Looking to upgrade your home with hardwood floors? As your local flooring store, we’re here to help you find the perfect fit for your space and your family. From understanding the different types of hardwood flooring to exploring styles that match your lifestyle, our guide is designed to make the process simple and stress-free.
As your trusted neighbour in flooring, we’re all about providing honest advice and practical solutions that work for real life, because finding the right hardwood floors should feel as comfortable as home itself. Let’s get started!
Hardwood flooring is a classic choice that brings warmth, character, and lasting value to your home. We understand that your home is more than just a space; it’s where memories are made, and hardwood flooring sets the perfect foundation for everyday life.
With its natural beauty, rich tones, and unique grain patterns, hardwood flooring adds a touch of elegance to any room, whether you’re keeping things traditional or going for a more modern look. And the best part? Hardwood gets better with time. Its durability makes it ideal for busy households, and its easy-to-clean surface is perfect for families with pets or kids. Plus, if you want to refresh its look down the road, hardwood can be refinished to look and feel brand new again.
Hardwood flooring isn’t just about style; it’s also about adding value to your home. Many buyers see hardwood as a premium feature, which can make your property more appealing if you ever decide to sell. But even if you’re not planning to move, hardwood is a choice that offers lasting appeal year after year. Whether you’re updating one room or your entire home, hardwood flooring is an excellent choice.
Choosing the right type of wood flooring is an important step in achieving both the look and performance you want for your home. The two most popular options are engineered hardwood and solid hardwood, each offering distinct benefits depending on your space, lifestyle, and design goals.
Engineered hardwood flooring is crafted from multiple layers of wood, each positioned in a different direction to enhance strength and stability. This cross-layered construction makes it more resistant to moisture and temperature changes and ideal for areas like basements, kitchens, and more.
The top layer is real hardwood veneer, available in a wide variety of species, finishes, and textures. It offers the natural beauty of hardwood with added versatility and durability. It’s a great choice for those who want the look of solid wood with a little more flexibility in where it can be installed.
Solid hardwood is made from a single, solid piece of wood throughout each plank. It’s a traditional and timeless flooring choice, known for its exceptional durability and long-lasting appeal.
When properly cared for, solid hardwood floors can last for several decades and can be sanded and refinished multiple times to refresh their appearance. This makes them ideal for rooms like living rooms, dining rooms, and master bedrooms.
With its warm tones and natural grain patterns, solid hardwood adds a rich, authentic feel to modern and classic interiors.
Hardwood flooring comes in a variety of styles to suit different design preferences, architectural themes, and lifestyles.
Whether you're updating a single room or transforming open-concept spaces, the style you choose can dramatically impact your home's overall look and feel. From sleek modern options to timeworn textures that tell a story, there's something to suit every taste.
Strip flooring features narrow boards typically ranging in width from 1½" to 2½", with thicknesses from 5/16" to ¾".
This style is perfect for creating a clean, traditional look, and its slim profile can help make smaller rooms appear larger by drawing the eye along the length of the planks. Available in a wide variety of wood species, strip flooring pairs well with both classic interiors and contemporary decor. It’s an especially smart choice for hallways, bedrooms, and other areas where you want to maximize visual space.
Plank flooring shares similarities with strip flooring but offers wider boards, usually between 3" and 8", that bring a sense of rustic charm and warmth to any room. Often used to evoke a more earthy or historical appearance, plank flooring works beautifully in farmhouses, cottages, and heritage-style homes. It can also add texture and authenticity to open-concept spaces, creating a cohesive, natural flow from one area to another.
Plank flooring is available in various wood species, from rich walnut to classic oak, giving you the freedom to match your floor with your overall design preferences.
Hand-scraped hardwood floors are prized for their textured surface and one-of-a-kind character. This style mimics the appearance of reclaimed wood or flooring that has aged naturally over time, offering a sense of craftsmanship and history.
With each board boasting its own unique markings, hand-scraped floors are ideal for those seeking a more lived-in, vintage vibe. Despite their old-world charm, these floors are coated with today’s most enduring urethane finishes, making them highly durable and suitable for both family homes and upscale interiors. Hand-scraped styles also complement parquet flooring designs beautifully for added visual interest.
Wire-brushed floors provide a more subtle alternative to hand-scraped styles. During manufacturing, the wood surface is lightly brushed with wire bristles to remove the soft grain, exposing a textured, matte finish that exudes understated elegance.
This style adds depth and visual softness to your space without overwhelming it, making it perfect for modern and transitional homes alike. Like hand-scraped flooring, wire-brushed options offer superior wear resistance thanks to advanced urethane finishes, making them a practical and stylish choice for busy households.
Hardwood flooring continues to be a top choice for homeowners seeking timeless beauty, natural durability, and long-term value. With so many popular styles and wood species, like oak, maple, hickory, and cherry, selecting the right hardwood for your home can feel exciting and overwhelming.
Whether you're drawn to the warm tones of cherry or the light, airy feel of birch or oak, your selection should suit your space, lifestyle, and maintenance preferences.
Solid hardwood adds a rich, natural elegance, especially when paired with the right stain to complement your home's decor. While solid hardwood offers unmatched authenticity and charm, it's not suitable for every room. Wood is naturally moisture-prone, which can cause it to warp or buckle. It's best used in low-moisture, high-traffic areas such as living rooms, hallways, and entryways.
Engineered hardwood is often the smarter option for spaces like basements, kitchens, or any area prone to moisture or temperature fluctuations.
Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to resist bowing, shrinking, and warping, even in cool or damp conditions. This makes it suitable for installation above, at, or below grade, provided a proper moisture barrier is used when necessary.
With today’s advances in manufacturing, engineered wood now comes in a wide array of popular styles, wood species, and finishes. You won’t have to compromise on aesthetics to gain the benefit of stability, and some options are even waterproof. It’s a favourite among modern homeowners who want the look of traditional hardwood with more versatility. However, engineered hardwood flooring usually cannot be refinished.
Transform your space with confidence by ordering flooring samples today! See and feel your favourite styles in your own home before you buy. Don’t wait, bring your vision to life and find the perfect floor for your space, delivered right to your door.
Many factors determine how your floor will look once installed. Consider how much natural variation there is in the grain and colouring of the wood, a range that contributes to the wood's endless appeal.
How shiny the wood appears varies according to a gloss level rated as matte (low), satin (medium), or gloss (high). A matte finish helps to maintain your floor's appearance in high-traffic areas, while high-gloss finishes will add elegance and grandeur to a formal space.
If hardwood flooring feels like the right choice for your home, we’re here to help make the process simple and stress-free. As your local flooring store, we offer a wide selection of high-quality hardwood options to fit your family’s style and needs. From browsing to installation, we’ll be by your side every step of the way. You can even use our Room Visualizer tool to see how your new floors will look before making a decision. Ready to transform your space? Schedule a free in-home estimate today. We can’t wait to help you create a home you’ll love for years!
