Thanks to new hardwood floor manufacturing technologies, options available to homeowners and interior designers have increased greatly. To name a few, wider planks, aged grey tones and textured wood are some of the most popular hardwood flooring trends which are in vogue. This is a list elaborating the household use of these new and updated trends.
Wider planks
Hardwood flooring planks have been getting wider over the past few years. What was previously considered wide planks are now just thought of as narrow. For most of the 20th Century, hardwood flooring installers used 2 ¼” strips, and so 5” planks, traditionally, have been considered to be quite wide. Since 2000, 7” planks are quite common and 8” or more aren’t sizes unheard of.
Wider planks present several benefits. They give the room a larger appearance, and also, the wider the planks, the fewer unsightly seams will be running the length of the room. Similarly, as they were used traditionally in rustic settings, wider planks give the area a much more pastoral feel.
There are certain considerations which must be taken into account when using wider planks. Their installation is not as straightforward. A lot of adhesives are required when laying the floor. Also, the prices of narrower planks are lower than wider planks.
Grey Scale
Grey flooring, whether dark, or light, or blended with brown, has become extremely fashionable in recent years. Many people are choosing to refinish existing hardwood floors with stains and converting them to a grey colour. That being said, the process is far from a simple one. Also, when done by an amateur, it is possible to end up with an unexpected tone.
On the other hand, there are numerous types of prefinished grey hardwoods, which are available off-the-shelf. Most of these are stained to colour, but there have been innovations in hardwood colouring for which staining isn’t required. There is a technique called smoking or fuming, which involves exposing the oak to gaseous ammonia, in a sealed environment. The hardwood reacts with the gas, which results in a change in colour. Fuming wood gives it a more natural colour than what is achieved by staining.
Texturing of Hardwood
Wire brushed is a popular type of textured hardwood. It is typically done on red or white oak. Different levels of the gain are revealed on the wood surface by using rotary brushes to scour the surface. This results in a multitone textured appearance. Wire brushed woods are usually better at withstanding wear and tear, and even camouflaging when compared to smooth surfaced woods.
Hand scraping is also a popular method of creating a textured or distressed hardwood. The name hand scraping is a bit of a misnomer since many of the products undergo the process by machine. This results in uniform, rather than unique patterns. Authentic hand scraped boards are available but are priced well above machine-made ones.