History Reclaims Itself in Flooring

By Michelle Anysz

Photo courtesy of Heartwood Pine Floors.

The newest trend in flooring not only has to do with its strength and durability, but also the history that stands behind it. Read on to learn about new trends of flooring that completely revolve around history.

Antique Hardwood Offers a Story Behind the Flooring
Non-comparable to other flooring wood choices in the market today, antique wood has unique quality and tells a dramatic story of how it has become the top choice of flooring today.

Heart Pine is considered to be one of the most durable types of wood ever. This desirable lumber was used by the early Colonies and was almost extinct by the year 1900.

“Heart Pine was used hundreds of years ago to build factories and textile mills, many right here in North Carolina,” states Larry Green, owner of Heartwood Pine Floors. “The ‘new’ pine available today is just not as strong and dense as Heart Pine.”

The wood in this kitchen is a hand- scraped oak and the wood adjacent to the kitchen is riverwood. Photo courtesy of Debby Gomulka Designs.

Now that the factories and mills are abandoned, their wood, which grew for hundreds of years in a vast forest before being a part of America's textile industry, is being reclaimed to serve as beautiful home flooring.

“Select #1 is our best seller,” states Green. This Heart Pine is filled with beautiful leaf-grain patterns with rich honey, amber, and burgundy colors. “Quartersawn Heart Pine is a close second” which is a special cut of wood that produces a tight linear grain face pattern.

Another wood being reclaimed in North Carolina is “River Wood”; sinker logs that have been retrieved from the Cape Fear river. This wood was lost in transit as it floated down the river to the mills and dates back over 100 years.

“River Wood is a beautiful golden blonde that contains a hint of green from sitting on the bottom of the river for so many years”, states Debby Gomulka of Debby Gomulka Designs. “It is this kind of character that honors the floor as a focal point of space around all other interior design.”

Perhaps the most important feature of this unique hardwood flooring is the environmentally-friendly principles that it follows. Wood that is either reclaimed from the mills or the river saves the environment from losing any more forests’ trees.

Inlay flooring design by Lee’s Hardwood Floors and Designer Flooring. Photo by Ray Strawbridge

Getting the Look without the Price
If reclaimed hardwoods are not in your budget, you may want to consider a less-expensive approach.

“If you already have hardwood flooring and you want to give it an ‘old world’ look, then distressing is your way to go,” states Daniel Lee of Lee’s Hardwood Floors and Designer Flooring.

Distressing existing hardwood flooring is a hot new trend that is achieved by taking a bicycle chain in a pillowcase and hitting the wood or by hand scraping the wood.

“Our company owns a German sanding machine called a ‘Hummel,’” states Lee, who is also a licensed certified floor inspector. “We made a custom sanding drum that allows the machine to make a distressed look on the wood.”

Natural Rock and Stone Flooring Offers “Historic” Charm & Character
Limestone is a very old material that has served as flooring for centuries and is gaining popularity again. Limestone is a very durable material and gives rooms in your home a timeless, classic look.

“Limestone flooring is perfect for those going for that ‘Italian old stone’ look,” states designer Debby Gomulka of Debby Gomulka Designs. “Old wooden furniture on limestone flooring is very popular. Another added touch would be to add décor such as wooden beams to the room.”

Slate flooring is another option. It is naturally slip-resistant, stain-resistant and non-absorbent, and offers a “rustic” look with a wide variety of colors and surface textures where no two pieces of this natural stone are alike.

Topping Your Flooring Off with a Rug

Photos courtesy of Eatman’s Carpets & Interiors

When deciding on a rug for hardwood flooring, design options are limitless. “Across the board we are seeing geometric and large scale motifs as the new designs for rugs,” says Betty Eatman Nelson of Eatman’s Carpet & Interiors. “Octagon, grid and new modern trellis patterns are also popular as well as cut and loop (mixing textures) and patterns together.”

Neutrals are a good way to go when adding a rug to slate or limestone flooring. Since there is a wide variety of colors already in the rock or stone, a geometric or trellis pattern with lots of colors will not mesh well. Pick out a neural earth tone color for the rug on this flooring. Nelson suggests a trendy “brown, tan, blue gray, rich deep blue, orange, or one of the several shades of green, which range from a rich emerald to soft blue green and even deep teal.”

MICHELLE ANYSZ IS A FREELANCE WRITER