Engineered wood flooring is a great alternative to real wood flooring, in terms of both price and practicality. In addition, engineered wood can offer more variety in styles and colours.
In this blog, we’ll cover the different styles of engineered wood flooring, as well as the species of wood, the different plank widths available, varying thicknesses and finishes. Using our advice, you will be able to find the perfect wood for you.
What is engineered wood flooring?
While solid wood is made from one piece, engineered wood flooring is made up of a combination of different layers:
- A bottom layer; this layer is used as a supportive backing to the rest of the flooring.
- A central layer; usually consisting of plywood, this makes up a large portion of the flooring.
- A top layer; this layer is made of hardwood veneer and is what is shown when the flooring is installed.
The benefits of engineered wood flooring
Firstly, engineered wood flooring is very affordable. While engineered wood uses less real wood compared to the real thing, it has a very authentic wood look and feel at a much friendlier price.
Engineered wood flooring is also extremely durable. The multiple layers of plywood, coupled with a protective surface, makes for a highly resistant choice for high-traffic areas of your home and is a great benefit to having engineered wood flooring in your home.
You will be able to find very similar, if not identical, engineered wood flooring styles when comparing to solid wood flooring. This is because the surface layer of engineered wood flooring is a real wood veneer. The wood grains and patterns, as well as stains and colours, create a truly authentic look and feel to your flooring.
You can also sand down the veneer on the surface, which can then be refinished to your desirable stain. This can be done a number of times during your flooring’s lifespan, which makes it a very long-lasting option.
If you're looking at laying your flooring in a kitchen, engineered wood is an ideal choice. Engineered wood is extremely strong and durable, which means it won't flex or change shape from the changing temperatures or moisture in your kitchen. This means it's also compatible with underfloor heating.
In fact, engineered wood flooring is a great option for almost any room. Its durability and strength make it a top candidate for busy family homes. The ranges available also mean you don't need to compromise looks for practicality.
Colours
Here at Direct Wood Flooring, we offer a range of engineered flooring styles, these include black, grey, white, brown, golden and natural colours as options for our engineered wood flooring.
Our selection of golden engineered wood flooring goes with both modern and traditional interiors, it also fits into more rustic interiors. additionally, this can fit in well with the “farmhouse” style that’s so popular right now.
Grey engineered wood flooring is one of our most popular engineered wood flooring styles. It goes very well with similarly grey interiors, while white or light-coloured walls help complement a contemporary interior.
White engineered wood flooring complements pastel-coloured walls and makes the most of natural light, as the bright tone reflects the light around your interior effectively.
Natural engineered wood flooring is very versatile and can go with anything. It's timeless, yet trendy appearance makes for great all-round colour and tone, whether you want to keep it traditional or go for something more contemporary.
Brown and black engineered wood flooring go hand in hand, as both colours compliment lightly coloured walls and furniture. You can spice up your interior even further by adding dark highlights to your furniture.
Shades
As well as a variety of colours, we also offer different shades to suit the exact engineered wood flooring styles that you're after.
Our various options of light engineered flooring make the most out of the natural sunlight that makes its way into your home, creating a welcoming atmosphere. This type of flooring is available in a wide variety of colours.
Although many people see grey as a fairly dark option for flooring, we offer a range of lighter grey options that couple great with modern interiors.
Our range of medium engineered wood flooring styles offer a similar versatility to the natural colour range we offer. The neutral shade, coupled with dark wood grains and knots, means that this range can fit into both light and dark interiors. Natural coloured flooring is always a great option for any interior. Our ranges of medium, natural shades offer that classic wood flooring look.
Dark shaded engineered wood offers a rustic, warm tone. Dark engineered wood flooring brings out the colour in lightly coloured interiors, or for a little less contrast they're just as at home in homes with a darker colour scheme. Our range of colours within our dark engineered wood range all offer a high quality, each having their own different aesthetic appeals.
Styles
Our engineered flooring styles offer a wide selection of designs:
Herringbone flooring is an extremely popular choice among other engineered wood flooring styles; the layout design achieves a timeless look. The angled planks create a beautiful pattern, aptly named after the bones of herringbone fish, which you can pair with a modern or classic interior. A huge selection of colours and shades to choose from means you can add your own personal preference to a beautiful design.
Distressed wood is also a popular choice when it comes to engineered wood flooring styles. This specific style offers a rustic, raw appearance, perfect for both modern and classic interiors. We offer this type of engineered wood in a range of different shades and colours, so you can find the flooring that suits you best.
If you’re wanting a flooring that’s all your own, look no further than our unfinished engineered flooring styles. As the name implies, this particular type of flooring is completely unfinished, this means you can stain this flooring with your desired oils. We offer a wide selection of Osmo oils, to create different shades for your flooring.
Plank width
Engineered wood comes in different widths. The width you choose comes down to personal preference the different thicknesses of planks can offer different visual effects.
Standard width engineered wood flooring offers the classic flooring look. The width of each plank will be around 130mm. If you are looking for the simple, go-to width, standard is a great choice.
Narrow width engineered flooring styles are great for making your room look bigger. The small width of each plank results in a higher number of joins which cover the surface of the floor. This creates an elongated, linear look. Narrow boards are commonly found in a herringbone design. Narrow flooring is usually around 90mm in width.
Wide width engineered wood flooring works great in big rooms, making the room appear smaller and cosier. Wider flooring results in a smaller amount of joins in each plank, which gives the illusion that the room appears smaller. Wide engineered wood flooring is usually around 190mm in width.
Extra-wide engineered wood flooring is our widest variant, ranging between 220mm and 300mm in width. These planks work very well with large rooms, similar to wide width floors. Our ranges of different colours and shades make this a great option for versatility in terms of style.
Engineered woods commonly start off at a standard width of 120mm, however, we offer a narrow plank width witch comes in a herringbone style.
Wood species
Engineered wood flooring can come in a wide variety of different species. The species refers to the solid wood veneer which creates the design of the flooring. Two of the most popular are oak and walnut.
Oak is our most popular and common choice. This species of flooring is widely available due to its popularity and quality. Our oak is sustainably sourced, strong and resilient. Oak provides a very attractive natural grain which is great for flooring. Additionally, oak is very easy to sand down and re-stain, so you can change your flooring to whatever shade or colour you like using one of our Osmo Oils. If you’re looking for a classic wood look and feel, oak is a great choice.
Our other option is walnut. This particular wood species is of high quality while remaining budget-friendly and easy to find. Our walnut is also sustainably sourced. Walnut flooring is considered a classic choice as it has been used for centuries, similar to oak. Walnut flooring is also excellent at absorbing shock and reducing noise levels in your home.
Different finishes
The different finishes that you can find on engineered wood flooring alter both the look and feel of the flooring. It’s important to know the difference between them so you can choose the right flooring for your needs.
Brushed and Oiled flooring means that the flooring has been lightly brushed to expose more of the natural qualities of the surface. It is then layered with coats of oil to protect the wood from daily use.
Unfinished Flooring simply means the wood has not been touched in any way with any kind of oil. The surface can be sanded and stained with an oil of your choice to create a unique style.
Brushed and Lacquered floors have been lightly brushed to expose some natural quality of the wood surface, then a thin resin is applied over the surface. This resin allows for the woods natural grains and knots to be defined while being protected from regular wear and tear.
Oiled floors have been lightly covered in layers of oil, this oil helps protect the surface from daily use. The protective oil is effective and can come in a different range of colours and shades. A clear oil is also used if you want a natural look to your floor.
Lacquered floors have been covered in a thin, protective resin. This resin defines the woods natural grains and textures, while simultaneously acting as a great protective layer to keep the flooring in good condition against daily use.
Thickness
Choosing a thin or thick Engineered wood is down to personal preference as well as practicality. In order to choose the thickness that suits you, it’s important to know the differences. The overall thickness of an engineered wood plank refers to the entire plank, including the layers and veneer. A thicker wood plank results in thicker layers and a thicker veneer
10mm is the thinnest thickness that we offer, the veneer surface, as well as the plywood layers would be a little thinner compared to the thicker options, but still offers a similar amount of strength. This is no problem for low traffic areas of your home such as guest bedrooms. However, we suggest going for thicker, more durable engineered wood for other rooms.
14mm flooring offers more versatility in terms of practicality and strength. You Can place 14mm flooring in areas with higher traffic, such as kitchens and living rooms.
15mm flooring, although just a millimetre thicker, offers more durability overall. Similar to 14mm flooring, you can place 15mm flooring in high-traffic areas of your home, due to its added strength.
18mm thickness is considerably more dense and resistant, with a larger amount of material. Wood this thick is a great choice for commercial areas, as the density and thickness of the plank offers a high amount of resistance to wear and tear.
20mm is the thickest option that we offer. This particular thickness makes for a thick, strong plank. The strength and thickness of 20mm flooring means subfloors are not a necessary requirement, unless the floor it is being laid on is uneven.
Although there are many different engineered wood flooring styles, colours, widths and thicknesses, the process can be made a lot easier when you know exactly what you’re after. We hope you’ve gained a little more knowledge of the different options that we offer, and remember, you can order your free samples and take a closer look at our engineered wood flooring.
