Hardwood Flooring Trends - Westchester County - September 2011

Hardwood Flooring Trends - Westchester County - September 2011

By far, hardwood is the preferred flooring in most Westchester Homes. Hardwood flooring is beautiful, lasts a lifetime (and then some), and it's easy to clean and maintain. Those with allergies and asthma especially prefer hardwood flooring, and we are often ripping up carpeting to convert to hardwood, especially when people are moving into new homes.

If customers can't afford hardwood flooring, they will sometimes revert to laminate flooring or carpet. While these surfaces cost less than hardwood, in the long run, they will cost more, as they will need to be replaced more often. Furthermore, hardwood improves the value of your home, so when it is time to sell - whether that's in the next year or 20-30 yrs from now - you will more tan recoup your investment.

Here are the current trends in Hardwood Flooring for Westchester NY:

1. Light colors or dark colored hardwood are most stylish.

Most customers will go for one of the extremes - either natural and as light as possible or very dark (e.g. Ebony, Jacobean or Royal Mahogany). If you are refinishing your hardwood floors, usually natural will cost you a bit less vs. a stained color.

2. Wider plank hardwood is preferred

Wider planks make the space look larger. Most homes have the standard 2 1/4" strip oak flooring. It's amazing how much of a difference trading up to 3 1/4" planks can make, and usually the cost difference between the two options is very small. I also have many customers going for wider 4" and 5" planks which can be very impactful. Please note that when you install solid hardwood that is 5" or wider, you need to both nail and glue the planks (as they expand and contract more). This will prevent buckling and swelling when it's humid.

3. Hardwood species that are most popular:

• Bamboo flooring and other green options are hot. Bamboo replensished in the environment quickly and it's very cool and exotic looking. It also tends to cost less than solid oak flooring. For all these reasons (plus being featured on the HGTV programs, bamboo is becoming more and more popular.

• Traditional oak flooring will alway be popular. This is a standard and will never go out of fashion. It's a very practical hardwood both because it's reasonably priced and because its strong graining helps hide the scratches. In addition, many homes in Westchester already have oak flooring in some areas, so many customers want to match what they already have as this will help make your space look larger. Also, oak flooring is easy to refinish and you can easily change the color from light to dark or even do red tones. So, if you add hardwood to other rooms, you can refinish the whole area to be whatever color you want.

• Brazilian Cherry, Brazilian Walnut and other exotic species for the high end customer. These products are beautiful in color and the graining is smooth and rich looking. Brazilian Cherry and Brazilian Walnut are much harder than oak. They are also more expensive.

4. Satin finishes is the most popular hardwood finish. Satin has some sheen, but not to much. It tends to hold up better to scratches and dents as glossier finishes reflect the light more and show the dents much more. Probably 90-95% of my customers select satin finish.

5. Hardwood in the kitchen is very popular. This is probably the most popular item we are currently installing in kitchens (followed closely by tile). Read more about the benefits of hardwood flooring for the kitchen in this post.

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Hardwood Flooring Trends - Westchester County - September 2011