Distressed Hardwood Flooring
Distressed hardwood flooring provides your interior designs with a weathered, reclaimed wood look that adds character and beauty to a home.
Creating a space that is completely unique has never been easier with all the options available. One great option is distressed hardwood flooring. This is a product that is typically used to create rustic design or country inspired feel to a home. Recently the look of reclaimed wood has progressed into a more contemporary feel, becoming a popular look in may homes.
Distressed hardwood brings out texture, grain variation, color and will add charm to any space. Different variations of patterns and sizes of boards can also create an immensely unique look. Wide planks are available which can make a space appear larger than it is. Adding a herringbone pattern can take the feel from countryside to contemporary in a heartbeat. Even something as simple as adding a border can create a space unlike anything you have ever seen.
Knowing the difference between distressed wood and hand scraped wood floors will be a big difference when designing your space. Hand Scraped wood is made by hand by pulling a draw knife, which contains a single blade with handles one both end for gripping, repeatedly towards the woodsman shaving off layers of the wood. This is how all floors were made to even out any irregularities. Now the technique is used to add irregularity.
Distressed wood will be done similarly, but by a machine. The machines will skim the surface of the wood and create rows with depressions in the wood. When the wood is sanded each sanding wheel will be a different size to make the gouges and scrapes seem random. This creates different sorts of marking that will create a more wire brushed look.
Distressed birch engineered wood flooring – See at Wayfair
This method can be done on both solid and engineered hardwood flooring similar to hand scraped wood. Due to the extra machine work needed to create the worn appearance distressed wood flooring is higher priced than the average wood flooring. Prices for distressed hardwood flooring will vary based on the type of wood selected and any extra finishes, installation patterns, etc that you may want.
A popular variation is wide plank distressed hardwood flooring which offers wider boards. Typically the width for wide planks starts at 5″ and can go all the wayup too an incredible 20″. However the more popular size is 7 1/2″. Interior designs with wide plank distressed wood tend to have a bit more distinction and character than a smaller strip plank. The type of wood species you select will play an impact in the available width of boards. Hardwoods such as oak and hickory often run narrower and are not as available in wide plank form.
In addition to width, choosing a longer plank such as one that is 7′ in length will allow you to reduce the number of seams in your floor. Overall, using wide plank flooring has benefits such as creating the illusion of a larger space, reducing noticeable seams and showcasing the characteristics of the wood such as whirls, streaks and knots.
Distressed wide plank maple wood flooring in the living room – See at Wayfair
Installation will be a little trickier than the average hardwood flooring installation. This will mean hiring a professional may be the best way to go to avoid damaging the already expensive decorative distressed boards. This will potentially save you money, and it the long run save a lot of stress.
Distressed hardwood is an easily maintainable product. This is because distressed hardwood flooring is not an extremely uniform product (on purpose), making any additionally scratches and scrapes easily hidden on the surface. These will even add more character and life to the distressed and worn look to your flooring over time.
Due to the matte finish usually used on the distressed hardwood flooring dirt and dust are not easily seen. Distressed woods can still be finished with urethane, which is a clear coating that will allow the wood to be more durable and need less maintenance. Distressed hardwood flooring will be a good option for heavily used rooms as its rough appearance won’t show normal wear and tear as easily.
For more ideas visit this page to see our gallery of distressed wood kitchen cabinets.
