The first consideration when selecting your new hardwood floor should be the style and color which determines how your room will look and how it will make you feel. Today you have a vast array of choices from traditional 2-1/4" strips up to to 8" plank floors. For years the 2-1/4 strip has been the popular choice for builders for new home construction. Reason being it is readily available and cost-effective. Some of our more popular solid 2-1/4 strip hardwood floors are Shaw's Golden Opportunity (shown below), Mullican Oak Pointe, Somerset Classic Collection, and Mercier Pro Series.
SHAW GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY 2-1/4" TRADITIONAL OAK
Other factors that affect your hardwood floor look would be stains and finishing techniques such as hand -scraping or brushing that adds a slight texture to the wood. Hardwood that has either the hand-scraping or brushing is an excellent choice for active families with children and pets. These type of floors are usually found in planks 3" and wider with the most popular being a 5" such as Armstrong American Scrape available in the most popular species such as oak, hickory, maple, walnut, and cherry.
Shaw Golden Opportunity 2-1/4" Traditional Oak
ARMSTRONG AMERICAN SCRAPE HICKORY
As for stains, browns and grays have been more popular in recent years with the grays being a favorite with the shoreline towns we have here in Connecticut. The reds which had been popular 5 and 10 years ago in such exotic species as Brazilian Cherry have been replaced by new exotics such as Industparquet's Dolce Pecan. Exotic species are trees grown outside the U.S. in countries located in South America. Exotic species are known for their hardness and unique graining patterns.
Armstrong American Scrape Hickory
INDUSTPARQUET DOLCE PECAN EARL GREY
Another favorite among our customers is the European Oak floors many of which have a natural oil finish instead of the traditional polyurethane finish. While a polyurethane finish simply sits on top of your hardwood floor forming a film to protect the hardwood, a natural oil finished floor has the oil penetrate the wood and strengthens the wood fibers and enhances the look of the floor since there is no film covering the wood. All wood floors will dent and scratch over time but with a natural oil finished floor there is no need for the mess and inconvenience of sanding and finishing as all that is needed is to reapply a new cost of oil in the affected areas. Our most popular line of natural oil finished hardwood is from the Castle Combe Collection from U.S. Floors.
?Industparquet Dolce Pecan Earl Grey
OIL FINISHED FLOOR BEFORE / OIL FINISHED FLOOR AFTER
Oil Finished Floor Before Oil Finished Floor After
Be sure to visit Floor Decor showrooms in Orange Ct and Middletown Ct to see the best hardwood selections available. We carry the industries most prestigious manufacturers including Mirage, Mercier, Mullican, U.S. Floors, Bella Cera, Armstrong, Industparquet, Ferma, Kahrs, Provenza, and Homerwood.
