CASE

Schotten & Hansen x NCS Colour

17 MAY, 2023

Creating bespoke colour assortments for high quality veneers.

NCS – Natural Colour System© is used to define colour on all kinds of surfaces. Schotten & Hansen is a renowned flooring company, founded in 1984 and based in Bavaria, Germany. For some time now, they have been working with NCS. We have met with the team, curious to learn more about their view upon craftsmanship, wood as a raw, natural material and how they have created their naturally coloured veneer collection.

Tell us, how do you work with NCS?

– To make life easy for designers, Torben Hansen, founder and Managing Director, now collaborates with NCS Colour and uses the NCS System, creating his own colour collection with a selection of 150 core colours that all fit together in perfect harmony. Based on this selection, designers can choose any colour needed or use any shade or variation of the core colours. Designers can even measure the colour with NCS Colourpin to translate the exact colour code to veneers. This enables colourful matches within entire interior concepts and the ability to create bespoke solutions for clients.

How are your veneer applications typically being used?

– We produce veneer solutions with our own in-house surface quality for finishing into ceiling and wall cladding or furniture fronts and tabletops. We develop a range of various products depending on the intended area of use and conditions at stake. The veneer layer with the Schotten & Hansen finish forms the top layer of a multi-layer construction and is bonded to a variety of carrier panels. The veneer applications are thus dimensionally stable, can be finished in a variety of ways and are to some extent resistant to moisture.

You offer a wide range of colours for your flooring and veneer solutions; how do you select which colours to offer in your product portfolio?

– Torben Hansen has spent years exploring and experimenting with colours by using only natural pigments and traditional processes. From this experience, selected colour shades in oak wood for the floors and veneer applications are established from time to time.

Since each veneer has its own character, how do you work with the colour range, helping your customers to the best result?

– To create the perfect harmony for any material combinations such as marble, textiles, or leather, it is possible to measure the colour with an NCS Colourpin and translate the exact colour code to veneers. This enables colourful matches within entire interior concepts and the ability to create bespoke solutions for clients.

Nature is a source of inspiration for you, how does that manifest in Schotten & Hansen products?

– Because wood is a natural material itself, nature is omnipresent in our products. Our aim is to preserve the natural value of the material with our craftsmanship and expertise and to use it for long-term architecture. Nature is for example the source of inspiration for our colour tones. Over decades of research, we have found unique ways to transfer the colours of nature to wood. They harmonise with the colouration of the wood, developing the finest nuances, changing over time.

Can you describe your process of transferring the colours to wood?

– Through a complex, multi-step colouring process involving smoking, deep cleaning, and the use of natural essences, we introduce our colours into the wood. Pigments, grown in plants or minerals and extremely finely ground, penetrate deep into the pores of the wood which creates an incomparable effect on the surface. An effect which endures. That is what sets it apart from purely surface applied colours.

Natural resins, waxes, and oils that are durably, regeneratively finish the surface. It remains vapor permeable and can contribute to regulating the indoor climate. With this close-to-nature treatment we bring the calming character of trees into interior spaces. That is the effect of wood’s natural character, but also our natural way of working with it:

“Nature tells exciting stories about colours, moods, ageing and change. This inspiration drives us to treat wood with respect and to work with it naturally. Time, detailed knowledge, plenty of experience and the aim of developing a little further, improving a little more each day. This is how we produce high-quality products that are as authentic as nature itself.”

Torben Hansen, Company Founder and Managing Director

What does craftsmanship mean to you?

– Traditional craftsmanship is at the heart of our workshop. This is the only way to respond to the characteristics and the wishes of our customers. We bring out the characteristic details in such a way that the natural origin of the product is preserved in both look and feel. Detailed hand craftsmanship expresses the lively grain of the wood. Working the wood by hand expresses and preserves its lively and natural grain. Through careful material selection, precise craftsmanship and the combination with valuable natural materials, we create an expressive, hard-wearing, and durable surface.

So, by working the wood by hand you can preserve the structure of the wood?

– Yes, using all our sensitivity, we bring out the unique characteristics of the wood. The wood is planed by hand, not by machine. We can emphasize cracks or blend them out to create a harmonious look to the veneer. We implant specially selected natural material to reinforce the knot holes. The combination of traditional craftsmanship with the latest in engineering technology allows us to deliver complex interior projects for individual customer demands anywhere in the world.

To learn more about Schotten & Hansen, visit schotten-hansen.com