How to Match Your Interior Decor with the Effects on Your Wood Flooring

Are you looking for new ways to spice up your old, tired and sad wood flooring? Well, we have some good news for you, because your wooden floor can look up to date and one-of-a-kind even if it seems to you that this old-world charm of your beloved wooden floors is simply too stubborn and hard to get rid of. Gone are the days when a layer of paint was the only way to add more character and individuality to the floorboards and nowadays more and more options for customising the appearance of wood and alternatives for bespoke treatments are offered to the attention of the client. We want to share the best ones and most popular with you, so stay tuned if you are intrigued by all those amazing ways to enhance the natural wood’s beauty, highlight all genuine advantages, or completely transform the look.

With the improvement of the technology of wood flooring treatment in the last few decades, many wood flooring designs and styles that used to be a science fiction, or at least a rocket science to be achieved in the past years are today an everyday practice for manufacturers and specialists. In addition, and in order to make your life easier, wood flooring treatments that add benefits to the condition and improve the look are getting more and more easily available for everyone. With that being said, you, as an owner of a wooden floor, do not need to settle for the original look, colour, undertone and even texture anymore. Today’s flooring industry is offering more than a small facelift and changing a few imperfections here and there, because modern technology is allowing you the chance to experience and even DIY your own project of bringing additional beauty and a new design to your wooden flooring, unleash your imagination and customize to your own preferences, desires and personal choice.

A list of the most popular wood flooring effects

Brushing

The brushing effect stands for enhancing the natural texture of wood and emphasising the grain by making this natural texture and pattern a statement for the whole floor. When it comes to brushing, besides the fact that you can decide on the intensity of the effect depending on your own desires, the intensity of the effect is also determined by the wood species.

How is it done? – Specialists and designers use a variety of brushes in varying levels of hardness and made from different materials for achieving the whole spectrum of intensity of the effect. From settle and delicate to dramatic and statement, you can have whatever you like. Different brushes are used on one floor for achieving a more uniform and complex look.

How to match it? – Brushed wooden floors look amazing as a backdrop of shabby chic style, country-inspired interior design. We like them installed in kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms.

The method of brushing is often carried out along with other treatments like bevelling edges and staining and speaking of these…

Staining

Unlike how you would imagine it, stands for enhancing the natural colour and undertones of the wood species, not covering them. At least in most cases, staining is achieving this effect, however, you can completely transform the colour and customise your own wooden floor that will surprise everyone with creativity and unique sassy style. Staining is one of the most popular services and treatments offered on the market with many experienced contractors delivering it and many brands offering high-quality stains and paints for you to choose from.

How is it done? – Staining, as you would suggest, is the process of application of a staining product or a dye on the surface of the wooden floor. The dyeing agents used are designed for wood only, so a multi-purpose water-based or oil-based paint won’t do the trick. Staining is recommended right after sanding when the pores of the wood are open and more of the dyeing agents can penetrate deeper for a long-lasting effect.

How to match it? – Considering the fact that with staining you have full freedom for unleashing your creativity and imagination, styling your stained wooden floor is completely up to you. You can use this trick for visually separating different spots of your home.

Bevelled edges

A great way to customise your floorboards and add some sass and fanciness in a different than the conventional way. Bevelled edges are great for spicing up without going over the top and achieving a distinct look. With the bevelled edge effect, you can work with the whole spectrum of intensity, choose ‘micro bevelling’ for a small clarification to a more intense job on both the long and the short side of the board for a more rustic appearance with a character.

How is it done? – Generally, the floorboards are made with bevelled edges at the factory and you simply buy them this way, but you also can have the method performed on the standard floorboards you have purchased. Sandpaper with different intensity and hardness is used for achieving different effects.

How to match it? – Wood floors with bevelled edges are a perfect complement to any country and farm-inspired interior design, French cottage-like styles and a room with rustic accents.

Handscraping

Are you trying to escape from the aged and tired appearance of your wooden floor? Then you will be surprised to find out that many people are trying to achieve it through the manual process of handscraping. There is a lot of old-world charm, inspiration and individuality hiding the handscraped wooden floors and their rustic appearance. Thanks to the manually performed process you can get the real meaning of unique look and one-of-a-kind pattern.

How is it done? – To achieve this particular effect the professionals use a variety different tools for manual wood. The final result depends on the intensity of the work and the tools used.

How to match it? – Handscraping turns any floor into what rustic actually means. With that being said, wherever you feel like rustic is the perfect leitmotif in terms of interior design, there you are going to need your handscraped wooden flooring. That way treated, floorboards look amazing when installed in lounge areas, bedrooms, even kitchens.

Smoked

The process of smoking brings to light to a darker side of your wooden floor. Do not worry, because this is also its more dramatic, sensual, richer and perhaps more beautiful side, at least many would say so. Although the exact process is not related on exposing wooden boards on actual smoke, what the treatment achieves is a quite authentic and very intriguing pattern and an inspiring variation of the natural colour of the wood species from the original light to very dark with the smoothness of ombre.

How is it done? – The process of smoking includes exposing the wood to air and ammonia for naturally altering the shade of each board.

How to match it? – Since smoked wood flooring can work as a perfect focal point to any room, we recommend you to keep the surroundings as simple, clean and airy as possible.

Saw marks

Back to the cottage and farm-inspired style to its core, wooden floors treated to look like affected and left with saw marks are truly what represents a flooring with its own, a unique character. In fact, this process is actually the same process of handscraping, however, the surface marks are made to look like left by a chainsaw, as the name of the effect suggests.

How is it done? – Just like working with wood when handscraping it, the boards are manually treated with different sizes and shapes of tools.

How to match it? – Saw marks on your wooden floor are really making a statement. Remember the house from ‘Chainsaw Massacre’? Ok, outside the joke, saw marks on your wooden floors are going to be the focal point of every room. You can either go bold and match it with impressive and massive furniture pieces, eccentric decorations and vibrant textures and fabrics, or you can be more settle and choose clean lines and neutral tones.

Why do you need transforming the look of your wooden floor?

You do not really need to change the appearance of wood in general or at all. You just have the option to do so, if you think that your floor needs some change, or you need some change. It doesn’t have to be anything really dramatic and significant if you are admiring the more natural and ‘rough’, raw wood charm. On another hand, you have the freedom and how to go that extra mile and go even above and beyond your visions and ideas, designing creative and innovational styles and solutions with all the treatments, methods and effects you have to work with.

With that being said, whether to transform your classic brown wooden floor into a contemporary piece of art or going from the clean line and airy feel to the shabby chic and even rustic, it's all up to you and your individual preferences. The most important thing is that you feel great at the end of the day and instead of regretting your decision you will enjoy it. Remember that current trends are here to focus your attention on what will be fashionable and inspiring in the next few years but it is up to you how you will interpret the trends, incorporate them in your style and how far you can go out of your comfort zone.

The increasing possibilities for personalisation of your wooden floor are ranging from slight and simple to very dramatic and bold. Some of the techniques and treatments we are about to share with you below are not exactly relatively new and most of the people are familiar with the methods, however, today’s industry is offering a more creative or simplified approach to them, while other methods are the new kids on the block, pretty innovative as someone would describe them.

However, before you get too excited about the upcoming transformation, always be sure to do some repairs and improvements in the condition of your wooden floor when needed. People often say that for a beautiful picture you need to start with a blank canvas and this applies to wood floor effects too. Once you make sure the general condition of your floor is good and there are no issues and imperfections with a potential to grow bigger and turn into more serious problems you will need to deal with, later on, it is about time to give wood flooring effects a go.