How do I pick the right colour floor?

The colour of your flooring can set the aesthetic appeal of an entire room. Not only that, but it can make a smaller room look more spacious, and a larger room look less spacious.

For instance, if you want to transform a larger room into a smaller and cosier room, then you’ll want to choose darker colour tones like walnut or hickory. On the flip side, you can increase the spaciousness of a smaller room by utilising lighter tones like oak. Therefore, darker tones make rooms appear smaller and lighter tones make rooms appear larger.

Another thing you need to consider is the feeling that people will have when they enter your room. Darker coloured floors may appear luxurious and powerful, while lighter coloured floors may appear energetic and fun. In other words, people will have a more serious feeling if the floors are dark and are happier, more energetic feeling if the floors are light. 

Room lighting is also an important consideration to make for your flooring colour. For instance, if you want to light up a room and make it look more vibrant, you can have natural sunlight shine through the windows onto a lighter-coloured floor. The brightness level of the floor will be magnified as the sunlight hits it. You can also have the same effect by using artificial lighting throughout the room too. Install LED ceiling lights and have them shine down onto the light-coloured flooring.   

Finally, choose a colour floor which matches the other objects and items in the room. Floors can become very personal things, just like your cabinet, furniture, bed frame, and so on. Perhaps you could choose a floor colour which matches the colours and tones of these personalised items of yours. Of course, if you ever get new items in the room, then you’ll need to replace the flooring or stain it a different colour if possible.

Before you make a final decision on a floor colour, there are virtual online tools which let you see how your flooring will look in your room before it is installed. This is a great opportunity for you to try out all different kinds of colours before committing to any of them.

What is the best type of wood flooring?

Choosing the best type of wood flooring can be tricky. Virtually all hardwood flooring types can beautify any room in your home, whether it’s the kitchen, basement, or sunroom. However, you must consider the existing condition of your current flooring and the level of durability you need.

For instance, are you going to choose unfinished hardwood flooring or finished hardwood flooring? The difference is that unfinished hardwood flooring allows you to apply a custom stain to it before the finishing. This helps if you want to change the colour of the wood, especially if you’re trying to match the same colour as your current wood flooring. Once you install the flooring, you’ll need to sand and seal it.

Finished hardwood flooring already comes pre-stained, pre-finished, pre-sanded, and pre-sealed. That means you won’t be required to do anything other than installing the wood flooring. This is an awesome choice for people who are not handymen and don’t want to hire somebody to customise their flooring. 

You also must consider whether you want solid hardwood or engineered hardwood for your flooring. If you’re installing the wood flooring in a room which has a lot of moisture accumulation, such as a basement, then you’ll want engineered hardwood flooring. This type of flooring is made with a veneer attached to several wood layers. You’ll receive great stability and moisture resistance from it.

Solid hardwood flooring is just pieces of wood that are no more than 0.75 inches thick. They’re weak against moisture and humidity, so it’s better if you install it in drier rooms of your home. The upside is that you can refinish and sand the solid hardwood flooring as many times as you want. This is something you cannot do more than once or twice with engineered hardwood flooring.

As for the wood species that you choose, the basic choices are oak, maple, and cherry. But if you want to go with something more exotic, you can choose bamboo, ash, mahogany, or walnut. Each wood species has its own unique appearance and level of durability. If you must go with a safe choice, then go with oak or maple. Otherwise, choose something tropical and durable like bamboo.