Residential SERIES  •  Project FEATURE

Masters Lane is a home where flooring becomes art, where oak is not just material but atmosphere. RIVA Spain’s mastery lies in orchestrating subtle transitions—between light and dark, plane and pattern—so that each step across the residence tells part of a cohesive story. This is modern luxury, expressed through restraint, precision, and a quiet reverence for craft.

Set amid the refined calm of Dedham, Massachusetts, Masters Lane unfolds as a gallery of textures and tonal nuance. The residence embraces RIVA Spain’s LA RIVA Collection, an engineered European White Oak floor molecularly modified through reactive techniques to reveal extraordinary depth and color. Crafted by master artisan Tom Goddijn, each 10-inch select-grade plank bears the mark of nearly four decades of hand-sculpted expertise. The result is a surface that feels alive—softly matte underfoot, almost luminous under daylight, and beautifully consistent in tone. These pale, custom-colored planks define the home’s central spaces—hallways, kitchen, living room, and bedrooms—where light bounces off sleek plaster walls and stone finishes to create an ethereal, gallery-like calm. Then comes contrast: the ARTE Collection, RIVA’s sculptural exploration of geometry. In the dining room, a custom chevron pattern reinterprets the home’s minimalist language with tailored precision, while in the library, the same motif deepens to a bold black, forming a theatrical counterpoint to the light-drenched volumes elsewhere. Together, these transitions articulate the home’s spatial hierarchy—the planks guiding flow, the patterns marking moments of pause and intimacy. Flooring here is more than foundation; it is choreography.

"A narrative of light and shadow, where every grain of oak speaks of balance and transformation"

The design philosophy of Masters Lane resonates with a growing architectural movement: one that values material storytelling as deeply as spatial form. Rather than treating flooring as a passive finish, RIVA Spain positions it as a medium of emotional and spatial definition. The LA RIVA collection’s pale tone establishes visual clarity—amplifying space, reflecting natural light, and framing architectural gestures—while ARTE’s geometric compositions bring rhythm and intention. It’s a study in duality: openness and intimacy, modernism and craft, minimalism and ornament.

This approach also reflects a broader cultural shift toward sensory minimalism—designs that are not sterile, but emotionally quiet; not decorative, but deeply tactile. In Masters Lane, RIVA Spain achieves that equilibrium through mastery of process. The molecular modification of European White Oak allows for color precision at the most intrinsic level, while expert grading ensures a seamless visual field. The result is flooring that feels timeless yet contemporary, imbued with both science and soul.

"The elegance of precision becomes the poetry of space"

Throughout Masters Lane, every architectural decision appears to orbit around the floors. In the living room, the light oak planks visually expand the double-height space, tempering its monumental scale with calm continuity. The soft matte finish diffuses light across surfaces, echoing the subtle sheen of stone and plaster. In contrast, the library becomes a world apart—its dark ARTE chevron underfoot amplifying the saturated tones of tropical wallpaper and gold inlays, creating a cinematic sense of enclosure and reflection. This controlled use of contrast gives the house its pulse.

In the kitchen, pale oak meets high-contrast black cabinetry and veined marble. Here, the floor functions as a neutral mediator, balancing the bold interplay of black and white. Similarly, the bedroom channels quietude: mirrored walls and recessed lighting glow softly above the custom oak planks, their tone bridging the tactile warmth of wood with the serenity of a monochrome palette. Across these transitions, RIVA Spain demonstrates how thoughtful flooring design can anchor emotional experience—how it can calm, elevate, or intensify depending on rhythm and hue. This architectural dialogue between light and geometry finds its climax in the dining areas. The primary dining room employs the custom ARTE chevron pattern—a gesture of refinement that differentiates the social heart of the home. Here, pattern becomes ceremony: the floor not only defines spatial boundaries but introduces movement and sophistication. By contrast, secondary spaces flow more freely under the expansive planks of LA RIVA, allowing casual daily life to unfold in a more fluid environment.

Ultimately, Masters Lane is a case study in architectural flooring as narrative. Through LA RIVA’s natural serenity and ARTE’s geometric expression, Riva Spain achieves what few manufacturers dare attempt—a dialogue between innovation and artistry, between technological precision and the hand of the craftsman. The residence embodies a contemporary ideal: that true luxury lies not in excess, but in the perfection of detail, the harmony of materials, and the subtle power of design to transform atmosphere.