For Architects & Designers
Specification, Simplified
Woodwright helps design teams shape cohesive wood environments—from floors and stairs to walls and ceilings —with expert support for materials, samples, and specifications.
Why Designers Choose Woodwright
Made Around the Project
Three flexible specification paths align design intent, timelines, and customization—so flooring and stair details stay beautifully coordinated.
Three Paths. One Standard: Beautiful Execution.
From budget and timeline to materials and specialty details, Woodwright offers a flooring path shaped around your project.
Axis
Quick-Ship. Streamlined. Commercial-Ready.
Efficient options for large-scale projects, accelerated schedules, and coordinated commercial specs.
Signature
Curated Finishes. Elevated Flexibility.
Designer-led colors, sample matching, and coordinated flooring, treads, and nosing in preferred species and grades.
Studio
For Distinctive, Detail-Driven Projects.
Specialty finishes and refined stair details for projects where design leads every material decision.
Design Community
Working With Leading Architects & Designers.
Woodwright has collaborated with architecture and design teams on projects where material selection, custom fabrication, and attention to detail are essential to bringing the design vision to life.
GENSLER · HOK · PERKINS & WILL
INTERIOR ARCHITECTS · CORGAN · ESG ARCHITECTURE
STANTEC ARCHITECTURE · DLR GROUP · HKS
Design Your Wood
Start With the Material. Make It Your Own.
Every wood specification begins with a series of choices.
Woodwright helps architects and designers explore those choices through five core elements: species, cut, texture, color, and finish.
Together, they determine not only how the material looks, but how it responds to the environment and intended application.
Color, Unified Across Every Surface
When Consistency Matters, Details Matter.
Woodwright coordinates finishes across floors, stairs, walls, and ceilings for a unified project palette.
Coordinating with existing materials?
Share a chip, swatch, sample, or finish reference, and we’ll develop options aligned to your palette.
Need a faster start? Curated samples and finish collections help accelerate selection.
Species
Choose the Character of the Wood
Species selection establishes the foundation of the specification. Grain, natural color variation, hardness, stability, and character all influence how a wood will look and perform.
Woodwright works with a broad range of domestic and exotic species, each offering its own visual and performance characteristics.
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
White Oak
Janka Hardness: 1360
Versatile, durable, and equally suited to traditional and contemporary environments, White Oak is Woodwright's most popular species for commercial wood flooring.
Available Cuts:
Plain Sawn · Rift & Quartered · Rift Sawn · Live Sawn
Grades:
Select · Light Rustic · Rustic
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
Hickory / Pecan
Janka Hardness: 1820
Known for dramatic natural color variation and bold grain characteristics, Hickory/Pecan creates a distinctive appearance while providing excellent durability for flooring, walls, and stairs.
Available Cut:
Plain Sawn
Grades:
Select · Light Rustic · Rustic
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
Walnut
Janka Hardness: 1010
Rich brown tones and a fine grain give American Walnut its distinctive appearance. Because Walnut is softer than many other flooring species, Woodwright does not recommend it for heavy-traffic environments.
*Woodwright also offers Old Growth Texas Walnut with naturally rich reddish tones.
Available Cuts:
Plain Sawn · Quartered
Grades:
Select · Light Rustic · Rustic
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
Red Oak
Janka Hardness: 1290
Red Oak combines bold open grain with reddish-golden natural coloration. Its open pores accept stain well, creating opportunities for a wide variety of finishing techniques.
Available Cuts:
Plain Sawn · Rift & Quartered · Rift Sawn
Grades:
Select · Light Rustic · Rustic
Prime Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
European Oak
Janka Hardness: 1360
European Oak is valued for its natural taupe coloration, Live Sawn grain, wider plank possibilities, and versatility in finishing.
Available Cut:
Live Sawn
Grades:
Prime · Light Rustic · Rustic
Mill Run #2 & Better
Texas Mesquite
Janka Hardness: 2345
Extremely hard and dimensionally stable, Texas Mesquite offers rich red tones and significant natural grain variation.
Woodwright's engineered Multi Piece Face construction helps utilize this natural resource while producing longer plank formats.
Available Cuts:
Plain Sawn
Grades:
Mill Run #2 & Better
Rustic/Mill Run Grade
Texas Post Oak
Janka Hardness: 1360
Locally sourced Texas Post Oak is characterized by natural grain movement, knots, beige streaks, and color variation. Woodwright manufactures the material in a character-rich Mill Run grade.
Available Cuts:
Live Sawn
Grades:
Rustic / Mill Run
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
Maple
Janka Hardness: 1450
Hard Maple offers a dense, closed grain and naturally light appearance. Its durability has made it a longstanding choice for gym floors and commercial applications where strength is important.
Woodwright does not recommend Maple for dry climates or installations over radiant heat.
Available Cut:
Plain Sawn · Quartered
Grades:
Select · Light Rustic · Rustic
Select Grade
Light Rustic Grade
Rustic Grade
Sapele
Janka Hardness: 1500
A rich exotic hardwood native to tropical Africa, Sapele features golden to dark reddish-brown coloration with a fine interlocking grain and natural luster.
*Other exotic species, including Wenge and Zebrawood, are also available.
Available Cuts:
Mixed Grain · Vertical Grain
Grades:
Prime Import Quality
Cuts of Wood
The Cut Changes the Character.
How a log is cut has a major influence on the grain pattern and overall appearance of the finished material.
Plain Sawn
Also referred to as a flat cut, Plain Sawn is the most common cut used in Woodwright products and produces the familiar cathedral grain pattern associated with traditional wood flooring.
Rift Sawn
A distinctive cut that produces a predominantly straight, linear grain with minimal flecking, creating a more contemporary appearance.
