Post by Mark Whitfield, Director of Product Development.

At Charles Luck, we travel the world to source distinctive products for our customers and I want to share one example from a recent trip.

We were in Belgium meeting with several of our suppliers and saw an installation of reclaimed French limestone while there. The flooring shown in the wine cellar is taken from old farm houses along the French/Belgian border and the material has been in use for over 200 years. The material is 1st cut and this means that the original flooring was anywhere from 5” to 8” thick. The company that reclaimed the material made 2 or 3 horizontal cuts from the original flooring to maximize the square footage. The 1st cut material is from the top surface and has all of the character and patina from over 200 years of use.

The material lays out in a rough oversized Roman pattern, but is not exact since it was installed by local farmers in their homes over 200 years ago. Each piece was trimmed to square up the material to finish this installation. The reclaimed French limestone is for interior installations only.One of our Perspectives design themes is “Authenticity” and I have to say that it does not come more authentic than this. There are methods to antique and age stone to create a similar look, but there is no way to replicate the look to this level. The finished installation and stories that could be shared with this beautiful limestone are truly awe-inspiring.

You may also be interested in: