Installing a new hardwood floor can dramatically increase the value of your home. However, a new hardwood floor can pose problems when trying to seamlessly connect it with existing flooring. While using the same type of flooring throughout your entire home creates consistency, it can also take away from the character of individual rooms.
Darker woods, such as walnut, work well for flooring in south-facing larger rooms. However, lighter woods like ash or oak create a sense of space in a smaller room. It’s important to be aware that variations in thickness, color and layout can disrupt what should be a uniform appearance between two rooms. There are many ways to blend different species of hardwood flooring your home in order to ensure a seamless and polished transition.
Distinct Contrast
Be sure to use woods that are distinctly different in one area. Combining woods that are similar in color may come across as if it were a mistake. For example, to combine woods in the hallway, use a darker wood on the stairs, stair rails and doors with a significantly lighter species of wood for the hallway flooring. For larger rooms that are off the hallway, aim to match the color of the darker wood used in the hallway. In the same way, you can match the color of your kitchen cabinets with lighter tones used for the hallway flooring. It is possible to create sense of cohesion throughout your home while using different species of wood.
Room Size
Larger rooms in your home that do not receive natural light as often are perfect for warm wood flooring. Northern Black Walnut and Red Oak Molasses feature warm hues that help create a cozy atmosphere. To enhance the warm tones of dark hardwood flooring, continue them into the color of paint on the walls. Using a lighter wood in small rooms will allow the light to bounce around and create an illusion of space.
Clean Transitions
Perhaps the most important aspect of using different species of hardwood flooring is creating a clean transition at the threshold of the rooms. A piece of transition strip is an easy and commonly used way to camouflage where two different hardwood floors meet. T-molding masks the gap by sliding a narrow channel of trim between the two floors.
For doorways or openings of rooms that are too wide for a transition strip, the finished edge of the existing hardwood floor can be altered in such a way that allows the new flooring to seamlessly continue into the next room. This method of weaving in the new floorboards creates a natural blended continuation of the staggered pattern into the next room.
At Peachey Hardwood Flooring, we will work with you to ensure that your new hardwood flooring is cohesive with any existing hardwood flooring in your home. Our craftsmen create custom flooring with unique character that will enhance the beauty of your home. For more information about our custom hardwood flooring contact us today!