Arts & Crafts Oak Floors for Harlem and Hamilton Heights Brownstones
Posted November 13, 2026
Our Arts & Crafts oak collection, with 7-1/2" planks and a hardwax oil finish, suits the brownstones and row houses of Harlem and Hamilton Heights.
Call (908) 232-6600 or book a virtual consultation to review samples and specifications for your project.
Harlem and Hamilton Heights are known for their brownstones and row houses from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many owners restoring them want a floor that respects that era without copying it. Our Arts & Crafts collection was designed with that kind of house in mind.
This guide covers the collection's build, finish and colour range, and how to choose a tone for each floor of a row house.
A Collection Named for a Movement
The collection is named after the Arts and Crafts movement, which its pages describe as beginning in Britain between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The movement stood for traditional craftsmanship, simple elegant forms and high-quality natural materials.
That idea fits a historic row house well. Its pages describe the hardwax oil finish, the colour palette and the oak texture as working together to bring out the beauty of the wood and the character of the house. Vienna is a good starting point, and it sits in our light brown colour family.
Board Size and Construction
The collection's pages describe the larger board size as its most distinctive feature. Each board is 190mm wide, about 7-1/2", with a fixed length of 2100mm or random lengths from 600 to 2100mm. London and the other colours share these sizes.
Each board is a 3/4" thick, 3-layer engineered plank, with either a tongue and groove joint or a CosLoc lock joint. A 7-1/2" board is wide enough to feel generous in a parlor, yet still in proportion with the narrower rooms and hallways of a row house. Our solid or engineered guide explains the build.
Light Brown Tones: Vienna, Batiste and Barcelona
For a bright parlor floor with tall windows, the light brown colours are a natural fit. Vienna and Batiste are listed in our light brown colour family, and Barcelona in both light brown and light grey.
A light floor makes the most of the daylight in a deep, narrow house, where the middle rooms can be darker than the front and back. It also works well with original plaster mouldings and painted woodwork. Our light versus dark guide covers how pale floors look over time.
Restoring a brownstone or row house? Send us photos of each floor and we will suggest colours to sample.
Light Grey Tones: Albion, Heather and Misty Fjords
For a cooler look, Albion, Heather and Misty Fjords are listed in our light grey colour family. Light grey suits a renovated top floor or a garden level that has been opened up into a modern kitchen and living space.
Grey can sit comfortably beside a more traditional floor elsewhere in the house, so a row house can move from warm parlor rooms to a lighter, more modern floor upstairs. Because all three share the same board size and finish, the change in tone is the only difference between floors. Misty Fjords completes the set of three.
Dark Brown and Dark Grey
For a formal dining room or a library, the darker colours give a traditional, settled feel. Geneva, London and Old Venice are listed in our dark brown colour family, and the 7-1/2" Marseille in dark grey.
A dark floor suits a room with original woodwork, a fireplace and period furniture, and it gives a brownstone parlor a sense of depth. Darker floors show dust more readily than mid-tones, so they suit rooms with lighter traffic. Comparing two or three dark samples in the room itself, as part of a virtual consultation, is the surest way to choose.
The Hardwax Oil Finish
Every colour in the collection is character grade oak with a hardwax oil finish, listed as silk oil ultra matte. Character grade shows the natural marks of the wood, and an ultra matte oil keeps the surface soft and low in sheen, as on Marseille.
An oiled, matte floor suits an older house because it looks closer to a traditional finish than a glossy coating does. For a comparison of oil, lacquer and urethane, see our finish guide. Our team can help you match a finish to each room.
Book a virtual consultation to compare Arts & Crafts colours for your home.
Quick Answers
How wide are the Arts & Crafts boards?
Each board is 190mm wide, about 7-1/2", as on Vienna.
What lengths are available?
A fixed length of 2100mm, or random lengths from 600 to 2100mm.
What finish does the collection have?
A hardwax oil finish, listed as silk oil ultra matte, on character grade oak.
Are there grey colours?
Yes. Albion, Heather and Misty Fjords are light grey, and the 7-1/2" Marseille is dark grey.
Plan Your Floor
Every colour in this guide is available through our store, and we can help you choose floors for each level of your brownstone.
Call (908) 232-6600, email joe@hugginsflooring.com, or book a virtual consultation. Browse our collections: Herringbone, Chevron, Wide Plank, Parquet.
About The Author
Joe Avila has worked in wood flooring for 26 years. He is NWFA certified (CSI, CI, CWFI, CFS) and teaches NWFA continuing-education courses for architects, designers and flooring professionals. Luxury Wood NYC, a Huggins Wood Floor Specialist brand.
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