by Arimar | Apr 2, 2019 | Blogs
Hardwood Flooring 101: Common texture types
The texture of a hardwood floor can add a lot to decor. There are a variety of hardwood flooring textures available on the market. At Arimar, our hand craftsmen work uses both age-old techniques and cutting-edge technologies to create a visually stunning result that is unique to your home or space. Let’s take a look at three common texture types:
Smooth Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring with a smooth surface can definitely enhance the elegance of a room, especially when used in a darker finish. Keep in mind that smooth hardwood floors will show scratches and dents more readily than a more textured hardwood floor.
Hand-scraped Wood Floors
Hand-scraped floors refers to the process employed by our artisans to create a ‘distressed’ antique look and feel. Using metal gouges, chisels and hand planes each plank is individually crafted to create a refined aged texture that is still smooth to the touch. This highlights the layered tones and textures and accentuates the depth and dimension of each plank. Hand-scraped floors are created with love and craftsmanship which means that no two planks are identical. Together the planks create a flooring evocative of a bygone era adding individual character and charm to a room whilst maintaining under-foot comfort.
Wire-brushed Hardwood Floors
A hardwood floor which is wire brushed offers a middle ground texture — between smooth and hand scraped. Like hand-scraped hardwood floors, wire-brushed floors can range from moderate to extreme in texture. To create this texture, the wood is delicately brushed with steel bristles, opening the grain, removing the soft portion of the top of the wood plank, leaving the hardest wood and revealing a subtle scuffed effect. It’s a warm, natural texture you can see and feel that accentuates contrasts in color and masks the effects of daily traffic.
Stay tuned for the next blog post where we’ll be talking about wood floor finishes.
Call us today to request a sample and ask about our latest flooring specials!
by Arimar | Mar 16, 2019 | Blogs
If 2018 was all about color extremes in hardwood flooring, this year is shaping up to be all about the spectrum of shades in between the ultra dark and ultra light, say flooring trend watchers. Expect to see some warmer, middle-of-the-road shades sneaking into the home design color palettes.
Why the shift? One reason is that homeowners are increasingly using flooring to set the overall look, feel and tone of their home, say designers. Manufacturers, in turn, are responding with more color options to suit the mood
Let’s take a closer look at some of the hardwood floor color trends and options currently on the market and how you can best integrate them into your room design.
Classic
Dark, rich colors look gorgeous and elegant, give your room an expensive feel. You’ll see options in colors like espresso or dark walnut. In any room, in any home, in any decade, dark hardwood floors just work. The versatility of brown colored hardwood floors is especially useful if you like to have one type of flooring throughout your home. See Livorno.
Contemporary
In addition to looking chic and trendy, gray hardwood floors set the tone of a chic, contemporary home. A major draw is that grey floors provide a neutral backdrop for decorating in virtually any color. Aquas, greens, bright bold colors or even simple black and white all go well with grey flooring. See St. Tropez.
Modern luxury
In 2019, greige (gray + beige) is the new gray in terms of wood flooring color trends. The in-between shade provides the minimalist feel of gray with the warmth of beige. Greige floors work well for any room of the house. The unique color adds a fresh look to bedrooms and gives living rooms and entryways a luxury feeling. See Palermo.
Rustic chic
As more homeowners embrace the light, airy feel in their home, you will see a resurgence in light wood. Like with grey flooring, decorating possibilities are endless with lighter floors. Among the wood types that rise to the top here are white oak flooring. Bonus is that lighter wood flooring colors make any room feel larger and more open, especially if you use larger, wide plank flooring. See Rossell.
Call us today to request a sample, and ask about our latest flooring specials!
by Arimar | Mar 4, 2019 | Blogs
Wood flooring is a beautiful option that will enhance your home or work area. There are in fact, a number of wood floors for you to choose from.
The two main types of wood floors on the market today are solid wood floors and engineered wood floors. Here, we breakdown the basics:
Solid hardwood is generally what most people think of when they imagine hardwood flooring. It consists of one piece of wood from your preferred species (e.g. white oak). One of the many benefits of solid wood flooring is it can be sanded and refinished many times. Solid hardwood flooring is also extremely durable.
