Posted by jsexton – October 30, 2006 10:06 PM
Next we needed to choose the type of wood for our floors. We have a hickory floor in our family room. The entryway is white oak. So the choice came down to which floor to match.
We talked it over, but the choice was pretty easy. We already had 100 square feet of oak in the entryway, so going with oak would save us quite a bit of money (because we wouldn't need to replace the entryway). And oak flooring is cheaper than hickory. So we decided to go with oak for the rest of the downstairs.
The good thing is we like the look of oak better than hickory. The hickory floor is beautiful, but it is unique and calls more attention to itself than oak. The oak looks good without standing out too much. There was some concern that the new oak floor wouldn't match the old oak floor in the entryway -- which had been in the house for 40 years. I believe that once the old oak is sanded down, it will blend in nicely with the new floor. I also felt that even if it wasn't a perfect match, some variation in color would add character.
A little background on wood floors: Different types of wood have different levels of hardness. Hardness is good in a floor because it makes the floor less susceptible to dents. Pine, for instance, is fairly soft. We once had a pine floor. A friend walking in stiletto heels left small indentions in that floor. Oak and hickory are quite hard and can take a beating. In general, the harder woods are more expensive.
White oak flooring
Hickory flooring
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i'm currently wanting to put wood flooring in my living room and i have dogsssss. what would be the best wood to put down that the dogs won't do toooooo much damage.... i need your expert advice.
Posted by Lynn – November 2, 2006 2:20 PM
I owned a few homes that all had oak floors. I bought a three year old home and had to put in hardwood! I chose hickory because it is different from all the rest of the homes I looked at.Beautiful wood. Hickory kitchen was put in to compliment the floors! I almost chose kempas for the floors but it was too "hard" to nail in.
Posted by Beth W – November 3, 2006 8:07 AM
I have 4 small children that jump around and make alot of noise.what can I do for sound proofing besides getting carpet I really like hard wood floors.
Posted by Cynthia – November 14, 2006 5:00 PM
We will wait until next year to put in a new floor after the kitchen gets done. It needs cabinets but really doesn't need a floor.
The one there now is original ceramic tile and is white so it gets dirty. My wife wants to put in large tiles for the kitchen and entryway. I really would like to do wood or perhaps engineered wood.
Posted by Jay – November 19, 2006 4:35 PM
Has anyone used cork flooring in their kitchen. I want comfort under my feet for those long days of cooking and canning.
Posted by Dinah DeSoto – March 13, 2007 5:33 PM
Jay,
Look into Bamboo flooring. I just put it into our Master Bathroom and I LOVE IT. A company in Canada, Duro Design, has over 50 colors. I chose the Beachwood. A friend has it in her kitchen and has for a few years. She loves it. Vacuum, damp mop (plain water). Very durable.
Posted by Mary Ellen – March 13, 2007 8:58 PM
