It’s important to know, first of all, that solid hardwood flooring can never be installed in below-grade spaces such as basements or basement rooms. For those areas, we can suggest the next best alternative material such as engineered flooring, which is still a wood flooring, or luxury vinyl, which offers an amazingly realistic wood-look product. For more information, be sure to ask your flooring specialist.
With
hardwood floors, you have the opportunity to make some choice that will affect the overall look of the finished product. For example, choosing the perfect species gives you your very own look. Species choice should be tailored to the activity level in your home, however, and not necessarily your design choice. Species are rated from soft to hard, and active homes require a much harder species than home with less foot traffic.
Stain color is another choice that can give you some control in matching your floors with your interior design scheme. Prefinished materials, which offer a quicker installation time, have a good variety of colors available. Having your floors site finished, however, allows you to have an extensive stain list to choose from, offering far more colors, even though the installation time is longer.