What is real wood flooring?
Real or solid wood flooring is one of the most sought-after types of flooring, offering beauty and warmth together with easy maintenance and real practical benefits. The two main types of hardwood flooring are engineered wood and natural hardwood. Each of these has their distinct advantages.
Choosing your flooring
Engineered wood is the most common choice for homes seeking a contemporary look; indeed, modern homes must often choose engineered over natural wood as a necessity because the latter isn’t suited to the concrete sub-floors most modern houses feature. Engineered floors are versatile too – for instance, it’s available in very wide boards that Mother Nature simply can’t produce!
That said, real wood flooring does have the edge when it comes to durability, plus it can be sanded and refinished as needed.
The benefits
If you want long-lasting natural beauty, you can’t beat real wood. Spanning light to dark brown tones, real wood flooring is usually finished with a clear polyurethane coat. An additional long-term benefit of this is that you can, if you wish, sand the boards down and re-stain the top layer for a new look without having to totally replace the flooring. Wood flooring is also available in an array of different lengths, so look for a style that works best for your space. For instance, lighter, shorter boards can make a cosy space seem more open.
Sustainable styles
Unlike engineered wood, real wood flooring can be taken from naturally sustainable sources. Bamboo is the perfect example of this as it’s a naturally renewable material, making it the perfect choice of those seeking a sustainable option. Other ‘green’ options are pine, oak and cherry floors, which have been salvaged from old homes or purchased new with the Forestry Stewardship Council stamp of approval on the product to guarantee the wood comes from a sustainable source.
And for those who want to avoid chemical polyurethane topcoats, oiled hardwood floor finishes are available instead.
Have a look through our ranges of solid wood flooring to see how it could fit your home.
