Exotic Hardwood Flooring Species

Dear Rob:

I want a floor that is really going to stand out – something unusual or exotic.  Can you help me out with some information about hardwood flooring beyond the normal oak?

-Ron in Arizona

Dear Ron:

These days, people don’t want to have what their neighbors have in their homes; they want something better, more unique, more original. This applies to choosing a hardwood floor. The question used to be, “What kind of oak floor do you want?  2 1/4 wide natural or 2 1/4 wide stained?” Now there are many more choices of species, stains and widths than ever before.

Exotic floors are constructed like domestic hardwoods and you have the choice of engineered, solid or acrylic impregnated. Style choices include strip, plank and parquet. Installation methods include gluing, nailing or stapling and floating. Multiple widths are available to help you get the look that you want.

When exotics were first introduced, you typically heard names like: Brazilian Cherry, African Wenge, Santos Mahogany, Sapele, Merbau, Bamboo, Australian Cypress, etc. Then, many others became available such as:

When choosing an exotic hardwood floor keep the following points in mind:

• It is best to ask questions to make sure that the species you choose is best for your living conditions.
• Some choices may have considerable range of color where no two boards look alike. This is part of the beauty of exotic flooring.
• A floor with a lot of range can easily become the focal point of a room or the whole area. Know this in advance before planning your design scheme.
• Sunlight can change the color of the wood so area rugs need to be rotated.
• When shopping, ask to take a sample home to view it in your surroundings, especially your lighting conditions.

There are choices of exotic hardwoods for every design style. Some woods look very traditional, some very contemporary and some live up to the image you think of when you hear the word exotic. Some are even purple in color!

If you want something different and unique, an exotic hardwood may be for you. If you appreciate true natural beauty, unique color ranges, the character of each board possible looking different, then ask your local flooring retailer for some samples today!

-Rob

P.S.  If you’re interested in checking out other types of exotic hardwood flooring, other species include:

Acacia”Koa”, Afrormosia, Afzelia, Amarettowood, AmberWood , Andiroba, Angelique, Angelim Pedra, Victorian, Bangkirai, Beech, European, Blackwood, Bloodwood, Bocote , Boire, Brushbox, Northern Bubinga, Cameron, Cherry (Caribbean, Mayan/Aztec, Patagonian), Chestnut (Brazilian and Southern), Cocobolo, Curupixa, Doussie, Ebony (Blackheart and Brazilian), Eucalyptus, Brazilian Gingerwood, Goncalo Alves, Green Ironwood, Ivory maple, Kambala, Karri , Kempas , Lacewood, Leopardwood, Makore, Maple (Brazilian and Patagonian), Mindi, Movingui, Tasmanian Oak, Brazilian Olivewood, Paraju, Peroba, Pradoo, Purpleheart, Ribbon Gum, Rosewood (Bolivian, Caribbean, Honduran, Patagonian, Tiete), Rubberwood, Satinwood, Shedu Mutenye, Spotted Gum, Sydney Blue, Tabaccowood, Tamarind, Teak (Brazilian, Brown, Ruby, True), Tigerwood, Walnut (Brazilian [Ipe], Caribbean, Mayan/Aztec, Patagonian, Peruvian) and Zebrawood.

Matching Hardwood Floor Finishes to Existing Woodwork

Dear Rob:

My wife and I are trying to pick out a stain color for our new hardwood floor, and we just can’t seem to agree. I’d like to pick a color that matches our cabinets, but my wife would like to pick a color that compliments some of our other design choices. What do you think?

-John in Omaha

Dear John:

When considering the use of hardwood flooring, it is important to consider the other finishes in the home that will surround the hardwood. Some of these finishes include: base board, chair rail, crown molding, window coverings, cabinets, furniture and more. Often, people tend to think that all of the other wood finishes in the home need to have exact matching hardwood species and stain finish colors.

Think of when you go into your closet and look at a collection of sweaters or pants that are all the same color, black for example. It is virtually impossible for all blacks to be the exact same shade. This is the same with hardwood. Even if you chose the same species of hardwood for your floors and the exact same species and stain for the molding, cabinets or doors in your home it would be virtually impossible for those woods to match. It is impossible to match because of different elements such as the area that the hardwood is grown, the conditions it is grown in, the species and type of stain as well as other variables.

Again, even if you could get everything to match, from a design standpoint, you don’t want all of the woods in your home to match; you want them to coordinate or blend, but not to match exactly. If you could get everything to match, it would look like you went to the wood store and picked everything in your home off the same shelf. That’s no fun! A home looks more balanced and well planned if each different type of wood blends rather than matches. When everything matches, it takes away from the natural beauty of the product as well as its natural characteristics.

Taking it one step further than floors, molding, cabinets and doors coordinating the same “rules” apply to furniture and accessories. It is perfectly acceptable to have a stained cherry piece of furniture in the same room with stained oak floors and doors. It is also perfectly acceptable to have more than one stained species or color of furniture in the same room as a different stained floor or molding.

This advice does not mean that you should mix oak trim with cherry doors with maple cabinets just so that everything does not match – it means that it is ok and expected for all wood finishes in a home not to match exactly.

Be creative, but most importantly, have your expectations set to where you understand that even the same species of hardwood stained the same color will not match exactly.

-Rob