There’s a calming feeling when walking through a home with hardwood floors. A cohesive flow runs from room-to-room and the various tones of hardwood can make other aspects of the home come to life.

When choosing the right hue, it can be overwhelming because you need to consider the overall atmosphere of the home. Are the rooms contemporary? Do you have a more traditional look? Are you seeking a modern update? Take into consideration the colors of the hardwood that you’d like, whether you want a pre-finished or unfinished hardwood floor, and of course, think about your budget.

Major decision making is involved in the selection of the wood type because each specie of the hardwood has a different set of properties, including its color, Janka hardness, moisture absorbency, and durability. Certain types of hardwood flooring are not suitable for use in high traffic areas like foyers, while some are.

To gain  further insight, some of the most widely used types of hardwood are listed below:

• Oak Hardwood is what you’ll find in most homes. It has strong graining that works well to cover up scratches, dents, or pet marks. It has good absorbency for stains or spills and its color really pops. Oak Hardwood is also less expensive hence, very classic and traditional.
• Maple Hardwood is a bit harder than oak and more expensive too. But the cost depends on the grade of the maple. It has a lighter color than oak as it is less grainy and gives a classic smooth sleek look.
• Hickory/Pecan has color and graining like that in oak, hickory is tougher hence, more expensive than oak. It has a wide range of colors for one specie. Alongside of which, a single plank of hickory has multiple shades of the same color. As for pets, it is a relatively good choice owing to its resistance to scratches.
• Brazilian Cherry is a smooth classic and elegant choice of hardwood. With its deep red color that darkens with age, it is a spot-on decision to increase the market value of your property. Like hickory, Brazilian Cherry has lots of color variations within a single plank but it is stronger and doesn’t dent easy.
• Brazilian Walnut is a very prosperous choice for your property. It has smooth grains, a deep brown, warm color with toughness and hardness. It is even more expensive than Brazilian Cherry.
• Pine Softwood can be significantly as hard as red oak, whereas, the soft pine dents easily by furniture, high heels or even pet marks. The overall look of pine wood though is good at hiding those dents.
• Hard Pine is the strongest of all the pines and has a good frequency of knots and patterns, giving each plank its own rustic look. Even the sturdiest dents or scratches can’t peek through! It has that reddish golden look that would make your evenings warmer.
• Burch Hardwood is like maple in graining, but differs in the softness of color and lower expense, than even oak or maple. Though it also goes grey on staining like maple, it also gives off a rather classy look. Its hardness also ranges differently among different species.
• Ash Hardwood has such a gorgeous grey color. It is grainy like oak wood but smoother and more consistent. Ashwood is good at holding and absorbing stains. It has a sturdy nature with increased hardness that enables fabricating it for daily articles as well.

Each wood is unique, and these woods are not alone out there as many more await the suitability of your home and frequency of use, like American Cherry, American Walnut, Burman Teak etc. Generally, the properties described for above woods are what you need to consider when pondering upon the suitability of any wood. It’s basically the environment of your home that gives off the final decision. So happy hunting out there! Give us a call at 508.922.2170 to learn more about hardwood flooring installation.