Hardwood Floor Designs – Inlays, Insets

hardwood floor designs

End block floors contain hardwood that is cut from the end of larger pieces of lumber. It’s up to anyone’s imagination. One can use actual logs, or products cut from 4 x 4’s and the like. Installation can be very time consuming but rewarding. Typically rough cut lumber is laid in a urethane based adhesive, allowed to cure, grouted (filled), and finally sanded and finished.

Metal Insets, Inlays

Brass is the most common metal used with hardwood designs. They can help define areas or changes in hardwood direction or species within a defined area. These design elements are usually thin material about 1/4 inch in thickness.

With the right professional other metals have been used in recent years including aluminum. These items can be found in metal fabricating shops in your home town. Installation, sanding, and finishing requires some knowledge in the way metals can react caused by friction in the sanding process.

Focal Points

Focal points are often smaller prefabricated designs that can be used virtually anywhere including the staircase shown. Oshkosh Designs out of Wisconsin recently introduced a number of these designs ranging in size from 4 to twelve inch. Patterns include compasses, starbursts, and botanical designs. These designs come with directions, a template for installation and are affordable to those that cannot afford much larger medallions.

Our opinion is expect more of these smaller designs in years to come. For those with finer woodworking skills, simple focal points could easily be a reality.

Fabricated or Job Site Corners

These are designs that can be purchased or created on the jobsite with the same material being used. Jobsite designs will require a lot of pre-planning and precision. Some designs include Greek key borders or simple basket weave corners.

Stenciling

Stenciled ideas can be accomplished by anyone. However a basic knowledge of when should be given top consideration. For unfinished floors a sealer coat should be applied after the initial rough and finer sanding is done. This will insure paints or dye will not leach into adjacent areas.

Stone Medallions, Mosaics

Manufacturers that offer hardwood medallions can also track down other

designs possibilities. Included are granite, ceramic, and travertine designs. Some higher end designs actually contain stained glass.

Parquetry

Not so common are unique parquet designs, except standard finger block that has been popular in the past, found in the big home improvement centers. Finer more decorative parquet patterns can be customized with practically any hardwood species. Some of the more popular design names include Canterbury, Marseille, Fontainebleau, and Chateau

How to Design a Hardwood Floor Like a Professional

By Daryl Plaza

The installation of your new hardwood floor is probably the most rewarding remodeling you can do. The floor usually sets a feeling and tone of a room whether as a dominant feature or a neutral setting. The floor adds on a beautiful appearance to a room and its comfort too. Yet above all, the flooring must be practical, durable and fit in with your daily living.

How to choose a wood floor color that’s right for you

Color choices for your hardwood floor are a very important step. In selecting your color, don’t stay with the first one that catches your eye because you probably will find another color you never even thought of. Here are some tips to help you through this process. Look at the color and not the name. Great fancy names can really influence you – more than you would like to admit. Trust instinct, which comes from inside you and greatly reflects a certain color preference. Take a few days to make your final decision on the color. Your hardwood floors are worth it. Break it down to three or four colors and take the sample home. If you are creating a complete décor, make sure you compare all the wood samples with paint samples of all your new colors and any upholstery or wall coverings you may have. Check your colors at different times of the day, as light changes throughout the day. Put the samples on the floor and move them around the room to get a good idea of how the color will look.

Designing your hardwood floor theme like a pro

Designing informal and formal theme or any design depends on the utilization of the elements of design. A strong formal look is created with squares, stripes, or lines. A border stenciled on a wood plank floor will look cozy. Curved and floral patterns have the ability to soften colors or maybe even unify your floor space. Your curved patterns also give a sense of motion. You can also change your perception in a room. For example, by extending a linear pattern lengthways in a room, you will give the appearance of the room being longer. If you put the same pattern across the room, the feeling is wider and shorter.

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