There’s not much Darren Wren doesn’t know about timber - he’s been in the industry since 1996 and at his new Thame store you can benefit from good advice as well as great products...
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arren Wren was born and bred in Oakley and has spent the last 20 years in the timber business. He started at the local saw mill in Brill aged 18 and worked his way up from yard hand to office sales, learning all the way. Eight years later, in 2004, he left to set up his own timber flooring and furniture company, with a friend, and enjoyed a decade of success. A desire to run his own company and work closer to home and family, now finds him launching a new business in Thame’s Buttermarket, only a few doors from his family’s butchers shop (Wren’s). Darren is a friendly, knowledgeable chap and at Oakley Wood Timber his small but stylish showroom has been cleverly fitted with space saving display units that show off a surprisingly large range of products. There’s doors; floors - engineered or solid wood, laminates and vinyl/karndean; worktops and accessories - a range of excellent quality, competitively priced products offering great value. “You may find cheaper in a DIY store,” he says, “but it won’t be as good quality and the service here is much better!” It’s easy to see why Darren specialises in real wood - he just loves the stuff! The showroom itself is floored in gorgeous engineered oak boards and his real oak floors start from just £19.95m2 +Vat.. “Natural oak is beautiful and full of character and it’s very hard-wearing,” says Darren. “If you get a mark on it you can sand it. It’s very versatile. Every piece is different and you get natural variation in the shade, knots and patterns, which gives a unique character to your floor. His prime grade floors offer greater uniformity and very few knots for a more contemporary look. “It can be dangerous buying flooring online from a small sample piece as with real wood there will be quite a variation in the actual product you are supplied with, but that’s the
Darren Wren beauty of it. “If you’re after a floor for a wet room or bathroom though your best options are laminates or vinyl/karndean floors. “When I heard the old jewellers shop was available I thought it would be ideal for me. There’s enough room to display my most popular floor and door samples and the rest are viewable on the website. “I’ve had large showrooms before and customers can get a bit lost! At Oakley Wood Timber I am offering a more personal handson service. I have years of experience and can provide help and advice in choosing the right wood for any particular project. I don’t do the hard sell, I’m happy for people to look round and I’m here to answer any questions or give advice as required. I’m open to trade enquiries too. “Furniture is only available from the website at the moment but if customers wish to come in and ask about anything they have seen, they are welcome to. There’s more than 1,000 products on my timber website and some 1,500 items on the furniture site.”
In addition to the flooring Darren offers worktops in 12 types of wood, from American Black Walnut to European Oak, Beech, Iroko, Wenge, Ash, Sapele, Cherry, Zebrano and Maple. He also supplies a range of internal and external doors, in traditional and modern styles. Again the website shows the full range while the more popular designs are displayed in store. There’s Oak, Walnut, Pine and painted hardwood. “We specialise in oak,” says Darren, “and have a lot of different styles, grades and textures. We have a variety of set sizes which can be trimmed to fit if needed or we offer a bespoke service and make doors to order. We also have all the architraves, door linings, skirting boards, handles etc while for flooring we do the underlays and glues. “We have external hardwood doors from about £150 then it’s around £200 to fit and about £100 for all the ironmongery, handle, letterbox etc. We can also offer a full fitting service if needed using our experienced local carpenters. Darren also offers quality wood furniture, imported from around the world. From dressers to dining tables, hall tables, blanket boxes, children’s furniture... all can be seen on his website. There’s some 1500 products but Darren has cleverly added filter options so you can search for specific items and sizes are clearly displayed. “I’m proud of the furniture selection, it is well designed, well made, good quality and great value, pre-assembled, not flat-packed. There’s something to suit all budgets too. I’d like to open a local furniture store one day, but for now the one shop is enough!”
l Oakley Wood Timber, 18 Buttermarket, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3EP Tel: 01844 217075 Email: sales@oakleywoodtimber.co.uk Web: www.oakleywoodtimber.co.uk www.oakleywoodfurniture.co.uk Open Mon-Sat: 9.30am-5pm, Sun 10am-2pm
Vale Life : Aug/Sept 2016
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