4 Ways Your Hardwood Floor Installation Can Enhance Your Home

Hardwood floors are a luxurious option for your home. They not only provide a durable surface that will last for decades to come, but they also offer an array of fashionable colors and finishes for your home. While many homeowners would assume that the decor choices start and end with the wood selection, they would be wrong. The hardwood floor installation process offers the opportunity to enhance your home's aesthetic even further.

Direction

Wood flooring can be run across the room lengthwise or widthwise. If you don't speak up, your hardwood floor installers will run the wood in a manner that is easiest for them. This may or may not be the best choice for the room, however. As such, you need to consider the room's dimensions as well as the flooring in the adjoining rooms. When a room is long and narrow, installing the hardwood so that it runs across the narrow dimension visually widens the room. This is especially true in a hallway. 

Pattern

Most wood floors are laid in a straight pattern, sometimes called running bond, with staggered joints. While this is the most common pattern, it is certainly not the only wood floor pattern available to you. In fact, more elaborate patterns have been used for centuries to enhance the decor of homes, most notably herringbone, chevron, and basketweave patterns.

It is important to note that while a unique hardwood floor installation pattern will enhance your home's aesthetic, it will cost more. Not only does the cost of labor increase with intricate patterns, but also the amount of material used. Each detailed cut that the installers make results in a small amount of loss that is not present in a running bond pattern.

Inset

Insets can be used to customize hardwood floors. An inset could be something as detailed as an initial, compass rose, or even a family crest inlaid into the wood flooring of a foyer. The inset could also involve adding small pieces of darker wood to a basketweave pattern floor.  

Border

Another way to upgrade the look of your hardwood floors during the installation process is to add a border. The border could be carpet or another wood flooring material in a different stain or wood species. Adding a border creates a luxurious effect that is often less expensive than an intricate inset or pattern.

While the sky is often the limit when you are selecting a wood floor, do not forget that you have options in terms of the installation as well. To learn more, contact a hardwood flooring company.