Hardwood flooring planks are growing wider.
Planks just a little over 2” used to be standard, but now planks wider than 5” are common, and many homeowners are even choosing planks as wide as 10” or greater. Wide hardwood flooring has become fashionable interior design.
This trend isn’t a matter of a specific design style. Whatever look you’re after— casual or formal, contemporary or rustic—wide hardwood floors can help you achieve it. Many people simply love the appearance of wide planks, regardless of their other stylistic preferences.
And that love is spreading. Homeowners are seeing wide hardwood floors in other families’ homes and deciding they want them in their own.
Many interior designers, as well as home design magazines and websites, have helped to spur and spread this trend toward wide hardwood floors. But, ultimately, the trend wouldn’t be a trend if large numbers of homeowners didn’t like the way wide hardwood floors look.
Are You Okay with Engineered Flooring?
If you’re one of those enamored with wide planks, an important consideration is that wide hardwood flooring typically performs best when it’s engineered rather than solid wood.
It’s possible to use solid wood cut wide, but the wider the cut, the less stable the hardwood flooring will be. That means it’s more likely to cup or gap over time.
Engineered wide-plank hardwood flooring, on the other hand, has greater stability because of how it’s manufactured. For narrower planks, this usually isn’t a big issue. But for planks wider than 5” or so, we generally recommend engineered hardwood flooring.
Large or small room?
Another consideration is the size of the room(s) where the wide hardwood flooring will be installed. Wide planks look great in large rooms, making them seem even more spacious and open. But in small rooms, a smaller width might be the best choice.
Not only do wide planks usually fail to make a small room look bigger, they tend to overwhelm it, highlighting its smallness. You might want to think twice about wide boards in a small foyer or powder room, for instance.
To see samples of wide hardwood flooring, please visit our showroom. Call 920.984.3383 or 800.354.9902 for an appointment, or just stop by. We’ll be glad to talk with you about the use of wide planks or any other aspect of hardwood flooring.
