How to Choose The Right Hardwood Flooring For Your Home

Hardwood floors are a customer favorite but with so many different species and styles, how do you pick the perfect one for you? USA Flooring has you covered!

Picking the Perfect Hardwood Floor

Hardwood is a vast category of flooring with many different types of species, sizes and styles available for homeowners. New designs are always emerging, and modern-day technology has spawned new features that make hardwood floors even stronger. With so many hardwood flooring types to pick from, the process of finding the best hardwood floor for home can feel a bit overwhelming. Luckily, USA Flooring has several options to choose from and can help you find the hardwood floor of your dreams! Here, USA Flooring has gathered everything you’ll need to know when purchasing a wood floor including tips, advice, and much more!

Navigating Your Needs

When deciding on your ideal wood floor, first, you must determine the top features you are looking for. What is most important to you when you are looking through hardwood flooring options? Are there any factors that you are not willing to compromise on? For example, are you picking your floor based on its performance features, or is there a certain look you really want to bring inside your home? This will help you (or the in-store associate helping you) know where to start.

Here are a few basic questions that can help you narrow it down. How much time will you have to clean your floor? Perhaps you should consider a floor that is easy to maintain. Where will the floor be going inside your home – will it be in a room where it could be exposed to water? Is there a certain hardwood color or look that you are particularly drawn to? Do you want a wood floor with lots of character, or maybe a cleaner look? Consider these factors as you begin to look at what is available.

The Right Look

Hardwood comes in many different species, each distinct and beautiful in its own way – so it’s no surprise that there are many stunning species to choose from when hardwood is made into flooring.

There are many ways to decide on the ideal species for your wood flooring. The decision can be made based on the material itself (are you a particular fan of pine? Maybe maple?) Or based on just how outdoorsy you want your flooring visual to look. Do you want a hardwood floor with a lot of character? Lots of knots and graining to show its journey growing in the forest? Or maybe a visual that is more reserved so it blends in with a design aesthetic that you have already incorporated into your space.

Within each species, there are even more visual choices to choose from. Several species are available in a variety of different colors, ranging from vibrant reds (consider a cherry species of wood), earthy browns (a classic walnut, anyone?), and even bright and light colors (such as white oak, for example). Often, picking the perfect color floor is about preference. But it can also serve as a start or an extension of a stylish aesthetic that can create a distinct design story within the home.

For an artistic choice, consider looking into customized wood floors. Hardwood floors are a canvas for design and can be customized to incorporate styles such as chevron, herringbone, parquets, or even geometrics for a unique and design-forward statement.

In addition to hardwood’s beautiful natural look, a finish can be added to hardwood floors for extra protection and visual appeal. A coat of hardwood finish will have the floor looking beautiful for years, keeping the pristine hardwood visual of the floor intact for longer and less likely to fade over time. Hardwood finishes can also keep the floor safe from scratches or typical household debris. Having a finish applied to a hardwood floor can prolong the life of the floor, keeping it from being damaged and preventing it from needing to be replaced often.

The size, length, and width of hardwood planks can make a big difference in terms of styling your home. Hardwood planks come in a variety of sizes, ranging from thin and narrow to wide and sizable. Currently, one of the more popular hardwood flooring trends is long and wide wood planks which are classic but make a bold and daring design statement. In fact, some planks can reach nearly five feet long!

The elongated planks cover the room’s square footage, making installation more intricate but less time-consuming. When wide and long planks of hardwood are installed in a space, it can give the illusion that the room feels vast and larger than it actually is.

How Does it Feel?

Besides its incomparable look, hardwood is a flooring favorite for its performance in the home. Authentic hardwood is strong and durable. It is naturally thick, making it possible to absorb sound throughout the home and create less noise. Its thickness also makes it long-lasting, meaning it can sustain the occasional dent and not lose its integrity as a high-performing floor. Certain types of engineered wood can be layered on top of plywood or even vinyl for extra thickness, making it even stronger and able to withstand more pressure on its surface.

It is important to consider where your hardwood floor will be within the home and to think about how much wetness the floor will be exposed to. Moisture, even a basic spill, could cause damage to hardwood flooring. In recent years, hardwood floors with added protection against water damage have hit the market. If you are planning to install hardwood in a room that could see wetness, such as a kitchen or laundry room, it would be beneficial to consider hardwood flooring options that include water-resistant features.

With so many different hardwood flooring options, rely on the team from USA Flooring to help you find the right wood floor for your home! Schedule an appointment today to speak with the USA Flooring experts. Get assistance with budgeting, hardwood flooring installation tips – all of your wood flooring needs!

Conclusion

 There are many factors to consider during your hardwood flooring selection. A wide variety of gorgeous visuals are available. What would look best in your home? Also, think about what you are asking of your new wood floor. Will you need a floor that can stand up to water or heavy foot traffic, not to mention maintaining hardwood flooring? Luckily, we can help you find the hardwood floor that is perfect for your space!