When it comes to the hardwood floors in your Kansas City area home make sure you let them shine. And we don’t just mean by cleaning them. The way you stain and install hardwood floors can drastically affect the look and feel of different rooms in your home, and either draw attention to or deflect it from your floors. If you’re a big hardwood floor advocate, try these ideas to make your floors stand out and be the shining star of your home.

Use Different Sized Boards in Different Rooms

For many homeowners, different rooms have different themes and feels to them. Make that differentiation even more prominent with your flooring choices. One way to show where one area ends and another begins is by changing the size and shape of the hardwood planks from room to room. For a more relaxed feel, choose wider planks. For a more formal appearance, choose narrower boards.

Related Read: 3 Different Ways to Cut Your Home’s Hardwood Floors

Angle the Boards Differently in Rooms

Another great idea to change up the tempo from room to room in your home is to angle the hardwood planks in different directions depending on the room. If you have an open floor plan, show more distinction between the kitchen and family room by making a break between the rooms, and slightly change the angle the planks are laid. This can be a very visually appealing way to break up the rooms and to add a lot of character to your home.

Stain Floor Borders

To refine the look of your hardwood floors and add a touch of elegance try this little trick; border the hardwood floors in different rooms of your home with wood that is stained in a darker or lighter color. This really makes your floors pop. To enhance this look, we suggest using pigment-rich stain colors for both the floor itself and the border wood.

Call SVB Wood Floors today at (913)213-5187 or (816)965-8655 to get started in your dream hardwood floors.

At SVB Wood Floors, we make it a priority to stay up-to-date with anything and everything hardwood flooring. From installation techniques and flooring education to trends among homeowners and new products, the SVB team is always in the loop. One of the questions we frequently hear from homeowners is, “What is the difference between pre-finished and engineered wood floors?”. What is the difference and should KC homeowners look into these options? Let us break it down for you.

Interested in what has been installed recently in Kansas City homes? See the 3 must-have wood flooring trends right now. 

Breaking It Down: Pre-Finished Wood Flooring

Having pre-finished wood flooring installed in your home is essentially the same thing as having a standard wood floor installed in your home, however, the finishing is done prior to the installation. Pre-finished wood floors are solid wood planks that are finished in a factory instead of on site. Homeowners love pre-finished wood floors because of the minimal time it takes for the installation. They also love that they are still receiving solid wood flooring that can be re-sanded later on down the road.

Get The Details: Engineered Floors

Engineered floors, on the other hand, are very different from your standard solid hardwood floor, which is one solid piece of wood from end to end and bottom to top. Engineered wood floors are made by stacking multiple layers of wood together in various directions and binding them into a solid form with heat and pressure. A thinner hardwood veneer is glued on top. Because of this, engineered wood floors typically can only be refinished one time. Homeowners love engineered flooring for much the same reason that they love pre-finished flooring, the installation process is very quick and easy because the floors have already been stained and finished. 

Interested in learning more about pre-finished or engineered flooring? Give SVB Wood Floors a call today and we will answer all of your questions, (913) 213-5187 or (816) 965-8655. 

When deciding what type of hardwood floors to install in your home there are a lot of different factors you must consider. The basics are the type of wood you want to use and of course what type and color of stain to use. But a less obvious, yet equally important factor that often gets forgotten is what type of cut or saw to use on the wood you want to install. By cutting or sawing wood from different directions or angles you can change the orientation of the grain in the wood. Here are three of most popular wood cuts and how they differ. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to determine the cut you want for your home.

Plain Sawn

Most basic hardwood floors today are plain sawn. Common characteristics of this cut are character markings and figure patterns that result from the annual rings. Characteristic cathedral graining is also brought out in plain sawing. Plain sawn floors tend to be available in wider widths than other types of cuts.

Quarter Sawn

Quarter sawn floors are found less often in homes these days, but still have a big following in homeowners who like unique characteristics. This type of cut slices the wood perpendicular to the wood’s annual growth rings at a 60-90 degree angle, which results in a straight grain appearance. It almost looks like small tiger stripes. The angle of the cut also makes quarter sawn boards stronger than plain sawn.

Rift Sawn

Rift sawn boards are similar to quarter sawn, in that the annual growth rings manifest as straight grain once they are cut. This also means both rift and quarter sawn boards do not show cathedral grain characteristics that are common in plain sawn floors. The finished product looks very uniform when installed as flooring. The big difference between the two is that rift boards are cut at a more acute angle. They are cut at a 30-60 degree angle instead of a 60-90 degree angle.

Call SVB Wood Floors today to help you decide what saw style of hardwood you should choose in your home. Call us at 913-213-5187 or 816-965-8655.

At SVB Wood Floors, we know that when it comes to hardwood floors it’s not one size fits all. Style varies by both home and homeowner. That’s why we offer several different types of hardwood floors for you to choose from. You can customize your wood floors by stain, design, style, and species of wood. Here are six different species selections to choose from and why they will work in your home. Each of these wood species can come clean, meaning without knots in the wood, or they can come with some knots or full knots to add character. It all depends on your stylistic taste.

Red Oak

Red Oak floors have a rich red tint. They can come in a variety of board widths. This is always a classic look, with thick planks being more dramatic.

White Oak

White Oak floors can be stained any color, from white to tans and browns. They have closely spaced growth lines and can be milled a certain way, rift or quartered. This will give the wood a different grain pattern. White Oak can be milled with a straight, radial, or a flat sawn grain pattern.

Walnut

Walnut hardwood floors have rich chocolate hues with beautiful auburn and blonde undertones. Its beautiful and complex grain patterns make for an attractive flooring choice with lots of character. Choose from several stain choices or none at all for this classy hardwood species. The wood is very durable and strong, perfect for entryways and rooms that have high traffic.

Hickory

Hickory hardwood’s intricate grain of the wood lends to its character, making it popular in wide planks. It is a very durable species, but has to be properly acclimated to the area and dried properly for quality installation. We glue our hickory floors down to prevent warping.   Check out our photo gallery to see examples of our hardwood floor installation, refinishing, and repairs.

Maple

Maple hardwood floors are rich and elegant. They are softer species of wood that is a good fit for rooms with a lower level of traffic.

American Cherry

American Cherry is considered to be an “exotic” species of wood and has superior graining and color. Because of this, many homeowners choose larger planks to show off its character.   Call SVB Wood Floors today for a free consultation on hardwood floor installation in your home.