Hardwood floors have been the standard for beauty in both modern and contemporary homes. From a dark, elegant dining room to a light, rustic country feel, hardwood floors have been used for interior decorating for generations. Advances in technology have followed hardwood flooring options and have allowed homeowners and builders an even greater variety in decorating styles.

When homeowners are looking for a versatile flooring material, they typically choose laminate floors. Green builders look toward cork and bamboo. Yet, hardwood floors today offer as much versatility with green options to satisfy any taste. All the different colors, technological advances, and abundant manufacturing techniques bring out the natural beauty of hardwood.

Let’s take a look at some of the newer styles and textures for hardwood floors.

Distressed Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors have an extremely long lifespan when properly maintained and taken care of with love. Older floors gain a new level of appreciation with an antique or old world look as they naturally age. Of course, such a floor isn’t an option in a new home or a remodel until now.

Distressed hardwood floors combine the durability of new flooring with the ages old look and feel. Distressed wooden planks are normal wood that have been aged by manufacturers without being damaged. The resulting floor is as strong as any new installation but has a unique look. Imperfections are put into the wood with industrial presses or even hand created with precision tools. Each resulting plank showcases a distinctive personality to add flair to any room.

Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring

For the environmentally conscious homeowner, many new flooring options have come on the market. Bamboo and cork offer renewable flooring materials that many people are taking advantage of. Hardwood floors are typically not thought of as a green resource, but reclaimed wood is a form of recycling of old materials, keeping hardwoods out of landfills. In addition to being a green hardwood flooring option, reclaimed wood is also incredibly durable. Only the strongest heartwoods, which are extremely rare in today’s market, are reclaimed for use in flooring.

Hand Scraped Hardwood Flooring

Just as the name suggests, this type of flooring is handmade. The planks were worked by hand and include irregular scrapes, planes, and textures. Being handmade, they add additional character to a room as compared to standard planks from milling processes. Each piece of wood is almost like a piece of artwork, sculpted by hand with no two alike. Many communities that create and sell their own furniture, like the Amish, make some of the best hand scraped floors. Authenticity is guaranteed when you can meet the woodworker themselves!

In the end, hardwood floors are much more than what meets the eye. Instead of being limited to just dark colors for formal rooms and light colors for casual rooms, homeowners and builders have a wealth of options to choose from. Today’s hardwood floors range from the simple to the elegant, from green to aged, and handmade to precision milled.