The Real Thing — — There's just something about a natural hardwood floor. Like an historic oak tree gracing your home's exterior, a wood floor anchors a room, giving it an air of permanence and importance, even if the house is brand new. Wood's natural beauty is warm and inviting, both to the eye and to the touch. Wood enhances – never overwhelms – your furnishings. The wide variety of wood species to choose from, coupled with a spectrum of stains, gloss levels, special edge details, widths, and textures, ensures that wood floors will complement any style of décor.

Species — - Species influences appearance. Traditional oak has pronounced variations in grain and shade, while maple's grain is cleaner and more understated. Today, there are many exotic species available, such as lapacho, tigerwood, and Brazilian cherry, that have a distinctive combination of origin, color and surface characteristics.

Board Width — — Hardwood flooring is commonly described by board width: Strips are less than three inches wide. Planks are three inches or wider. The width of individual boards has a dramatic influence on the installed look of the floor. Wide widths can complement a large room, but overwhelm a small area. Select the look you like best and that harmonizes with the style and architecture of your home.

Edge/End Detail — — The way the edges and the ends of the boards are cut is called edge/end detail. Edge/end detail options include square, eased, microbeveled and beveled. If you are looking for a dramatic effect, select a beveled edge/end detail that emphasizes the definition of individual boards. Square edges/ends create a smooth and seamless appearance and give a prefinished floor the look commonly found in traditional site-finished floors.

Color and Gloss — — Color may darken or change over time when exposed to direct sunlight. This is especially true for tropical exotics such as tauri, jatoba (Brazilian cherry), and tigerwood. Your home's lighting also affects the color you see, so be sure to ask your retailer for samples to view in your home before making your final selection. The gloss level of hardwood flooring does not affect its durability or performance, so your choice of high gloss or low gloss is a matter of personal preference. Low gloss floors tend to hide the appearance of minor surface scratches that occur over time. Conversely, higher gloss floors can make scratches look more obvious. Whether your taste is rustic, traditional or contemporary, today's hardwood flooring manufacturers offer a wide variety of styles and surface textures to meet your needs. Before making your final selection, explore the many looks available from a smooth surface that provides a sleek, sophisticated more contemporary look, to a hand-scraped surface that creates a more rustic and casual look.

Where can I use Hardwood flooring? — — Versatile hardwood floors look and perform great in virtually every room of your home, with a few important exceptions. Bathrooms: Solid or engineered hardwoods are not the best choice for a full bathroom due to the frequent fluctuations in humidity and the potential for pooling water. Water from tubs and showers can cause hardwood floors to buckle or warp. Solid or engineered hardwoods can be used in a half-bath, as long as the room does not contain a bathtub or shower. Basements: Engineered hardwood is the only type of hardwood flooring that is recommended for use below grade, making it an option for basements. In some dry regions of the country, solid hardwood can be used below grade over concrete. Check with you installer, first.