Texture Is Quickly Becoming The New Color

Texture is quickly becoming the new "color. " By that I mean color has always been the main driver for people looking for a hardwood floor, but over the last few years, texture has been overtaking color as the new driver. The reason behind that trend is that texture stimulates our senses with tactile and visual elements. Hand-scraped hardwood floors are a good example of how popular texture is with floor shoppers. There is a big demand for hand-scraped hardwood floors in the U. S. Geographic areas around the country have various desires. In California, the hand-scraped hardwoods are sculptural and undulating with minimal character. In the Southwest, the hand-scraped look is much more rustic and features heavy graining, knots and mineral streaks. And the Northeast seems to just be discovering the hand-scraped phenomenon, and their desire is somewhere in the middle. At Armstrong, we offer a wide variety of hand-scraped products in many colors, species and surface treatments. These products offer universal appeal, even though we do see geographic trends. When it comes to flooring surface treatments and hand-scraping in particular, you have to think of them as an art form. Beautiful. Timeless. Unique. Ultimately, the choice is yours. You decide what works for your home, your lifestyle and your decorating style. If you have an active family, a rustic scrape gives you a more "distressed" look and will age beautifully. A more sculpted floor with little surface interruption is considered "classic" and will fit well in a contemporary décor. No matter what type of hand-scraped floor you choose, your floor will be showcased as original artwork. That's because no two planks are the same. I love designing hand-scraped hardwoods! I invite you to browse the hand-scraped hardwood collection on our website or see the real thing in a flooring store, and I think you'll love them too! Decorating Tips A lighter floor color will brighten a room, as will a floor with a higher gloss. Light-colored floors tend to work well with darker furniture by adding contrast to the room. Dark floors create coziness and can actually make an interior space appear very dramatic. Dark floors also tend to show dust or streaks more quickly and may require a little more maintenance. Medium-colored floors are still seen as traditional and a classic choice. Source: Armstrong