by Arimar | Apr 16, 2019 | Blogs
In the previous blog post, we talked about three popular types of wood flooring finishes — matte finish, reactive stain and smoke and fumed — all of which we carry here at Arimar through our partners at Floor Art. You can take a look at some of the stunning Floor Art wide plank collection flooring here. If there is a floor that you like, you can always request a sample and even see how it would look in your home or space by using the Room Planner.
Bona Finish Hardwood Flooring
The super matte sheen of the Bona finish creates an attractive, sleek oiled wood effect.
This surface finish, which was originally created for the hospitality industry, is flexible and made to resist flexibility cracks and chips. This makes it ideal for high usage areas. The finish also contains an anti-slip agent and is longer lasting than harder and thicker polyurethanes.
Coating Wood Floors
Wood flooring can also be coated using a UV urethane or a UV oil. UV Urethane refers to a specially formulated coating process Floor Art uses to provide a long-lasting resilient finish on our hardwood floors. The coating is high in scratch resistance and is specifically designed for optimum durability. Over time, as natural wear and tear from foot traffic cause any scuffs, these floors can be easily revitalized with a wood polish. UV Oil is a type of coating process that uses natural oils that are hardened under a UV light. This allows for improved scratch resistance. Regular cleaning and maintenance will keep your floors looking like new.
Staining & Polos Hardwood Floors
Staining is the traditional method of enhancing the surface color of the wood to create depth and tone. Polos describes a technique of using color neutralizer formulas on individual planks. This not only enhances the natural color of the wood but also creates that beautiful, distinct natural, raw wood look many home owners like.
Learn more about all the finishes and techniques we carry on our Resources page.
Call us today to request a sample and ask about our latest flooring specials!
by Arimar | Apr 10, 2019 | Blogs
Your Guide to Wood Flooring Finishes: Part 1
Our craftsmen work by hand using both age-old techniques and cutting-edge technologies to create a visually stunning result that is unique to your home. Carefully controlled and hand-checked processes ensure a high-quality finish that will last a lifetime. Here, we review three top hardwood flooring finishes.
Matte Finish Wood Flooring
Matte finish gives a natural look and showcases the grain of the wood itself. Our floors are finished using Bona Naturale, UV Cured Urethane system, which is water based. The super matte sheen of the Bona finish creates an attractive, sleek oiled wood effect. This surface finish was originally created for the hospitality industry; its flexibility resists cracks and chips and is ideal for high usage areas. The finish also contains an anti-slip agent and is longer lasting than harder and thicker polyurethanes, providing long-lasting protection to your hardwood floors.
Reactive Stain Hardwood Floors
Our proprietary reactive technologies encompass the art of creating and enhancing colour from within the wood itself. The wood is treated with metal salts, which react with the natural tannins and cellulose to replicate the oxidation and maturing process of naturally aged wood. The result is a unique, in-grained ‘aged’ timber render that cannot be duplicated with traditional staining methods. Double reactive technologies take aged wood rendering to the next level. As with reactive technologies the wood is treated with metal salts to create a unique aged look, the process is then repeated to achieve a greater intensity of colour and further enhance the plank’s individual characteristics.
Fumed & Smoked Hardwood Flooring
The centuries old European craft of fuming and smoking exposes the wood to small amounts of ammonia in a controlled environment. Fuming describes the initial surface treatment, which results in a rich color range from warm chocolate to almost-black. The ammonia reacts with the natural tannins; the longer the wood is exposed, the darker it becomes. Smoking takes the process one step further by ingraining the color deep into the wood itself. Semi-fumed exposes only the surface of the wood to ammonia, in variable quantities, to achieve a lighter result. European Oak, such as the variety used in Floor Art’s Wide Plank Collection, is the optimum choice for fuming and smoking due to its high tannin content, allowing for a palette of rich wood tones.
Stay tuned for the next blog post where we will discuss more wood flooring finishing techniques.
Call us today to request a sample, and ask about our latest flooring specials!
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!
