Timber as language: Solid Floor and McLean Quinlan’s shared craft
For years, Solid Floor and McLean Quinlan have collaborated on residential projects across the UK, united by shared values of craftsmanship, authenticity, and respect for natural materials. In our hands, oak and other fine timbers become more than a surface; in theirs, they extend across walls, ceilings, joinery, and staircases. Here, timber becomes not just a material but an architectural language, a signature of their refined, sensory approach to home design.
McLean Quinlan is a family-run architecture studio led by Fiona McLean, Kate Quinlan, and Alastair Bowden. With over 40 years of experience creating homes and bespoke spaces across the UK, Europe, and the US, their work is internationally recognised for its quiet elegance, sensitivity to place, and timeless character. Each home is designed to feel lived-in and loved, crafted from honest materials that age beautifully and seamlessly connect indoors with nature.
Sustainability and longevity in timber interiors
Their appreciation for timber mirrors our own. Just as the oak in our flooring can take up to a century to mature, their houses are designed to endure, evolve, and tell their stories over time. A well-made timber floor, if looked after properly, should last a lifetime, and is an important consideration in an era where sustainability and longevity matter more than ever.
Across several McLean Quinlan projects, Solid Floor timber has been used in remarkably creative ways. In Polzeath House, a bespoke family beach home overlooking the North Cornish coast, our Landmark Dyrham wraps the hallway and staircase entirely, creating a cocoon-like effect that brings softness and stillness. The same timber continues across the living room ceiling and forms a custom headboard in the bedroom, uniting the interiors with a calm, cohesive language.
Timber interiors at Harbour House with Solid Floor’s Landmark Dyrham
At Harbour House, a precise blend of crafted brickwork and finely set flint panels reflects traditional skill through a contemporary lens. Here, Landmark Dyrham flows across walls and even into the roof structure, softening the pared-back palette and adding gentle contrast. Subtle joinery details, such as the timber-wrapped ensuite doorway, reveal how considered material use can elevate quiet architecture.
Designing with natural materials: Landmark Saltram in Kent Downs
In Kent Downs, a serene woodland setting frames a home where natural materials and crafted details anchor the architecture in its landscape. Landmark Saltram, a light, neutral oak finished in white oil, runs underfoot and climbs walls and ceilings above the kitchen. The effect draws the eye upward, emphasising the geometry of the pitched roof and filling the home with warmth.
Across these spaces, our timber shapes not only the look, but the mood and movement of each room. It softens acoustics, adds rhythm to clean lines, and invites touch. Whether wrapping a stairwell, lining a ceiling, or forming subtle thresholds between rooms, it brings a calm, grounded quality. These are not just visual choices, but sensory ones, designed to be felt as much as seen.
What defines our longstanding collaboration with McLean Quinlan is a shared belief in the power of natural materials. In their hands, our floors become part of an architecture that is richly layered, with homes that feel deeply personal, quietly luxurious, and built to last for generations.
