Wood Flooring Ideas

When it comes to wood flooring ideas there are may to choose from. Wood flooring is by far the most sought after flooring. The natural beauty and charm of wood gives any kitchen a marvelous look.

There are many wood flooring ideas. Please notice I said wood and not hardwood flooring. Hardwood is the number one choice but softwoods, like pine, can also be used.

Softwood Flooring

• Pine flooring is softer and dents and dings and that gives your floor a aged look. Some people even have the floor artificially aged before finishing. Dropping chains, large bolts, or pretty much anything that has weight, on the floor to dent and ding it. It can be as weathered as much, or as little, as you like. This style floor is well placed in a country kitchen and looks marvelous. Softwood floors are usually less expensive than their hardwood counterparts.

  Wide pine floors, often seen in the old colonial homes, have widths up to 18 inches. Boards this wide are very hard to come by and can be quite expensive. It's a great wood flooring idea.

Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring is very durable and amazingly attractive. Woods used are Oak, Maple, Birch, Beech, Mahogany, Ash, Hickory, Cherry, and also some exotics like Zebra and Ipe. The more exotic the floor, the more expensive. Hardwoods aren't easily dented and the pre-finished floors have very hard finishes and are not easily damaged.

Exotic hardwood flooring is also very popular. You may be surprised how many different species of exotic hardwoods there are. Consider this wood flooring idea for your kitchen.

Different grades of flooring are available as well. Select, utility, #1, and, #2 are all grades of hard wood. Hardwood floors can't be readily obtained in widths over 6 inches. But there are ways to get wider boards such as reclaimed barn beams. More barn beams information is below.

The Grades Of Flooring

• Select: Select flooring is the top of the line. The colors are uniform with little variation. There are very small knots, if any. Select also comes in longer lengths.
• #1: #1 flooring is a step down from select. This flooring has some color variation with mineral spots and pin holes. The knots are larger than select but still small.
• #2: #2 flooring is two steps down from select and has wide color variations. #2 also has large knots and some knots can be loose. More waste is common with this grade of flooring. #2 is also know as rustic.
• Utility: Utility grade is the least favored of all the grades. This flooring has large and/or missing knots, machine burns, and may be missing the tongues. Utility is very rustic looking and has the widest color variation. Expect up to 30% waste with this grade of flooring.

Finishes And Textures

• Common finishes for wood flooring are polyurethane over stained wood and natural (just polyurethane). Staining a less expensive wood the color of a more exotic wood gives the look and feel of the more expensive floor without the price tag.

  Staining also helps to match your tastes and room style/ decor. Please note that the lighter, and darker, the color the more dirt and dust will show on the surface of the floor. A medium toned wood minimize this.

• Different textures are also an option. Handscraped flooring from Virginia Mill Works is a popular option. It gives a traditional handcrafted look with all of the benefits of having a pre-finished floor.
• The most common texture is to leave the floor smooth and flat. But you can also lay down an unfinished floor and distress it yourself before finishing. Here is a great link for more information on this. There are also a wide selection of pre-distressed flooring options out there; from highly distressed to very lightly distressed. The options abound.

Reclaimed Wood Flooring

Old growth wood is denser than most of the wood today because it was allowed to grow for many years at it's own pace. The growth rings are very close together.

This style floor is becoming very popular. It's a green product because it's recycled and would otherwise end up in a landfill. If you want to offset your environmental impact this is a good way to go. It's often more expensive but you can tell all of your friends you have a floor that's over a hundred years old.

The beauty of reclaimed wood flooring is unmatched and has the charm and sophistication only an aged wood can give. These boards also come in very wide widths, sometimes up to 20 inches.

Additional Wood Flooring Ideas

• Wood inlays: Wood inlays are a fabulous way to add a special detail to wood floors. Inlays are designs cut into wood by laser cutters, and can be made to order based on your own design. These inlays can add a border or medallion to your floor to add an interesting detail that is not common.
• Change The Direction Of The Floor: Changing the direction of the floor is also a good wood flooring idea and can add a interesting detail. What do I mean by this? By having the outside 18 inches of floor (or whatever width you choose) change it's orientation to the center of the floor.

  This breaks up the look of the floor and gives a nice change to the average straight laid floor most commonly seen. You can also have the border in a different wood to add an even more interesting look.

As you can see there are many wood flooring ideas and ways to add details to a wood floor. You don't have to have the average floor if you don't want. A good flooring installer can do whatever details you can think of. Why settle on the average if you don't have to?

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