TREADING THE BOARDS

This year, wood flooring brand Ted Todd celebrates its 25th anniversary. We sit down for a chat with its founder, Robert Walsh

What first sparked your passion for flooring?

When I was younger, my dad gave me some old floorboards to restore. I was able to sell them in the local newspaper to someone working on a barn conversion project. Where do you source your reclaimed wood from? Much of it is taken from pre19th-century buildings in the UK, such as schools, warehouses and hospitals. We recently reclaimed some wood from the War Office in Whitehall. As we only reclaim the best wood that we can find, it tends to come from places with historical merit. You were known for your reclaimed floors, so why the move into new ones? People kept asking for reclaimed oak floorboards, but we couldn’t find enough to meet demand, so we decided to make new ones ourselves using traditional machinery and methods. At the time, no other company in the country was manufacturing wide-plank floors like we were. What do you love about working with wood? As a material, it stands the test of time. Reclaimed wood also has a unique beauty to it, which can be really captivating. Restoring and finding a new home for it is a hugely fulfilling process (tedtodd.co.uk).

Swatches, from top ‘Raw Cotton Herringbone’ flooring, £85.34 per square metre; Antique ‘Ruskin Herringbone’ flooring, price on application, both Ted Todd