Riva Max Cigar — 10″ Wide-Plank European White Oak

Cigar is the floor at the end of the warm range — the espresso-mahogany spec for clients who want their floor to be the room's gravity. It's not a default color and it's not for the undecided. When a designer pulls Cigar, the rest of the room is being built around it: dark woods, oxblood leather, brass lighting, and the deepest hospitality and residential interiors Houston produces.

Featured ProjectWindamere Residence · Florida · Riva Partner: Specialty Forest Products · shown here in Riva Elite 8″ — same Cigar color, narrower plank format. Photo: Diana Todorova. View the full project on rivaspain.com →

The Cigar palette

Cigar sits at the deepest warm corner of the Riva Max range — the warm opposite of Krypton at the cool deep end. The color reads as an espresso mahogany with saturated amber-brown and red-brown undertones. Under daylight Cigar holds its depth without going matte; under warm LED it deepens into a near-rosewood. This is the floor that defines the room.

Heavy character grade reads dramatically on Cigar — the deep base tone gives knots and mineral streaks the visual weight of sculptural inlays, making each plank feel like furniture. Cigar is the floor for designers who want their flooring to read as the architectural anchor, not the backdrop.

Specifications

Where Cigar shines

Where Cigar lands in Houston:

• River Oaks formal interiors + heritage estates — Cigar under stained-walnut paneling, oxblood leather, and brass-and-crystal lighting is the deepest formal Houston spec. The floor is the foundation of the architecture.
• Private libraries + collector studies — Cigar's depth and warmth complete the wood-rich palette of paneled rooms.
• Steakhouse + classic-cocktail bar builds — the floor under leather banquettes, brass rails, and dark woods. Cigar is hospitality with gravity.
• Heritage restoration projects — for historic homes where lighter engineered floors would read wrong, Cigar gives a period-appropriate depth without the maintenance of solid stained wood.
• Members-club + private-dining build-outs — Cigar communicates exclusivity without ostentation — exactly what private hospitality projects spec.

Pairing notes for designers

Cabinetry pairings

Cigar pairs with stained walnut, mahogany, oxblood leather, antique brass, gunmetal, deep-red and deep-green painted casework, and any deep-warm material. It pairs especially well with millwork that matches its depth — the floor and casework read as continuous wood architecture. Cigar struggles with light modern cabinetry and cool tones; the temperature and depth conflict is unresolvable. For modern dark clients, route them to Krypton.

Wall and trim

Cigar supports warm whites only at high contrast (BM "Swiss Coffee"), but reads best with warm cream, warm beige, deep red, deep green, ochre, and burgundy. Stained-wood trim is the correct call here; cream or warm-white trim works against deep warm walls. Pure-white walls and trim fight Cigar everywhere.

Plank-width considerations

At 10 inches wide, Cigar is in the wide-plank category — which carries specific design implications. See our wide-plank vs. narrow-plank guide for the full breakdown. Short version: wide-plank reads more open in large rooms but can overwhelm smaller spaces. For rooms under 12 feet wide, consider whether 10″ is right or if you'd be better served by a narrower Riva collection.

Install method + acclimation

Cigar is engineered construction, accepting all three install methods — glue-down, float, or nail-down — depending on your subfloor. For Houston slab-on-grade homes (~70% of new builds), glue-down with a quality moisture-mitigation primer is the standard. For raised-foundation homes with plywood subfloor, nail-down or glue-down both work; nail-down is faster.

Critically: Cigar, like every wide-plank European Oak in Houston, must be properly acclimated before install. Plan on 5 to 10 days of in-home acclimation with HVAC running at occupied conditions before the first plank goes down. We document moisture readings at delivery, day 3, and day 7. Skipping this step is the most common cause of failed installs in Houston — see our full Houston humidity acclimation guide for the trade-spec process.

How Cigar compares to its siblings

The Riva Max collection includes 10 colors across the tonal range. Here's where Cigar sits relative to its closest neighbors:

For less committed warmth, see Amber or Earth. For the same depth on the cool side, see Krypton.

Trade availability

Cigar is a specialty velocity color for the deepest traditional and hospitality projects. Houston inventory held against forecast; typical lead time 7–14 business days for trade orders under 2,000 sqft. Larger orders ship custom from Riva Spain in 10–14 weeks.

Cigar is included in the trade sample kit. For projects spec'ing Cigar, strongly recommend a 5″ × 10″ board on-site under project lighting before commit — the depth and warmth read distinctly under different lighting temperatures.

Related collections + reading

• Riva Spain Texas — Exclusive Dealer — the full Riva Spain product family and our Texas-exclusive distribution story
• All Riva Spain + Vandyck collections
• Riva Max Amber — Cigar's close sibling in the tonal range
• Riva Max Earth — Cigar's second sibling in the tonal range
• Hardwood Acclimation for Houston Humidity — the trade spec guide
• Engineered vs. Solid Hardwood for Houston Slab-on-Grade
• Wide-Plank vs. Narrow-Plank Hardwood
• CSI 3-part spec library + CAD/BIM downloads