5 Tips for Choosing Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood floors are a beautiful addition to any home. Unlike carpet, hardwoods are durable, hypo-allergenic, and beautifully timeless.
If you are looking to transform your floor with new hardwood, the options may be overwhelming. Here are 5 tips for choosing the right wood floor for you family, style, and budget:
Choose Your Flooring Type
When choosing your new hardwood flooring, the first step is to choose the type of flooring that you want. Are you set on a timeless, solid hardwood, or are you leaning toward the lower cost of engineered hardwood? Both are beautiful options that are fully customizable to suit your style and budget.
What Wood Species Is Best?
The different wood species available for floors are rated by durability on a hardness scale. The higher the number, the more durable the wood.
On the high end of the hardness scale, you will find hickory, maple, and oak. If your home is busy with foot traffic or home to clawed pets, these are great options for you. These species tend to handle heavy use well, so you will not need to have them fixed as often.
Some softer hardwoods include ash, birch, and cherry. These tend to be slightly more expensive, but offer unique color variations. These options are better for homes with less foot traffic or no pets.
For a really unique look, you also have the option of exotic hardwoods such as Brazilian Cherry or Australian Cypress. These come with a much higher price tag, but their beauty is something to behold.
Consider Textures
Did you know that you can get hardwood floors that look distressed and time-worn? With the rise in popularity of the “rustic barn” look in the home, this is a fun option. It also offers the benefit of hiding wear and tear better.
Is rustic not really your thing? No worries! Most hardwood floors come to you looking shiny and brand new. Proper care will keep them looking that way for a long time.
What About Color & Finish?
There are so many possibilities with hardwood floor colors. Depending on the species of wood and the finish, you can end up with any hue from blond to the darkest brown, gray tones, reds… whatever your heart desires.
It’s important to consider the other colors in your home when choosing a species and finish so that the end result won’t clash with your existing decor, especially the color of the walls in the room where you’re installing the flooring.
Hardwood floors are truly customizable in every way, so you can design exactly what you envision.
Staying Within Your Budget
There are a variety of factors that influence the cost of hardwood floors, such as:
- Wood species
- Solid vs. engineered wood flooring
- Prefinished vs. unfinished planks
- Installation method
- Subfloor
- Finish
While this may seem overwhelming, there is a hardwood floor option for nearly every budget. It is best to bring your budget to a professional so they can give you some options.
Custom Hardwood Floors in Gaithersburg, MD
For quality hardwood flooring products and installation in Maryland and Virginia, come see us at Atlas Floors, Inc.! We offer a variety of high-quality solid, engineered, and exotic hardwood options. If you don’t see what you are looking for in our showroom, we will be happy to place a custom hardwood order for you. Come visit our showroom today!