, Miguel Gascon, for the fabrication and installation. After sanding all the planks by hand, Gascon used a 12-inch chop saw on a 45-degree angle to make the 8-inch squares for the parquet, hand-beveling the sides and adding grooves. Gascon then applied white, black and gray water-based dyes to different pieces, which he then stained Country White, Classic Gray and Black Ebony. The pieces were then coated with an oil-based sealer followed by one coat of water-based finish.
Gascon and his team then prepped the subfloor before gluing down the tri-color parquet, wrapping the project up with a final coat of water-based finish. The completed room now serves as a “speakeasy” and music room for Nazarian’s friends and family. And even with all the stunning accoutrements in the carefully crafted space, including marble countertops and green plaster walls, the wood floor continues to steal guests’ attention, says Nazarian: “If the flooring stands out amongst all that, I think it really shows how unique it really is.”
SUPPLIERS: Abrasives, Finish: Bona | Adhesive: Bostik | Stain: DuraSeal | Wood flooring: Fame Hardwood