Set The Mood With Flooring
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. What kind of wood should you choose? Beyond the basics of solid hardwood, engineered wood, and reclaimed antique wood, there are many options to choose from. There are a lot of options out there, but making the right choice according to your tastes and circumstances is easier than 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. Further, it can be re-sanded and refinished, so it’ll retain that value.
Engineered Wood Floors: These floors are made of thin sheets of wood that are glued together and refinished at the factory. This results in a more stable product than solid wood, because it resists buckling and warping. Although engineered wood floors were developed to be glued over concrete, they can also be nailed or floated, unlike solid wood, which can only be nailed to a subfloor.
Reclaimed Antique Wood: This flooring option is custom made one plank at a time according to the customer’s 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. By finishing the floor on site, you will insure a more uniform color and finish. An unfinished wood floor, however, may take several days to install, stain, and finish.
On the other hand, finished wood (both solid and engineered) is factory sanded, stained, and finished. Thus it’s much easier to install and requires less time, not to mention that there will be no on-site sanding and finishing. If you’re installing flooring in a high-traffic area, finished wood is the way to go because it’s so durable. Another plus is 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. The National Wood Flooring Association backs up this claim, recommending quarter-sawn or rift-sawn wood in this circumstance, again because of durability. According to the NWFA, since narrow boards fare better than wide ones when there are changes in temperature and humidity, with this type of heating, strip flooring is preferable over plank flooring.
For those homeowners who live at the beach, Stoddard again recommends an engineered wood, because it’s scratch-resistant and therefore less likely to be damaged by sand tracked in from the beach, and it also 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. Use a lighter wood and 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. Be sure to choose flooring that will complement all your fabrics, furnishings, and accessories.
Current Trends in Wood Flooring
The latest trends in flooring include hand-scraped wood and “exotics” from far-off lands. Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, and Amendoim all boast delightful grains and colors, and conveniently are available in solid hardwood or engineered wood.
The old look and simplicity of woods such as Old Groove Eastern White Pine is becoming increasingly popular among owners of historic homes on the Eastern seaboards. 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. Scuffs and burns that would be permanent in a synthetic surface can be repaired with relative ease.
For the past 25 years Avo Barsoumian has helped home owners with their home flooring and interior design needs. He is the owner and manager of a popular home flooring company in California. They have a huge selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting. Searching for that perfect nylon carpet for your new town home or carpet instalation to makeover your older home? Then give Carpet Wagon a call.

