Choosing Your Hardwood Floor.

Choosing your hardwood floor

Choosing a color and style for your hardwood floor can be a nerve racking process. Unless you’re made of money, your decision with regards to your flooring is fairly permanent. An interior decorator or designer could tell you what you should want, and they’re great if you can afford one but not everyone can.

DIY television programs showcase the latest and trendiest styles that make sense if your last remodel didn’t happen more than six months ago. Or, you can trust a flooring franchise which sells all types of flooring and who’s sales staff aren’t necessarily experts in wood flooring.

At J & J Wood Floors we specialize in installing, finishing, refinishing, and selling wood and plank style flooring, both pre-finished and unfinished. We’ve been doing it for over 20 years. It’s all we do. I hope the following information will be of some help in your next wood flooring purchase.

Thank You for Reading
Joe Putzel
J & J Wood Floors

Wood Flooring History

From about the year 2000 to around 2010 we were sanding all the old dark stained wood floors and staining them a natural color. From 2010 until about the beginning of 2016 we started sanding the natural colored wood floors and staining them dark or installing very dark colored engineered wood floors. It is a fact that styles change. Maybe it’s because we get tired of looking at the same thing for too long or maybe it’s just because we can change them. It’s probably a lot of both.

White or Grey Wood Floors

Monarch-Engineered-Hardwood-FlooringCurrently, there are quite a few popular wood floor styles. There is the grey washed/barn washed look where some of the natural wood color shows through and is highlighted by a grey or white stain in the soft grain.

Usually, there are some dark features in the room/rooms where the wood floor is installed such as dark stained cabinetry or maybe a reclaimed-wood accent wall. Contrast is important when choosing a hardwood floor.

The contrast can be subtle, but too much of one color or color tone can be monotonous and boring. The beauty and character of the wood floor should be independent of the baseboard or cabinetry, but not clash with the style of the room.

Dark Wood Floors

Dark hardwood floors have regained popularity in the past seven or eight years. Most often the home’s in which very dark or even Ebony colored wood floors are installed are trimmed out in white, with white cabinets, which makes for a dramatic contrast. They also have copious amounts of natural light.

Consider the lighting in your house. A house that doesn’t have much natural light in it will seem to have even less if the wood floor is too dark. If you have minimal light in your house and you prefer a darker floor you might consider a more medium toned brown. This will keep the space from feeling smaller than it is. A house with an abundance of natural light can afford a dark brown hardwood floor color such as Ebony which is almost black.

Natural

A wood floor is considered to be of natural color when there is only clear finish or sealer and no stain applied to it. Most domestic woods     indigenous to the U.S. other than Black Walnut, are light in color, such as Red Oak, White Oak, and Maple. The clear finish allows the true character of the wood to show through leaving the natural variations in color and grain pattern. Natural colored wood floors are probably the most versatile when adding new wood floors to a home that isn’t being remodeled.

 All this being said, we have installed all types of wood floors in all types of  homes. All that really matters is that you are happy with the floor you choose. Again, I hope this information is helpful in your search for your new hardwood floors. Good luck and happy hunting!

J & J Wood Floors Is Your Hardwood Flooring Specialist

At J & J Wood Floors we’ve been selling, installing, and refinishing hardwood flooring for over 20 years.  One visit to our showroom in Auburn and we can take the confusion out of your hardwood flooring choices and help you choose the right type and style of hardwood flooring for your home or building.  We don’t just sell flooring, we are also expert installers too and install our flooring products to the highest of standards.

If you’d like to schedule an appointment with one of our flooring experts or you’d like to have us come to your home for an in-home flooring consultation please give us a call or fill out our online contact form and we’ll get right back to you.

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