Steps
- Choose a wood with the hue, grain, and finish that appeals to you and that will enhance the light and decor of your room or home. The appeal of your new flooring is the most important quality to consider. Visualize whether amber, blond, tan or deeper hues would best show in the room?s light and would best blend with or accent your furnishings. Do you prefer the look of clear wood, planks with exuberant grain, the occasional accent of knots, or a lovely burling pattern? Lighter woods like pine, birch, white and red oak, or hickory can open up a smaller room or give a more airy feeling to a dimly-lit room. Darker woods like walnut, stained or deeply-hued woods such as cherry, can look more elegant and formal. They also suit the quiet seriousness of a study or office.
- Oak has been the standard for durability, however all solid wood plank flooring is durable. Each of the many beautiful woods available will last generations. Also, if you select wood harder than oak, whether maple, birch, or ash, it is more of a challenge to finish, and you may want to leave it natural. If you want to adjust the hue of your flooring with stain, select oak, a softer hardwood, or pine. If you are seeking a bright, warm Early American look in your home, wide plank heartwood pine exudes the welcoming, rustic appeal of a lodge.
- Decide on a plank width that suits the size of the room. 5-12 inch or 12-16 inch planks look in proportion with medium or larger rooms or to evoke the Colonial era. The beauty of knots or burling will show to greater effect in wider planks. Narrower-width planks with lots of grain or color variation can exactly complement a smaller room but look busy in a large room.
- Once you have selected a wood for its appearance and appeal, select a grade that fits your budget. You may admire the clearest wood. Or you may have a nostalgic yearning for more or fewer knots. Wood milled for vertical grain is harder than that with open grain. Buy the highest grade you want to afford.
- Choose a finish that will enhance the brightness and tone of the wood as well as preserve it. Tung oil is best and easy to maintain, but there are other finishes, as well as stains to adjust your floor?s hue. Remember that proper finishing of wide plank flooring enables it to function effectively for any usage, including that in your kitchen.
- With these considerations in mind, take a few moments in the room or rooms you are going to re-floor and actively imagine the wonderful transformation you are about to make. From a good vantage point, relaxed in a comfortable chair at a time of day when the entire room is in its best light, use a set of printed or actual wood samples to make some comparisons. Look at your first sample and note its characteristics. Is it light or dark? Is it amber, roan, tan, or coffee? Does it have grain, burling, knots, or is it clear? Make a mental picture of the sample, then look out across your room and imagine it covered in that wide plank flooring. By working with each sample and sensing your responses to it, you soon will know the wood or woods that hold the most appeal for you.
- Next, work with a flooring consultant to confirm or help you with your final selection. For years to come you will enjoy the glowing warmth, intricate patterns and barefoot comfort of wide plank flooring.
Sources and Citations
- A wide selection of wide plank flooring can be seen at specialist dealer sites, such as http://www.kellogghardwoods.com
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