Choosing the Right Wood Flooring for Your Home

Are you looking to install new wood floors in your home?  Make sure you know what types of wood flooring works best with what rooms – this is critical when it comes to maintaining the appearance and ultimate lifespan of your floors.

Whether you have some sort of knowledge about different types of wood flooring and therefore, know exactly what you want in your home – or have absolutely no clue – the hardwood floor experts at Elegant Floor Service can help.  We can make your Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia home look beautiful with new wood floors that will not only be beautiful but last for many, many years as well!

Types of Wood Flooring

Before we get into which type of flooring works best for each room, let’s talk a little about the different types of wood flooring.

Solid wood flooring – solid wood flooring is exactly what it sounds like!  It is flooring that consists of planks made from solid pieces of wood, varying in thickness.  Solid wood floors can be sanded and refinished multiple times and will look great for many long years!

Engineered wood flooring – engineered wood flooring consists of strips made from three to nine layers of wood (these strips get laminated together), and these layers don’t necessarily have to be the same species of wood.  In environments where the humidity and temperature fluctuates, engineered wood flooring is ideal since it doesn’t expand or contract as readily as solid wood flooring.

Best Type of Wood Flooring for Kitchens

Your kitchen is one of the rooms in which you spend the most time in, so flooring for this room is something you should put a lot of thought into.  When installing wood floors in your kitchen, think about the traffic the room receives, as well as other environmental factors.  Your kitchen’s temperature changes more often than in any other room in the house (except maybe the bathroom), so engineered wood flooring is ideal.  Since many people walk in (and through) the kitchen, it’s best to choose hardwoods (ash, walnut, cherry, oak, poplar, mahogany, etc.) rather than softwoods (fir, pine, cedar).

Also keep in mind that darker woods, such as mahogany and walnut, will more quickly show wear in the floor due to traffic.  So if you’re interested in the perfect kitchen wood flooring, a lighter hardwood (engineered) such as ash or oak is perfect!

Best Type of Wood Flooring for Bathrooms

Since wood floors don’t handle moisture as well as other types of floors, they may not be ideal for bathrooms.  However, don’t let this stop you if you want wood flooring in your bathroom – there are ways to solve this problem.  Certain finishes, such as polyurethane, will better protect your wood floor from water damage.

We also highly recommend installing engineered wood flooring rather than solid wood flooring, as it won’t warp or contract as easily due to changing temperatures and humidity. Very much like wood flooring in kitchens, you are better off with hardwoods such as oak, maple or cherry, since they don’t absorb moisture quiet as readily as softwoods.

Best Types of Wood Flooring for Living Rooms

When it comes to wood flooring for your den and living room, you have more options.  Since these rooms don’t retain a lot of moisture or experience temperature fluctuations like your bathrooms and kitchen, you have more freedom in terms of the type of wood to use.  If you want solid wood floors rather than engineered, go for it.

Is the room a high traffic area or is it hardly ever used?  If it receives a lot of traffic, you still may want to use harder woods.  This is especially true for dens and family rooms where you spend a lot of time.  If you don’t often use your living room or use it mainly for special occasions, softwoods like pine and cedar are good choices.  Living rooms and dens are also great rooms for parquet flooring, which can be a little fancier than the typical plank or strip wood flooring you tend to see in many kitchens.

Best Types of Wood Flooring for Foyers

Since your foyer or front hall is an extremely high traffic area, consider lighter hardwood flooring.  Foyers are also a good place to use parquet wood flooring, rather than the typical strip or plank flooring.

Whether you’re installing wood flooring in every room or just a single room, the experts at Elegant Floor Service can help you determine which type of wood flooring works best for you.  Call us today for wood flooring installation in your home in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia!