| | | Natural Flooring Options

From WikiVerde

So you’re now planning to make a few improvements to your old home or you are buying a new home. Whatever the case, you want to adopt an individualistic style for your home that would help you stand out from the crowd. Well, one of the best options in this regards would be to go for eco-friendly flooring or natural flooring.

1 What is Natural Flooring?
2 The Choice of Natural Flooring
3 Great Natural Flooring Options
4 References

What is Natural Flooring?

Before you embark upon your quest to find natural flooring, you must know something about it. At a basic level, natural flooring is something that has been made from renewable materials. These materials have been created as a result of sustainable harvesting, which causes minimal damage to the environment. Moreover, these renewable materials are biodegradable, and hence, they will degrade over time. This essentially means that they do not clog up the landfills or cause any kind of pollution in this regard.

Also, the whole concept of natural flooring revolves around the fact that there is very little or no chemical treatment or the use of integrated toxic products. This way the process of finishing and installation won’t disperse pollutants after a period of time.

The Choice of Natural Flooring

Now that you have decided to pick this type of flooring, you must do some research. Much like conventional flooring, your choice, when it comes to natural flooring options, is determined by your practical requirements. Some of the deciding factors that will help you choose the best natural flooring would be:

Lifestyle: Do you have a family or you are single? Consider your preferences and interests.

Durability: Wear and tear that the natural flooring will have to cope with. For example if you have a family then the chances are that the flooring is going to see a whole lot of wear and tear. This means that you will need to select strong flooring options.

Room Type: If you want to install them in areas like the kitchen and the bathroom then you must choose a type of flooring that does not get affected by high moisture content.

Affordability: Both for installation and repair.

Great Natural Flooring Options

Cork Flooring – Stylish, Practical and Distinctive

The bark of the cork oak tree is used to make cork flooring. It is natural and renewable as the cork oak tree can be stripped of its bark, every 10 years, without harming the tree. The various natural properties of cork make it a great natural flooring option. It is extremely resilient and stands up to heavy traffic. Moreover, it offers superior acoustic and thermal insulation and does not rot like many other flooring options. Other sterling qualities include resistance to fire, and a soft texture that make it really comfortable to stand on.

The inherent versatility and suitability of cork is displayed in the fact that it can be used in all the rooms of the house as it is naturally water resistant and immune to stains.

Natural Linoleum – Environment Friendly Flooring at its Best

An amalgamation of pine resin, and linseed oil go into the making of natural linoleum. As is the case, these are natural renewable resources and hence this type of flooring is one of the greenest options available. It resists heavy wear and tear and is inherently reliable for use in homes that have pets and children. Unlike many other flooring options, it does not need to be waxed on a regular basis to maintain its protective top layer. What’s more it is water and stain resistant and can be used in kitchens and bathrooms without any problem at all.

The best part about natural linoleum flooring is that there is very little maintenance required and it also offers a wide range of options when it comes to color and style.

Bamboo – Exquisite and Naturally Green

Bamboo flooring has emerged as a great replacement for timber flooring and as it is a fast growing grass, it is sustainable and renewable. It is one of the more commonly developed flooring options as it has a fast growing cycle and the fact that it quickly achieves its maturity stage. Moreover, after the process of harvesting, it quickly replenishes itself.

It’s strong, and durable as compared to many hardwood species. Also, when it comes to natural beauty, there are few that come close to matching the exquisite elegance and earth tones of natural bamboo flooring. It is also available in caramelized colors, giving you a whole range of options to choose from when it comes to colors, style and texture.

A World of Options

This is just a small list of natural flooring options that are available on the market. Other choices that you might come across include sustainable wood flooring, stone flooring, wool carpets, and environmentally-friendly rubber flooring. As can be seen, there are a wide variety of options that you can choose from and they are all well suited for your green home plans.

During the course of the article, we have mentioned a few parameters, that will enable you to pick your natural flooring. Every day a host of new options enter the market making your job of choosing the perfect natural flooring even more difficult. What’s more the rapid developments in this regard also ensure that they have all the qualities that go into the making of a superior natural flooring option.

You must take great care, when it comes to choosing the right option for your flooring needs. After all, you are not going to make changes to your flooring on a regular basis. You want it to withstand the test of time.