There are a lot of advantages to using today's laminate or pre-finished hardwood floors, because they make the job much quicker and easier. However, there are times when people want to start with unfinished hardwood floor materials in order to create their own custom floors. It may be that they want a color they just can not find commercially, or it could be because they want to make sure that the floor will hold up to the traffic and use it will get in their home. Whatever the reason, unfinished flooring is still available, even in this hurry-up-and-finish world we live in.

If you've scoured the local home improvement and flooring stores and still have not been able to find a color that you feel will look best in your home, unfinished hardwoods could be the answer you're looking for. They give you the opportunity to choose or mix a stain color to any shade you would like. Choosing a rich grain and a darker stain will lend elegance to any room. Lighter colors will lighten up the space and make it seem larger. Designer colors, such as woodrose, deep ocean blue, or mustard yellow, can give your room all of the pizazz of carpeting along with the elegant durability of hardwood flooring.

One of the things that impressed me negatively about my daughter's laminate floor was that it was not very scratch-resistant. Even though they do not actually use that room in their home, the kids still run through it, the front entryway opens into it, and it's a temptation space for children to play with their toys. They have lived in their home for six years now, and the floor is scratched to the point that if they finally decide to use the space for a formal living room as it was intended, they're going to have to replace the flooring first. By purchasing unfinished wood, you will be able to make it as durable as you want by using multiple coats of polyurethane varnish, and you will not run into the scratching problem other types of floors can give you.

Although unfinished hardwood floors are not as easy to get up and running as other kinds of flooring, it is a good option when you want to give your floors some kind of special treatment. If you want floors that are beautiful, unique, and long-lasting, unfinished hardwood may be the place to start looking.

Searching for flooring options can lead you in many directions. Carpet, hardwood, laminate and ceramics all provide intangibles that add a certain style to your home. Area rugs are no different. They offer a great source of design inspiration because of their versatility and usability.

Below are some of the advantages that adding an area rug can offer your home.

– Area rugs can be easily moved and adapted throughout your home. Moving your rug from one room to another is simple and you can even choose to rotate rugs based on the season or to give your room a new look. You are not resigned to using the rug you pick just for one single area.

– Depending on the room you place it in, an area rug can play different roles. Rugs can emphasize or accent your design, whether it is the finish of your table or the color of your wall. They may also act as the centerpiece of a room in your home. The foyer or living room provide areas where your rug can stand out on its own and construct the feel of a room.

– Like carpet, the textures of rugs can vary to accommodate the desires and needs of you and your home. Thicker, fuller rugs will provide your home with comfort and elegance while sturdier, coarser rugs will protect your high traffic areas and add traction for slick floor surfaces.

– Rugs define spaces, especially in large rooms. Your area rug can help divide a room in your home into a more manageable shape if you are unsure what to do with an unusually wide or long space. Your rug can also separate a section of a room for dining and entertainment purposes.

Area rugs are able to adapt to the multiple needs of your home, creating a variety of styles in the process. They add just another option to think about when you are looking for flooring.

Slate is a metamorphic rock, and is defined as a lavered stone that can be split into thicknesses ranging from 8 to 14 mm. The rock is formed when ocean or riverbed sediments are compressed and heated by the crust of the earth.

Very few kitchen floors have the visual impact of slate which has the warmth and elegance of a natural stone. Slate flooring can provide good insulation from both heat and cold. It is known for long life and durability. Slate is resistance to chipping, cracking and abrasion.

Slate is formed benefit the surface of the earth during cooling and solidification of magma. Magma is made up of minerals such as clay, silt, mica, and chlorite. Pressures occurring in the crust of the earth then squeeze these minerals into parallel layers.

Slate has long been used as a building material due to decorating versatility, natural beauty, softness and durability. The natural colors, textures and other inherent qualities of slate match all the varied requirements of the modern kitchen.

Slate kitchen flooring is as durable as ceramic tile, or stone flooring. But also like these other materials a slate floor can be hard on the feet. Stone and slate will stain without sealed and can be slippery.

Natural slate kitchen flooring is available in such an array of styles and textures due to fact that slate contains clay and silt particles. Slate flooring is available in shades of black, green, brown, and gold. No two pieces of slate are similarly resulting in each slate floor being unique and one-of-a-kind.

It is also available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and patterns. Natural color variations in the slate ensure that your kitchen flooring will be unique.
Among the advantages of slate kitchen flooring is that it is practically indestructible. Slate is a good choice if you want a flooring material that will be long lasting. Another good feature about slate is that it can be so striking in appearance that it really jumps out at you. It provides all the warmth and elegance of a natural stone.

Slate is usually boxed in mixed sizes and often in mixed colors. Slate is also available in custom sizes for special applications. It is priced about the same as other kinds of tile. Slate is characterized as a hard, dense, and fine-grained surface that requires little or no maintenance. Slate kitchen flooring can produce a natural warm look to any kitchen.

Slate flooring are installed by gluing to the flooring. The glue is a cement-based material that contains grains of silica sand. The installation process includes a sub-floor preparation, joints that is tightly spaced, and finishing up with grouting, cleaning and sealing. Because of the micro-crystalline composition slate tiles are very stain resistant after they are sealed to the flooring. The procedure used in laying of slate kitchen flooring is similar to that of laying a ceramic tile. Slate is a better material for flooring than wood because it will not shrink or expand with changes in the weather.