If you’re one for decorating, then you’re bound to be excited when the prospect of home renovation or home design comes to mind. Granted, it’ll be a journey filled with tough calls and a bit of spending – but the process is bound to give you the thrills, especially when it comes to deciding what part goes with which. Unfortunately, these decisions do become overwhelming at times, especially when one factor of the house can affect another. If you’ve decided to choose timber flooring for your home, you’ve still got a few things to assess to determine just which kind of timber floor works for your aesthetic. Lucky for you, this Melbourne Timber Floor Guide will be your guide to buying timber flooring.
It might be helpful to take time to realize that a lot of people are actually paying more attention to renovations, especially first-time homebuyers and millennials. In fact, the latter actually spent an estimate of $26,200 last 2017 on upgrading various aspects of their homes, with first-timers actually spending $33,800 during the same year. Interestingly, home renovation spending in 2017 was actually around the $60,000 range, which means there’s been quite a ton of changes going on in households with shifting trends and new wonders in house aesthetics.
Timber Flooring: Choosing The Type You Like
It’s important then to remember that when you do choose timber flooring, try to make sure that your choice is likely your last choice. If you’re looking for services in areas such as in Australia to purchase Melbourne timber floor from, it’s also best to seek advice from local stores in the vicinity. It can be expensive having to replace your home set up if it turns out the timber flooring aesthetic you chose doesn’t fit the household. In order to avoid such a mistake, here are a couple of tips you should follow and consider:
- Be sure to clarify other preliminary factors prior to any purchase first: Before we go with specifics, it’s important to at least be aware of aspects of the purchase that won’t directly affect the timber and the aesthetics of the home. These include your plans for the renovation, your budget, and even the time you have to spend for installation.
- Assess your budget first. Be sure you’re aware of how much you can allocate for timber wood flooring, so choosing the variant you want later would be much easier for you to do. Take it to heart that this budget won’t be just for the wood itself, but other costs such as installation.
- Recall your plans for the renovation or installation in the first place. Where should the flooring be located, and are you going to buy extra just in case there’s need for adjustment, or are you pairing this with other floor types? Is your budget for both floor types, or just for the timber? How long should the renovation be, and how long would it take to install the timber variant of your choice?
- Be aware of the types you can avail: Timber wood flooring comes in different types, all depending on the kind of material, aesthetic, and purpose they’re best suited for. It’s best you’re aware of them in even the most basic sense so you can see if they’re fit for your home’s aesthetic.
- Hardwood timber flooring is a kind of flooring created from solid timber lengths. They’re often sanded, cut, and have very smooth sides. They’re often unsealed and raw, and as such have natural differences in color, grain, and depth. These often need to sit onsite for around three weeks before they can be fully installed, lest they become prone to twisting and cupping.
- Floating or engineered timber flooring combines plywood layers into hardwood timber, which makes them fairly affordable despite having a similar aesthetic. Installation is easier too, as they don’t have to be glued or nailed, and should just be locked instead.
- Parquetry floors are created by combining individual timber pieces into a particular geometric pattern. Herringbone is the most recognizable pattern, but square-on square, basket weave, and linear patterns also exist. These often come preassembled, and are glued down on a timber subgrade.
- Bamboo flooring isn’t a tree, but rather one of the fastest-growing grass on the planet. Bamboo tends to be very environment-friendly, and fibers are formed into planks by using resin-based adhesives, pressure, and heat. Bamboo, interestingly, tends to be much harder than most plywoods, which make them quite the attractive alternative.
- Laminate flooring is considered timber flooring but it’s not exactly made of timber. Its similar feel and aesthetic do seem to make it look like timber. It’s essentially synthetic, where a picture of a timber is simply applied over the top of natural wood.
- Be sure to understand how your home aesthetics work: Wood is such a natural color that it can fit with quite a lot of designs, regardless of its variety. This is what makes wood such a timeless aesthetic addition to any environment. Wood works with traditional and classic architectural settings, Gothic setups, or even modern layouts are good options. However, timber shines best when paired or used in combination with particular materials.
- See if you’re going to place other wooden objects on your timber flooring. If you are, make sure the design of your flooring is different from the wooden object. It’s recommended one wooden element or the other is of a contrasting shade, so the difference in value (as in the darkness or lightness) can emphasize that the floor is timber, and an object is of another kind of wood.
- Check if you’re putting a lot of objects on the timber floor. If you plan on putting a lot of objects on the timber flooring, pick a floor design that doesn’t have a lot of pronounced details. The clearer or the duller the design the better as you can then put attention to the objects. If there are less objects in the room, do the opposite – make sure the floor is obvious, so the objects can still shine given enough focus and attention.
The Takeaway: Timber Flooring Needs To Be Aesthetic, Practical
Regardless if you’re doing renovations or if you’re looking for modifications at home, choosing the right floor for your house can be quite the conflicting decision. After all, it will take a bit of time and money to have the “wrong” floor replaced, and it can be such an inconvenience if you have to settle for a floor you don’t like. If timber flooring is your floor of choice, you’re in for a fun ride as choosing the right timber flooring for your home is filled with a ton of design and practicality decisions you’re bound to have a field day with. Remember, as with the above advice, it’s not just your aesthetics that you have to take into account when choosing the right timber flooring. Always pay close attention to how the floor will last based on quality, and based on the evolving aesthetics of your home.
