Your hardwood floors can greatly impact the overall look and feel of your space. Here are some popular options for solid unfinished hardwood flooring:
- White Oak is an excellent choice known for its strength and durability. It’s often available as rift and quartersawn, offering a unique grain pattern and enhancing its already excellent dimensional stability. White oak accepts stain and colored hardwax oils very well.
- Red Oak also stains well, and also looks great with clear finish for a natural warm tone.
- Maple is known for its hardness and durability. It has a light, consistent color and a subtle grain pattern, making it a versatile option for many design styles.
- Cherry has a rich, reddish-brown color that deepens with age and exposure to light. It’s known for its elegance and warmth, making it a popular choice for formal living spaces.
- Hickory is extremely durable and has a distinctive, rustic appearance with a mix of light and dark tones. It’s a great choice for homes with a more traditional or rustic style.
- Walnut offers a deep, rich, and dark brown color with a uniquely soft grain pattern. It’s prized for its natural beauty and is often chosen for luxury spaces.
- Birch has a light color with a soft and subtle grain pattern. It’s available in more than a few grading options which include the lighter sapwood, the red-toned darker heartwood, or a mix of both.
- Ash is known for its strength and resilience. It has a light, creamy color with a pronounced grain pattern, making it a versatile choice for many design styles. Ash also accepts stain well.
- Reclaimed flooring is made from wood that has been salvaged from various sources, such as old buildings, barns, factories, or other structures. Instead of being discarded or left to decay, this wood is carefully removed, processed, and repurposed to create new flooring. This type of flooring will feature nail holes, weathering, and patina from years of use.
Some considerations when choosing solid unfinished hardwood flooring:
- Grain Pattern: Different species have different grain patterns, from subtle and uniform to bold and prominent. Select one that matches your design style.
- Janka Hardness: The Janka hardness rating measures a wood’s resistance to wear and denting. Consider the hardness of the wood in relation to the expected traffic in the area.
- Budget: Some hardwoods are more affordable than others, and the width of the board as well as the grading will affect the price. If a wider plank is desired you might consider an engineered option such as Viking Big Sky.
- Finish: A finish will need to be applied after installation of an unfinished hardwood floor. Consider the type of finish you want, such as European hard-wax oil, polyurethane over stain, or clear polyurethane for your desired appearance and protection. Not all species accept stain or colored oils as well as some others, and we can help guide you to an educated choice.