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Hardwood Floor Decor

How do you go about making difficult decisions about hardwood floor decor choices?

hardwood floor decor

Easy!

First of all, it is important to understand different elements that must be considered. Furniture that you already own, will play a major role in the decorating process. The adjoining floor coverings located in the rest of your house and of course your budget.

When choosing your hardwood floor decor, you must also consider the age of your children, and size and number of pets you own. Seams irrelevant, doesn't it? It actually is quite important.

When contemplating the hardwood floor decor of your home you must first consider the age of your children, as well as the size of your dog or even cat. Those will be great factors that will determine the species you choose. If your children are small, and use toys like Tonka trucks with big black tires, you can be sure that sooner, rather then latter those tires will leave some ugly marks on your new hardwood floors. What's worst, the dents, and scratches will happen. For that little reason it would be better to choose hardwood that will stand up to those little feet, and Tonka trucks.

What about my dog?

That could be a considerable problem for your hardwood floor decor. Is it a large breed, with long sharp nails, that you can not clip yourself, and the trip to the groomer's is quite a chore? Or maybe you just have this young cat, full of energy, which turns the corners, slipping and sliding across your floor? Any softer wood like red oak or ash will not withstand those little claws. Today's varnishes for on site finishes are so much better then those used years ago, and yet they will not protect your wood, from that kind of damage.

You may think it would be a different if you choose a factory finished product, with several layers of varnish and stain. Although the quality of the factory applied varnish on the "pre-finished" wood is far greater then the one applied on site, it still will get damaged if not protected, cleaned and maintained properly. Even top-of-the-line finishes will eventually get damaged by your dog's sharp nails, by high hills of your guests or by rough play of your kids. It's best to be prepared, know what to expect, and what is involved in the maintenance and protection process.

How about those interiors that you are trying to improve? For years you heard from Interior Decorators, and read in decorating magazines that you should use one kind of wood in your hardwood floor décor style. It would mean that if you were blessed with your grandmother's dinning set in natural oak, the only choice that you have is a natural oak floor to go with it. I beg to differ. Thought out the years I have proven repeatedly, that not only species but also stain colors as well as different flooring materials can be mixed and used together in your home successful. You need to follow some simple rules, but you can have fun and be different from your neighbour down the street.

What if I have an "open concept" layout?

Can I still work with different wood stains or species?" Yes you can! You need to remember to use the colors with the same undertones, or in other words keep warm colors together and do not introduce any cold colors, or vice versa, if you like colder feeling colors, use those, but leave the warmer ones out. Do not go over board and use more than 3 types or colors of wood. That may not work so well.

If your home has an open concept layout, your hardwood floor decor must take into consideration the natural boundaries of specific areas with that open space. If for example, your kitchen features bleached oak cabinetry with warm, peach undertones, your floor choice in the adjoining family room may be the matching strip flooring, or reddish based medium stained strip. To figure out what would work, you need to consider the existing furniture in your family room. If you have dark colored sofas, and prefer not to use the area rugs, (personally, I do not recommend them on your hardwood, as they will change the color of your floor in the covered areas)to make the sofa stand out in the room, you would need to stick with lighter color floor.

Perhaps, you are not as brave as some, and are not willing to install hardwood floor in your kitchen the obvious choice in this situation would be a tile floor. Since your kitchen is probably smaller than other adjoining areas, make sure that you decide on the style and design of the larger area, choose your wood first and then work with it by choosing a tile that has the same tonal balance and color value as the wood that your chose.

It does not mean that the color of tiles must be the same as the color of wood. The tiles should be pleasant to your eye when placed next to the wood. If you like the color combination, go for it. If it seams wrong, or if you are not "really sure", keep looking for something else.

To read about decorating process of one kitchen follow this link.

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