The Different Types of Wood Flooring

If you’re looking to buy wooden floorboards, it’s easy to get confused about the different types of wood flooring that are on the market. It’s important to know what different wood flooring types are available so you can make an informed choice about your interior design. Some types of wooden floorboards are more suited to certain rooms and spaces, so let’s look at what kinds of wood flooring are widely available right now.

What are the different types of wood flooring?

These are the most commonly used types of wooden flooring. Other options exist, such as cork, but many are so expensive and not necessarily sustainable.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring often has the appearance of wood flooring but is actually made from compressed fiberboard. This is overlaid with a laminated image of wood or other flooring types, like stone. Pros: Inexpensive and usually easy to install. Cons: Doesn’t look anywhere near as good as a genuine wooden floor, difficult to repair if damaged.

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is actually a grass, which makes it very resistant to moisture. It grows in China, so can be expensive to import. However, it grows very fast making it a sustainable source of flooring material. Pros: Environmentally friendly as does not contribute towards deforestation. Cons: Very expensive and can be brittle and susceptible to damage and marks.

Solid Wood Flooring

Solid wood flooring is planks of hardwood, usually around 20 mm thick although the thickness can differ. Solid wood can be sanded, re-sanded, polished, varnished, stained, making it both beautiful and versatile. Solid wood is also very durable. Pros: Can add value and prestige to a home or building. Cons: Highly susceptible to moisture and will swell in humid conditions.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Engineered hardwood flooring is made of several layers of wood, with a top layer of hardwood that looks just like solid wood. The multiple layers help protect it from environmental factors like heat and humidity, whilst the solid wood top layer is just as beautiful and durable as a fully solid wood plank. Pros: Less expensive than solid wood, less susceptible to moisture and humidity, stable even in fluctuating temperatures, attractive and appealing, available in a range of styles. Cons: None.

The best type of wood for hardwood floors

From White Pine to Brazilian Tigerwood, there are so many types of hardwood floors from any number of different trees. Different kinds of hardwood have different properties that might be of interest to you, so here are some of the most popular hardwood floor options on the market.

White Oak

Oak is considered a “classic” wood for floors. It has a tone and grain which lends warmth to a home. Oak is also considered one of the most structurally stable woods, meaning it lasts longer and is more resistant to wear and tear. White oak is paler than standard oak, making it a great way to brighten up smaller rooms.

Red Oak

Red oak has all the benefits of oak: strength, stability and texture. But it’s a warmer, lighter tone with a red hue which can really bring a room together. Having a red oak floor is almost like turning up the color setting in your home.

Hickory

Hickory is a beloved choice for wooden floors because of the sweeping, dramatic patterns in the grain. Hickory floors are extremely durable, and colors range from pale to quite dark, like the Carousel wooden floor panels available from Rhodium.

Beech

Beech is an incredibly dense wood, thanks to how slowly it grows. This makes it resistant to staining, but the natural, pale color is attractive with very little treatment. Beechwood is suitable for lacquering, like with Rhodium’s Wolfgang White. An easy way to bring more light into the home.

Mahogany

“Rich Mahogany” is a common phrase in the interior design world- with good reason. This wood has one of the deepest natural tones and is highly durable. It can also be very expensive, making engineered mahogany a more cost-effective option than solid mahogany floors. Mahogany appears in a wide range of floor styles, including this intriguing gray herringbone floor.

What kind of hardwood floor should I get?

There are so many different styles of wood flooring; how do you know which one to choose? It’s very much about personal preference, but there are a few things you might want to consider from an interior design perspective.

How big is your space?

Wood floors will fit in most spaces, but what wood you choose will change that space completely. Small spaces often benefit from brighter, lighter woods and chevron patterns. This also applies to rooms with very little light, as pale woods reflect more light back into the room. Think white oak or beech.

Color psychology

Interior designers often look at how colors make us feel and what they represent. For example, red tones speak of love and passion, while more obvious brown tones connect to feelings of stability and home-comforts. What do you want your home to say about you?

The feel and theme of your home

This is probably the most important aspect of choosing the right wood floor- ensuring that it fits with the style of your home. If you’re going for the shabby chic look, maybe look out for deliberately distress wood flooring or something that’s been painted with visible brush strokes. For a completely contemporary feel, Chrome White Oak could be the blank canvas to paint your own personality on to. Alternatively, a mix of dark and light wood tones like the Segreti Onda Bianco can draw the eye and become a real talking point. Whichever wood floor you decide is right for your home, with Rhodium you have the reassurance of long warranties and a wealth of expertise. If you want to know more about choosing the right types of wood flooring for your home, get in touch with one of our representatives today.