Woodwright notes that an all-Rift specification should realistically be expected to contain approximately 80% straight grain, with some grain deflection, Quarter Sawn flakes, and Plain Sawn grain possible within the material.
Quarter Sawn
Quarter Sawn material produces linear grain in species such as Walnut and Maple. In Red and White Oak, the cut reveals the distinctive flakes and grain rays associated with Quarter Sawn wood, creating a more traditional appearance.
Rift & Quartered
An industry-standard combination of Rift Sawn and Quarter Sawn boards. The resulting floor features a mixed linear grain without the cathedral grain associated with Plain Sawn material.
Live Sawn
A European method of cutting wood that utilizes more of the log and reduces inherent waste.
The resulting boards combine Plain Sawn, Rift Sawn, and Quarter Sawn grain characteristics within the material. Live Sawn products also naturally lend themselves to wider plank dimensions, typically beginning around 7 inches wide.
End Grain
End Grain flooring is created by cross-cutting or slicing logs so the annual growth rings are exposed on the face of each piece.
Typically produced as modular blocks, End Grain creates one of the most durable and resilient wood flooring surfaces available.
Woodwright Innovation
Woodwrights Custom-Made Edge Grain Material
Woodwright's Custom-Made Edge Grain began as a solution for architects seeking thicker, more stable wood stair treads. Using RF glue technology and a butcher-block construction method, Woodwright developed a distinctive material that ultimately led to its Edge Grain engineered flooring.
Its unique linear grain brings a bold architectural character to:
Floors · Walls · Stairs · Tiered Seating
Tailor Made Egde Grain Wood Cut
Edge Grain Cut Tread
Edge Grain Cut Wood Stair
Edge Grain Oak Tread
Texture
Texture You Can See and Feel.
A smooth, expertly finished surface allows the natural beauty of wood to speak for itself. But texture can introduce another layer of character while also increasing the wearability of a wood floor.
Woodwright offers several handcrafted surface treatments.
Wire Brushed
A subtle surface texture that emphasizes the natural grain of open-grained species such as Oak and Hickory/Pecan.
Available in light, medium, or heavy brushed textures.
Saw Mark Face
Band-sawn or circle-sawn textures recreate the character of rough boards directly from the sawmill.
The material can remain fully textured or be sanded back to achieve the desired texture level.
Skip Sawn
Random visible saw marks create a gentler, time-worn appearance while retaining the character of the original sawn surface.
Hand Scraped
Each individual plank is hand scraped to recreate the impression of naturally foot-worn, aged wood.
Signature Double Hand Scraped
Woodwright's specialty Double Hand Scraped process draws from traditional methods used before wood floors could be mechanically honed perfectly flat.
The floor is first cross-scraped to address highs and lows before each plank is scraped again with the grain, producing the subtle rolling texture characteristic of an authentic Old-World floor.
Common misconception between wood stain and wood finish
Wood stain simply refers to an element of the desired color, typically a liquid, that is applied to the wood, dying it a particular color. It offers no real protective properties as it penetrates into the wood grain. The actual top coat finish is what provides a shield against dirt and debris.
Urethane
Available as a site-finished or shop-applied solution, urethane provides excellent durability and relatively straightforward maintenance.
These characteristics make urethane particularly appropriate for many commercial environments.
Oil Finishes
Oil finishes offer a low-sheen, natural appearance and greater flexibility for localized repairs, but generally require more diligent maintenance.
European Hardwax Oil
A matte penetrating oil with a natural appearance. Because of its intensive maintenance requirements, Woodwright seldom recommends Hardwax Oil for commercial spaces, including many light-traffic applications.
Tung Oil
Woodwright frequently uses Waterlox Tung Oil when appropriate for the application. It offers maintenance characteristics similar to urethane while retaining some of the repair flexibility associated with an oil finish.
Purposeful Materials. Responsible Choices.
Supporting Sustainable Specifications
Woodwright provides documentation and product insight to support confident, sustainability- minded material selection.
FSC® Certification
Available for many solid and engineered products and species, with some exceptions including Texas Mesquite, Post Oak, and most exotic species.
FloorScore® Certification
Available across many Woodwright engineered products, including unfinished, shop-finished, and site-finished wood floors.
NAUF / ULEF
No Added Urea Formaldehyde and Low-Emitting options support projects with indoor environmental requirements.
Health Product Declarations
Woodwright's HPD program has expanded to encompass almost every prefinished, engineered, and solid product the company can manufacture.
VOC-Compliant Options
VOC-compliant stains and finishes can be used on site-finished flooring where appropriate.
FSC® Certification
Available for many solid and engineered products and species, with some exceptions including Texas Mesquite, Post Oak, and most exotic species.
FloorScore® Certification
Available across many Woodwright engineered products, including unfinished, shop-finished, and site-finished wood floors.
NAUF / ULEF
No Added Urea Formaldehyde and Low-Emitting options support projects with indoor environmental requirements.
Health Product Declarations
Woodwright's HPD program has expanded to encompass almost every prefinished, engineered, and solid product the company can manufacture.
VOC-Compliant Options
VOC-compliant stains and finishes can be used on site-finished flooring where appropriate.
Start the Conversation
Your Vision Doesn't Have to Fit a Catalog.
Bring us the material, the inspiration, the performance requirements, or simply the idea.
Woodwright's Architect + Design team can help you explore species, cuts, textures, colors, finishes, samples, and custom manufacturing possibilities to develop a wood solution around your project.
Woodwright manufactures made-to-order architectural wood products for commercial interiors, partnering with architects, designers, and project teams to deliver precision-crafted solutions at scale.
Woodwright manufactures made-to-order architectural wood products for commercial interiors, partnering with architects, designers, and project teams to deliver precision-crafted solutions at scale.
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