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Choosing your Floor
There are lots of reasons to love wood floors. Not only is wood beautiful, but it’s also soft and warm underfoot, easy to clean, and hypoallergenic.
No two pieces of hardwood are alike. Because of this, your particular item looks like no other in the world.
Wood is a living material and it brings life to the house. So preferred are wood floors, in fact, that just having them increases the value of a home.
The types of flooring you choose in your home will act as a backdrop for the rest of your interior decoration scheme.
The flooring you choose will be influenced by the room you fit it in.
The perfect living room flooring will not necessarily work in the kitchen, for instance. If you are adding flooring to a new home, you have complete autonomy to choose whatever you want, but in a period property, your decision is likely to be dictated by the style of the home, and trying to match what is already there.
You will also be led by your budget. Think not only about the flooring cost, but also the cost to install.
Choose wood with knots and colour variations for a rustic feel or a prime grade offering a more contemporary look.
Style
Choose the plank width suitable for your living space. Starting at 100mm and going up to 300mm.
Wall-to-wall is the most common and well-known method of laying the planks. If you have a small room you can arrange the boards to follow the longest wall in the room to make the area appear more spacious and vice versa. You can fit the planks diagonally in the room which can make the place appear wider or longer. Random width planks are a great way to add character to a space.
Therefore, the straight pattern is a common choice in many homes and suits all interiors, from cutting-edge contemporary to very traditional and classic ones.
There are many types of parquet flooring available today, but herringbone is the most common. In contrast to chevron patterns, where the short ends are cut at an angle, this pattern uses rectangular blocks instead. The herringbone pattern consists of rectangular blocks arranged at a 45-degree angle, creating a zigzag effect. The blocks are traditionally laid side by side, with each one pointing in the opposite direction of the next.
However, there are many different types of patterns to choose from., resulting in a visually striking and dynamic flooring design.
Today, chevron flooring continues to be embraced in modern interior design. It can be found in contemporary homes, adding a touch of luxury to living rooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens. Many interior designers use chevron flooring to create a bold statement in minimalist spaces, while others incorporate it into eclectic designs to add a unique twist to the overall aesthetic.
Often, a Weave pattern is chosen only for a prominent area in the home to give it a luxurious feel, and boards of the same colour for the rest of the house.
As the grain runs in three different directions, it is arguably a more sophisticated pattern than herringbone and chevron.
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Grading
Prime Grade:
These are some of the highest grades available and are the most expensive. The timbers selected will be more even in patina and colour and contain very limited knotting. Straightest grain and the least number of burrs and character marks. Harmonious structuring and slight colour nuances. With the style Select one can design exceptionally elegant floor surfaces.
Nature Grade:
Expressive middle grading with some gentle colour variation, some knotting and the trees natural mineral streaks, wild grain, surface checks, burrs and other character figuring. This grade provides intricate grains and decorative knot patterns without being too 'knotty' to give universal appeal. Nature style offers the best foundation for a floor design with a natural and very expressive overall effect.
Rustic Grade:
More colour flashes, larger knotting, character marks, some filling and wilder grain allowed, with natural mineral streaks and trace elements from the trees original location. A serviceable floor with plenty of character and interest, more colour variation than the classic grade. Character style stands out due to its robust, vivid look – knotty wood with character, just as it has grown on the trunk.
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