Wood flooring comes with endless options; you can have walnut, oak or pine, in dark brown, cherry or grey, you can opt for herringbone or chevron, you have a choice of finishes and you can even specify a width. But have you considered the additional features or specialist techniques that you can apply to your wood floors to make them that little bit more remarkable.

There are several ways in which you can add character to a wood floor to make it more distinctive and tailor it to the specific look and feel that you have in mind for your home or property.

Let’s take a look at a few of the most notable…

PICTURE FRAME BORDER

A picture frame border is when a contrasting colour and smaller width (thin strips) of wood is used to frame the perimeter of the floor.
It instantly adds charm and individuality to a room bringing dramatic flare to an otherwise simple wood floor - ideal for those of you wanting to make more of a statement.

It’s definitely advised that this design feature is fitted by a wood floor specialist in order to achieve the best finish. They will also know which contrasting colours to use for the best finish.

WHITEWASHING

This is a quick and easy way of lightening up your wood floors when you start to get tired of them or just want to try something new.

A white stain or white tinted sealer is painted over the wood to give it a brighter colour without covering the grain or making it look too sterile.
It’s great for creating a clean, beachy vibe or for enhancing the Scandinavian interior look that is so popular at the moment.

We took a more in-depth look at this technique in our previous blog, Whitewashing Your Hardwood Floors, where you can find out which types of wood floor it works best on and how it’s actually done.

WIRE-BRUSHING

If you want to enhance the natural character of the wood, then the wire-brushing technique is a simple way of achieving that as it scapes away at the soft exterior of the wood to expose the harder grain beneath.

By scraping a wire-bristled brush over the floor, it will leave you with a distressed wood that gives a rustic, lived-in feel which is a style that lends itself well to the vintage, traditional aesthetic that can often be found in older, period properties.

It’s also ideal for high-traffic areas of the home and in restaurants, gyms and schools where there is a lot of footfall and many scuffs and scratches to the floor because it will blend it with the already imperfect, distressed wood.

This technique works best on woods that have a prominent grain and more durability such as hickory and oak.

If you’re apprehensive about applying one of these techniques to your wood floors because of the substantial cost or the fact that they’re irreversible changes, then you can always add a little more flair to your wood floors with a good rug. This soft furnishing can be inexpensive and switched in and out as trends, or your style, changes.