Engineered hardwood floors are also made of real wood, but include multiple layers, with the top layer made of the precious wood, combining with other species of fast growth. While this type of flooring can be sanded and refinished, it cannot be done as many times as solid wood flooring. The multi-ply construction of engineered hardwood flooring makes it less susceptible to moisture damage, ideal for basements. Due to its stability, the use of engineered hardwood floors is continuously increasing. The engineered hardwood floors are also considered more environmentally friendly than solid wood floors as it uses less wood to manufacture the same floor.
People love hardwood floors for their natural beauty. It gives your home a warm, authentic charm. When properly maintained, solid or engineered wood floors can last for hundreds of years. Best of all, over time, wood floors can adapt to any décor and style changes without having to be replaced.
At Arimar, our collections feature a full range of domestic, imported and exotic wood species, colors, finishing effects, textures and plank widths. Whatever your style, you’re sure to find a look you’ll love.
Call us today to request a sample, and ask about our latest flooring specials!
by Arimar | Dec 27, 2018 | Blogs
When it comes to helping a client select flooring for their home, wood flooring is a classic choice. It can add character and value to your property, while creating a beautiful atmosphere.
According to realtors across the country, hardwood floors can add as much as 2.5 percent to the final selling price of a home. Likewise, according to the 2017 Remodeling Impact survey from the National Association of Realtors, refinished hardwood flooring is one of the components that most appeals to today’s home buyers.
As we get closer to 2019, trend forecasters are rolling out with their top picks for fashion, design, decor and the like, and the world of wood flooring is no different. Here’s a look at the top hardwood flooring trends designers say the new year will bring.
THE LOW-DOWN ON WOOD
Even with the influx of wood-look flooring options, it’s hard to beat the luxury, warmth and elegance of hardwood flooring.
Engineered Woods
Thanks to its overall quality, longevity and range, the demand for engineered hardwood floors continues. Engineered wood flooring offers great stability and, if treated correctly a hardwood floor is for life.
Exotic Woods
It looks like there is an increase in demand for exotic grains in cool dark colors while incorporating longevity and a sense of understated luxury. You can expect to see an increase in the use of sustainable exotic species such as Brazilian Cherry and Wenge from exotic and tropical areas of the world.
THE COLOR FORECAST
Interestingly, both very dark and very light floors continue to be fashionable.
Greys
Grey woods with distinctive patterns are still growing in popularity – particularly for kitchens and even in bathrooms. The go-to neutral bridges easily with other colors and serves well in a wide range of design styles from mid-century modern to rustic farmhouse.
Darker Colors
Within the last several years, the trend toward darker colors has continued to grow. Today’s most popular colors include dark walnuts and coffee browns, which lend themselves to a variety of decorative schemes.
Greige
While dark colors are popular, those who prefer neutral colors are embracing a new blend of light/medium brown and grey. This marriage of tints has created a new color sensation: Greige.
DESIGN STYLE PREDICTIONS
A return to the rustic farmhouse look is also in and, with that, a call for longer and wider planks, with an emphasis on natural aging and the use of reclaimed materials.
A return to simplicity
At home, it’s all about peacefulness and sanctuary. To achieve this calming effect, colors have become less flashy, textures more subdued, and patterns less cluttered.
Rustic Chic
As designs that evoke the peaceful feeling of simple living grow in popularity, the farmhouse look, or rustic chic, continues to be popular. When it comes to this design style, colors are muted and less distracting, texturing is subtler and less pronounced.
Patterns
Simple patterns on floors and backsplashes, as well as areas of uniform color that evoke the 50s and 60s, remain fashionable. The minimalism of the 1980s is also making a comeback, including uncluttered geometric patterns and the sparing use of black-on-white accents. Chevron and herringbone patterns continue to be prevalent
A FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
As homeowners and retailers become more environmentally conscious, generally, there is more interest from consumers in using sustainable materials.
Reclaimed wood
You have two options for Eco-friendly hardwood. To this end, the use of reclaimed wood continues to be popular as well. Reclaimed wood is the use of older trees that were chopped down long ago.
FSC-certified wood
Wood that is labeled FSC certified (Forest Stewardship Council), means that the council promotes and manages forests throughout the world and focuses on adhering to environmental standards. Arimar purchases all our wood from FSC Certified suppliers, guaranteeing the wood we purchase is from forests around the world that are responsibly managed.
Arimar carries a vast range of hardwoods, from popular classics to trendy, innovative styles, all at competitive prices. Call us today and speak to one of our design specialists.
