As our lives get ever busier, so our time for housework gets less. If you’re looking for a new floor, combining the look of luxury with the advantage of low maintenance, real wood flooring can be a great option.
Whatever the style of your home, you’ll find a real wood flooring option that will complement your design and colour scheme. Whether you opt for a light beech, oak or maple, the darker shades of walnut or environmentally friendly bamboo, you’ll find the flooring will carry the eye into the room, which will make it seem larger.
You can, of course, get the appearance of a wood floor with a good quality laminate, but the value that real wood flooring should add to your property makes it a great investment. Because the floor will last you a long time, take plenty of time to choose. Ask for samples which you can look at in your own home, in daylight and under artificial light too.
Having chosen your real wood flooring, for the best results, the installation shouldn’t be rushed. A real wood floor will need a wooden sub floor, to which your new floor will be nailed. This should be undertaken by professionals who have trained in the correct techniques.
You’ll be anxious to get walking on your new floor and, depending on your budget, selecting a prefinished wood will mean you can do so straight away. If you’ve opted for an unfinished wood, the floor will need to be sanded, stained (if that’s your choice) and sealed. All this means that it will be about two days before you can walk on your new floor, though there are, of course, no restrictions on admiring it!
Once you’ve admired and walked on your new floor, you’ll start to discover another advantage. Unlike the fibres of a carpet, your real wood flooring won’t trap dust and dirt and stains and spillages can simply be brushed or wiped away. If you are using the floor in a high traffic area of your home, or have young children or pets, you may find, over time, that your floor shows scratches. But an occasional re-sanding will restore its appearance and prolong its life.
Real wood flooring works with a range of design styles: anything from a period property to a minimalist contemporary home. The only place that you shouldn’t use it is in a basement, bathroom or any other area with high moisture levels.
Many interior designers are now choosing wooden floors in their projects because of its warm, luxurious appearance and low maintenance credentials. Why not join them?