2022 WFOY: Best in Marquetry/Inlay

Custom Floors Unlimited | Houston, Texas

Best in Marquetry Inlays Photo — Photos Courtesy of Custom Floors Unlimited

CATEGORY DETAILS:
Entries in this category include any hand-cut marquetry/intarsia, or inlay featured within a wood floor as a stand-alone feature, inlaid into the floor, or throughout the entire project.

WHAT MAKES THIS FLOOR UNIQUE:
Lorraine Vojack at Custom Floors Unlimited has a passion for bending the rules and doing things that have not been done before. This year’s Wood Floor of the Year winner for Best Marquetry/Inlays is a fantastic example of Vojack’s creativity and daring – a hand-scribed, live edge, and puzzle-patched chestnut floor.

“I found unsaved chestnut logs that were buried. They had cut off the fallen trees’ limbs, stacked them, and covered them with dirt to make a road to a coal mine. Someone said that it had been buried since the 1920s,” explains Vojack. “I knew it was such a special wood. I couldn’t let myself have them cut everything straight and lay it.”

Vojack says that she planned to give her client some original art using the wood in a unique way.

“I told the homeowner I am off-the-charts crazy with this idea, and he said he had a hard time envisioning it. Either I was crazy, or I was on to something,” says Vojack.

“The challenge is scribing one piece to the next piece to the next piece. You lay it all out and then figure out where to cut and where to put in an appropriately sized piece.”

Another massive challenge was getting the nearly 40’ logs into the house. Vojack says the house was built around the lumber because there was no other way to get it in the house.

Detail of Finish Process: Puzzle-pieced and patched together. Hand-scraped and hand-scribed.

Installation Type: Glue Down
Flooring Type: Solid, Reclaimed
Flooring Finish: Proprietary Wax
Finish Sheen: Satin
Species: Chestnut
Pattern: Scribed, Puzzle-Patched
Square Feet: 3,000

Click on the links below to learn more about that floor, the other category winners, and to see a showcase of all projects entered into the contest. And be sure to check out upcoming episodes of the NWFA Wood Talk podcast, as Brett Miller, VP of technical standards, training, and certification, will have in-depth discussions with WFOY winners about their projects.