How to choose the right French oak flooring for your home in 2022

When choosing the perfect flooring for your home, nothing can compare to the look, feel, and luxury of genuine French oak hardwood. French oak hardwood flooring is popular due to its vintage, walked-on appearance, which lends itself to many room layouts and designs.
French oak is very durable and can take on many different looks due to its finish. With its gorgeous, natural appearance, French oak flooring can perfectly complement any room or space. This guide will help you choose, install, and maintain your floor so you can enjoy your aged French oak wood flooring for years to come.

Reasons to choose French oak for your floor

Firstly, let’s look at exactly what French oak hardwood flooring is, and the reasons it’s such a wise choice for homeowners.

Oak is a durable and highly versatile building material. Oak trees grow slowly and steadily, creating a level of strength and resilience that make their wood particularly ideal for crucial structures, such as floors.

French oak is particularly valued by anyone who knows their wood categories. It’s not simply a matter of American Oak and French Oak originating in different countries! The unique environmental conditions in France mean oak trees there have a particularly fine grain and stunning visual appeal. Incidentally, French oak is the wood often used to make wine casks, as its quality and composition are so well defined.

French oak flooring can be constructed from either new or reclaimed wood. New French oak flooring is engineered to have the same look and feel as authentic French oak and can be an affordable alternative when using reclaimed wood is not feasible.

Original French oak contains saw marks and rough spots from early sawmills, adding to its unique appearance. French oak planks have a worn look from being walked on for decades. European oak refers to oak cut or reclaimed in countries other than France, but French oak is considered the best choice due to its unique finish and higher tannin levels

Not all French oak is the same

One of the most important take-home tips from this article should be to check the credentials of your supplier very carefully. To benefit from true French oak flooring you need to be sure that you’re talking to people who know their wood.

To be authentic, your French oak hardwood flooring planks should reach exacting standards in their composition and cutting. If you’re buying newly produced wood flooring, the original supplier should be a sustainable timber merchant, who understands the growth patterns and timing required to produce high-grade French oak.

This attention to detail also applies when you specify reclaimed French oak for your hardwood flooring. Antique beams and other structures (that have stood the test of time) can be transformed into beautiful floor planks. These seasoned sources of French oak hardwood flooring are often hand turned, meaning the work to create the planks is an exacting process.

Whether your French oak flooring is new or reclaimed, this level of care should be as ingrained as the wood’s natural, individual characteristics.

The best retailer of French oak hardwood will keep a very close eye on the shape and grade of every single plank they sell. This ensures that customers get the right standard of material consistently across the whole consignment. Anything less than this degree of quality control could leave you with an imperfect finish on your hardwood flooring. If you are investing in the best, you certainly want the finished result to reflect that!

Design excellence and flooring choices

Another reason that French oak hardwood flooring is the “go-to” option for many homeowners, is that it can be created to match many interior design themes.

Don’t imagine for a minute that this lovely flooring material comes in a limited range of finishes. Its quality of grain makes it a great base for sanding to bring out its unique characteristics. Then, various stains and varnishes can be applied to make highly individual wood floor planks.

For example, our Driftwood St. Tropez French Oak Wood Flooring has an almost liquid flow to its swirls and patterns. Whereas our Steamed French Oak Wood Flooring has a subtler, more low key vibe. Look at our Arthur Reclaimed French Oak Wood Flooring too. Its inherent nobility and ageless beauty are there for all to see.

These products illustrate just some of the ways you can create a unique look in your home, by picking shades and finishes for French oak hardwood flooring that match your tastes and overall theme.

Installing French oak hardwood flooring

As this is such a strong construction material, installing it is no more challenging than with alternative hardwoods. However, it is a good idea to use professionals, unless you are advanced in your DIY skills. Installing hardwood floors correctly requires patience and an eye for detail. This ensures a perfect fit between the planks or parquet tiles. Having no gaps, cracks or potential to shift, will keep your French oak hardwood flooring level and problem free.

Check out our helpful guide to installing wood flooring, which is designed to maximize the finished result.

Is it hard to maintain French oak floors?

As our installation and care guide shows (see above), any wood flooring is wonderfully uncomplicated once it’s in place.

Your French oak wood flooring is highly cost effective too. Long term, it will prove far less expensive than replacing carpets regularly or repairing lesser quality flooring.

From forest to floor, your French oak has been produced to create a flawless and aesthetically pleasing finish. It is tough, and if it is installed correctly it should last a lifetime. Even better, it is low maintenance.

It comes down to a few simple measures that can protect the integrity and beauty of your wood flooring. This includes using a soft brush to regularly remove any dirt and grit that drags in on feet. Clean the surface of your French oak hardwood flooring with a soft mop too – preferably a microfiber one.

Here comes a really important point! Never use harsh chemicals to clean your floor and apply as little water as possible. There are special hardwood floor cleaners that will be kind and effective for you to use. Avoiding too much moisture settling on your wood floor is clear common sense.

Also, no matter how resilient and durable French oak flooring is, it can get damaged if it’s the victim of heavy items dropped from a great height. Sharp objects that drag across it can also produce scratches, including pet claws! Take simple steps to avoid these risks, and your French oak hardwood flooring will continue to be breathtakingly lovely for many years.

Let it shine!

Our last tip for French oak hardwood flooring is possibly our favorite. Enjoy it! Don’t be tempted to fill your room with furniture or scatter rugs. You’ve provided your home with a statement floor, a thing of beauty, so let everyone see it. You should also encourage people to walk across it barefoot too, to see how soothing, warm and comfortable it is!

What type of wood floor lasts the longest?

Oak is one of the best choices for hardwood flooring due to its durability. French oak is favored due to its high tannin level, allowing it to absorb more color. This process results in a more natural, longer-lasting finish and a higher quality floor.

Is French Oak Flooring Unique?

Yes! French oak is valued because it has several characteristic features, such as saw marks and rough spots from early sawmills, adding to its vintage appearance. Compared to other types of flooring, each French oak plank has a unique look and history, giving any room a rustic, old-world feel.

With a wide array of colors and finishes available, you will find the perfect French oak flooring for your home here at Rhodium Floors. You are invited to visit our flooring showroom in Los Angeles and browse through our hardwood samples so you can experience the finish, quality, and luxury of genuine French oak flooring for yourself.