We are commonly asked the question: “Do I have to use the same type of wood flooring throughout the house?”. The response to this question is a real and genuine “no”. There is no need whatsoever to use the same type of wood flooring throughout your house.
Every house is different and rooms within each house have a different purpose, as well as a different look, light and feel. It’s important to use the type of wood flooring that suits each room, taking into account the effect you’re hoping to achieve and the wear and tear and traffic the room is likely to experience.
Light and size of room are also factors which are worth taking into consideration. If you have a small, dark room that you want to feel more spacious, there’s little point in planning to install dark, broad plank or board wood flooring.
Bearing all of this in mind, it’s a great idea to have different wood flooring in different areas of the home. Wood flooring comes in a whole range of different wood species, colours, grades and finishes as well as in solid, or engineered options. Solid wood flooring, as the name suggests is wood flooring which is made from solid planks of your selected species of wood. Engineered wood flooring is made up of different layers of wood, topped with a solid wood layer, making it look and feel just like solid wood.
Using different types of wood flooring throughout your house, is not only logical, it’s also practical. If you have rooms which suffer more traffic than others, you’ll need to chose a finish which will stand up to the wear and tear that your day to day life throws at it. If you have rooms in which moisture and or temperature fluctuations are greater than others, you’ll need to select your flooring to withstand these fluctuations. There’s no point in using the same type of wood flooring throughout the house if it doesn’t suit the needs and the purpose of each room.
All of that said, it is worth bearing in mind that your flooring project will be much more effective if you make sure your flooring is the same thickness throughout the house. This will avoid the need for flooring accessories such as R or T-bars, which will help overcome slight flooring height differences.