Classic wide plank walnut flooring

Walnut is a wood that exudes richness. From the captain’s cabin on sailing ships of long ago, to walnut wood paneling in antebellum mansions, to walnut flooring in contemporary custom homes, it is a wood that offers a timeless look and appeal.  For today’s homeowner, either select grade or country grade walnut is worth the consideration. In widths of three to ten inches, or possibly wider for custom jobs, and in lengths up to twelve feet, walnut is a classic choice that can work with many design formats, from antique to contemporary. Just add your vision to the mix!

Brazilian cherry has a medium to coarse texture, and a tightly-interlocked grain. When finished and stained, it makes for a beautiful, long-lasting wide plank floor. The heartwood is russet to reddish-brown, and is often streaked with darker tones. The  typical Brazilian cherry floor is a gorgeous, medium brownish-red color, with darker streaks running with the grain that give it depth and beauty. Little wonder it has become one of the favorite hardwood flooring choices of recent years.

Wide Plank Brazilian Cherry Floor

We feature Brazilian cherry in widths from 3″ to 8″, and lengths from 6 feet to 16 feet. It’s a species that will look good in any size space, from an average room, to an oversized one. In keeping with its richer, more formal look, Brazilian cherry is sold in select grades.  If you are searching for a floor that provides drama, durability, richness, a touch of formality, and will last for generations, be sure to give Brazilian cherry a good look.

If you are in the process of getting your floors sanded and finished, it’s worth clicking over to the article and reading it in full. If you’re just browsing, here are some of the highlights:

- Make sure sanding equipment is maintained properly

- Check sandpaper regularly for imperfections which can lead to “sandpaper lines”

- Don’t skip steps by skipping over needed grits in the sandpaper process

- Make sure you, or your flooring professional, knows how to use buffers and edgers correctly

- Use bright lights to check for any imperfections that need fixing

A belt sander

There’s no doubt that sanding is a tricky job that calls for a high degree of expertise. Thanks to Hardwood Floor Magazine for a good review of the topic.

A new website we came across, along these lines, is Architects and Artisans. The subtitle tells their story: “thoughtful design for a sustainable world.” In their latest post, all about renovating a 1930s Georgian house located in Greenwich, CT., one feature that caught our attention was the mention of flooring.  Heart pine floors throughout the house were preserved and bleached, creating, as the designer put it, a “bright and whitewashed effect.”

Judging from the picture of the kitchen, it looks like the floor turned out beautifully. A gorgeous heart pine floor, ready for its next 75 years (or longer).

Renovated and bleached heart pine floor

Wood, naturally, is almost almost always part of the conversation when the topic is sustainability. After all, what is more sustainable than a well-managed, carefully-harvested forest? And when the wood product is finally used in construction, like in the Georgian house in Greenwich, “sustainability” takes on a whole new meaning. Wood floors, literally, can last hundreds of years. Now that’s sustainable.

American white oak has also been used extensively in construction and furniture. In houses, it is an excellent choice for floors, doors, and millwork. In furniture, it was a primary wood used by the Gustav Stickley company for its mission furniture. White oak is noted for its attractive grain features, ranging from elongated patterns to dramatic swirls. The knotted appearance of character grade white oak makes for a stunning “country” look if desired.

White oak trivia: the American naval vessel USS Constitution is made of white oak. Launched in 1797, and still afloat, the USS Constitution is a fully-commissioned US naval warship. She has a full complement of active officers and crew, and is berthed in Boston harbor. She is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. The Constitution is used for educational purposes today, and obviously doesn’t go to sea. However, she is fully capable of sailing under her own power, and did so in August, 2012, on the 200th anniversary of victory over British warships in the War of 1812. You can’t have a better example of the strength of American white oak!

The USS Constitution, a floating example of the the strength of white oak

The site, called Rethink Wood, has a clear architectural, forward-looking focus. It’s full of useful, new information about advances in wood science, engineering, and design, which are allowing architects and builders to do more with wood than ever before. Wood buildings are getting higher, stronger, and more durable. Correctly built, they can now survive extremely damaging winds, and even seismic events. Recent landmarks in wood include a 9 story building in London, and a 78 foot bell tower in North Carolina.

The website points out something we are fully on board with — wood is versatile, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. Overall, wood performs better than just about any other building material around.

It’s a great site — check it out!

Here’s a shot of an award-winning wood interior showcased by Rethink Wood. It is a corporate headquarters designed by Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects, PA, Winston-Salem, NC.

An award winning interior with a beautiful wide plank wood floor

Quoting a doctor from the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, (ACAAI), the article notes that “carpet is a huge collection net for dust and dust mites” along with “mold and animal dander.”  The doctor goes on to state that “all these allergens can be reduced with hardwood flooring”.

The ACAAI actually recommends hardwood flooring, not only because it obviously doesn’t harbor all the allergens listed above, but also because it is easier to keep clean. While hardwood flooring is a breeze to sweep or wipe down, the ACAAI feels that even professional steam cleaning or chemical treatment won’t remove all allergens from carpet. How many other home fixtures can brag about being “doctor-recommended”?

Beautiful Flooring that's Good for Your Health

It’s about wood species, (oak, maple, mahogany, cherry, the list goes on); finish, stain, texture, plank width, and much more. To help you get the creative juices going, here are a few links to some great websites that offer inspiration and ideas for your wide plank flooring project. They are full of design ideas, along with helpful hints on how to start envisioning your new wood floor. Enjoy surfing the sites, and be sure to contact us if you have any questions at all about choosing your wide plank floor.

Resources:

Hardwood Floors Magazine

Interior Design Magazine

American Society of Interior Designers

Fabulous Floors Magazine

According to the preservation-oriented website Historic New England, the painting of wood floors, especially the soft white pine of colonial New England, was well underway by the end of the 18th century.

It is not difficult to see why colonial era home-owners would paint their floors. Coverings such as rugs and carpets would have been luxuries of the rich, not a standard feature among ordinary folk. By painting their wood floors, early home-builders would be able to both preserve the wood, and to decorate the floor at the same time.

Out of this early development of painted floors has grown a long tradition of floor painting, encompassing styles ranging from a plain coat of paint to the most intricate designs imaginable — some of which create the illusion of carpets, of parquetry, or other motifs. As part of this tradition, floor painting with stencils has developed its own niche.

A typical paint scheme of the 18th century is the black and white checkerboard design. A beautiful example of checkerboard design, meant to look like marble, can be seen in the foyer of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City:

Painted wood floor in New York's Gracie Mansion

Other traditional designs of painted floors included the compass rose motif, which was often painted to appear as a design created with inlaid wood, stencil motifs in floral and geometric designs, wildlife and floral designs, and designs meant to mimic expensive wood inlays.

If you want to recreate a very rustic look, perhaps in a period kitchen, for example, then a painted wood floor is one possibility to consider.  If you are restoring an antique painted wood floor, then other considerations may come into play also.

Here are some resources to help you plan a painted floor project. Research your job thoroughly, to ensure  sure you do the right prep work, and are working with the correct tools. With some careful planning and a little artistic creativity, painting a floor can be a rewarding and affordable project.

Floor Painting Resources:

Softwood Flooring at Historic New England Site

How to Restore Painted Wood Floors

Floor Paint Stencil Designs

Floor Painting Tips