Ask any interior designer to name the first element to consider when finishing a room, and the answer will likely be flooring. Builders agree, it sets the mood.
Many more professionals these days are bypassing tile and carpeting, and going with wood. But what kind of wood should you go with? Solid hardwood? Engineered wood? Reclaimed antique wood? But making the right choice for your tastes and circumstances is not as hard as it appears. Here are some factors to consider, along with some useful advice from the experts.
Which Wood-Flooring Type Should You Choose?
Solid Hardwood: This wood expands and contracts and sometimes creaks, but its natural beauty add value to your home. That value will endure, because it can be re-sanded and refinished.
Engineered Wood Floors: These floors are constructed of thin sheets of wood glued together and finished at the factory. The resulting product resists buckling and warping, make it more staple than solid wood. Engineered wood floors were developed to be glued over concrete, but they can also be nailed or floated, whereas solid wood can only be nailed to a subfloor.
Reclaimed Antique Wood: For customers with a unique vision, this is the best flooring option. Reclaimed antique wood is custom made one plank at a time according to customer specifications. It is especially stable because it can cut from the center section of a beam.
Finished vs. Unfinished
One of the benefits of solid hardwood flooring is that it’s available finished or unfinished. Go with an unfinished option if you want to match an adjacent floor. Then it can be custom stained to blend. You will be pleased with the uniform color and finish you can achieve in your floor by finishing it on site. An unfinished wood floor, however, may take several days to install, stain, and finish.
Whether solid or engineered, finished wood is factory sanded, stained and finished, so it’s easier and faster to install, not to mention much less messy because there’s no on-site sanding or finishing. Finished wood is durable and is therefore a great option for high-traffic areas. And don’t forget that it’s less expensive than unfinished wood.
Important Things to Consider
One feature that’s becoming more common is radiant heating, where the heat source is under the floor. When this is the case, then engineered wood is preferable over solid hardwood because of its durability. Durability is also a central factor in the National Wood Flooring Association’s recommendation of quarter-sawn or rift-sawn wood in this circumstance. According to the NWFA, strip flooring is preferable over plank flooring, since narrow boards expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity less than wide ones.
If you live near the beach, Stoddard recommends an engineered wood. Not only is it scratch-resistant and less likely to be damaged by sand tracked in from the beach, it requires less maintenance. For any interior that’s not environmentally controlled—such as a cottage or summer home or below-grade installation—engineered hardwood flooring remains the best option.
Some Simple Design Tips
Pay attention to the understated details when personalizing a room. A great look is to use a lighter wood overall and then either add a dark border or drop in a maple medallion that looks like an area run.
More and more people are mixing woods from room to room. Choose darker woods, like walnut or cherry, for a den or a bedroom. Kitchens, on the other hand, need lighter, brighter woods such as maple or birch.
If you are going for a formal, traditional, or historic look, then darker wood is the way to go. Country, casual, and contemporary homes are better suited to lighter woods. Pay attention to your fabrics, furnishings, and accessories when choosing your flooring.
Current Trends in Wood Flooring
The latest options in the flooring market include hand-scraped wood and “exotics” from far-off lands. For delightful grains and colors, look at options such as Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, and Amendoim. Conveniently, all are available in solid hardwood or engineered wood.
Owners of historic homes on the Eastern seaboard are increasingly going for the old look and simplicity of woods such as Old Groove Eastern White Pine. For owners of historic homes on the Eastern seaboard, woods such as Old Groove Eastern White Pine are prized for their old look and simplicity. Walnut has fast grown in popularity as dark woods become more and more “in.”
DIY & Maintaining Your Wood Floor
Almost 30 percent of homeowners install wood flooring themselves. Anyone who can operate a nail gun and a saw can do it. Many resources are available to help you with this project, including instruction books and information online.
A great benefit of wood flooring is that it’s extremely low maintenance. Keep a step-off mat at any doorway, and then all you need is a regular schedule of sweeping and vacuuming. Clean up any standing water immediately; it should never be left on a wood floor. It’s advisable to keep an extra box of wood in case you need to replace a strip.
Natural hardwoods stand up to many household mishaps much better than any laminate or synthetic flooring, since the grain and pattern of solid hardwoods go all the way through. Even nasty scuffs and burns that would permanently damage a synthetic surface can be easily repaired.
For the past 25 years Avo Barsoumian has helped home owners with their home flooring and interior decorating needs. He owns and operates a carpet installation company in Southern California. They have a huge selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting. It doesn’t matter whether your searching for discount laminate flooring for your new home or carpet barn to makeover your older home then Carpet Wagon has exactly what you’re looking for.