How To Design Wood Floors

Wood floors are a beautiful way to accent a home. They can make a room appear bigger and more elegant without changing any other part of the décor. One of the best ways to make wood floors look beautiful is to design them yourself. However, in addition to creating a custom look or design, there are some practical matters that you should consider when designing wood floors.

Things You'll Need

• Wood flooring samples

Instructions

1. Decide if your lifestyle will make it worth it to design and put in a wood floor. Although anyone can enjoy wood floors, by nature kids and large pets are not good for wood flooring. Many a wood floor that was installed with good intentions needs to be refinished after only a few years due to dirt, sand and nail scratches. Sliding across wooden floors in socks might be fun, but sliding across a wooden floor with sand and stones on the bottom of shoes will be expensive.

2. Think about whether you have to have real wood. You can opt for wood flooring or wood flooring panels. Real wood flooring will cost about three times as much as panels, and unless you have a well trained eye, you'll never know the difference.

3. Evaluate your style options. Different styles match different tastes. Wooden flooring can run vertically, horizontally and even parquet, which are designs within designs in either the laying of the flooring or the actual flooring itself. Expect to pay a premium for parquet flooring.

4. Decide what tone you want for your wood flooring. Choose dark woods or light woods that complement your color schemes. Use the wood samples to get an idea of what will look best in your room.

5. Make sure you have time to take care of your wood floors. Wooden floors need maintenance for their full beauty to be noticed. Plan to oil monthly and every week you'll need to use a dry, soft mop to pick up dust and debris. Never use a vacuum cleaner on a wooden floor. If you do not have the time to care for your floors, consider lower maintenance wood flooring look-alike options, like panels.

Tips & Warnings

• If you elect to use real wood, always use a hardwood for your floors. Oak, maple and cherry are some of the most common hardwoods, but you'll also pay more for that durability. Soft woods, like pine and cedar, dent far more easily that hardwoods.