Fabulous Floors

From the panache of colorful tile to the elegance of glossy hardwood, today's flooring options capture the imagination-and the emotion-of homeowners.

Wall-to-wall carpet-the height of luxury in the mid-20th century-is now primarily used in bedrooms. Elsewhere, designers say, homeowners are choosing floors make of natural, or at least natural-looking, materials.

"People like smaller rugs as accent pieces," says Rich Briggs, president of Floor to Ceiling in Orlando. "The hard surfaces are what's really popular now."

There's certainly no denying that the hottest looks in flooring are chiseled and sawed, not woven. And the range of hard-surface options encompasses wood, cork, bamboo, stone, porcelain and ceramic.

Rebecca Carpenter, vice president of SCS Hardwood Floors in Orlando, attributes the hardwood craze to baby boomers and to Northerners moving to Florida.

"They grew up with wood floors and want to duplicate them, remembering the warm and inviting feeling," Carpenter says.

But wood-lovers want more than standard-issue flooring, notes Sean New, owner of Britannia Services, Inc. in Orlando. More and more they're opting for eye-catching designs, often asking to replicate floors they've seen on home-decorating television shows.

"The trend is hand-sculptured wood and wide planks with chiseled edges," New says. "Planks that are five to 10 inches wide are favored now over three-inch planks."

Wall-to-wall carpet is generally less expensive, but hard surfaces such as wood and tile increase your home's value and are easier to maintain.

Tile, of course, can be cleaned with the swish of a wet mop. And the care of wood is just as easy, thanks to advances in stains and finishes. Hardwood maintenance typically involves sweeping with a soft-bristle broom and periodically misting with a professional wood floor-cleaning product.

There are more than 50 species of domestic and exotic wood floors encompassing an array of color options, hardness and price ranges. Still, old reliable oak accounts for two-thirds of hardwood flooring installed in new homes last year. It's durable, reasonably priced and can be stained in a variety of tones.

However, the trend toward darker, more exotic woods is growing. Imported favorites include Brazilian cherry and walnut, African bubinga, Australian cypress and bamboo.

Wood flooring styles include factory finished, unfinished, solid, engineered, strip, plank, parquet and acrylic impregnated. The choice, in addition to personal preference, is usually dictated by a room's traffic pattern.

And, as always, there's the budget to consider. Prices can range from $6.50 to $40 per square foot, depending upon the wood chosen and the retailer selected.

Engineered products are good choices for renovations because they're placed directly onto the slab, Carpenter says, meaning the installation time-and the accompanying hassle factor-is lessened. Engineered products are composed of several layers of various woods, with the buyer's preferred wood making up the top layer.

Many customers who shop at KBF Design Gallery's showroom in Altamonte Springs prefer cork flooring, according to co-owner Dave Brock.

In addition to ease of maintenance-damp-mopping with a mild detergent-cork tiles are easier on the feet, ankles and knees, Brock says. And cork flooring costs about the same as a midprice hardwood floor, running $6 to $8 per square foot.

"Plus, cork is a green [environmentally friendly] product," Brock adds. "It's manufactured from the bark of the cork oak tree through a process that strips the cork without inflicting harm to the tree."

Another environmentally friendly wood flooring option is fast-growing bamboo, which is technically a grass but produces floor planks as hard as maple. Bamboo can be stained a variety of colors from light to dark, but it retains the unique horizontal markings that distinguish it from other materials.

For a one-of-a-kind look on their hardwood floors, many homeowners use borders, medallions, hand-distressing, painting or mixed media.

Borders create a frame effect, providing contrast to the main area of the room, while medallions can highlight a foyer with a graphic element, such as a family crest.

Hand-distressing offers a warm, casual and antique look, while a painted design can create an Oriental rug effect. Some homeowners are even mixing wood with other materials, such as stone, tile or marble.

To prevent buckling, proper installation of hardwood floors is critical. That's especially true in Florida because of the humidity and dampness of the ground.

Homes in the Sunshine State have concrete bases, so dealers recommend applying a sealer to the concrete and then covering it with a moisture-disbursing felt or vinyl cloth. The wood is then glued onto the cloth.

Rivaling wood in popularity is tile flooring. It's durable, suitable for high-traffic areas and offers limitless design patterns that can be achieved by combining geometric layouts and trim tiles.

Beth Dover, marketing director of Mystic Granite and Marble in Orlando, says today's homeowners want their homes to reflect their personalities-right down to the flooring.

"Families are staying home more and using the home for entertaining," Dover says. "Tile offers a choice of every color and a gamut of patterns. Tiles can be pieces of art, and there's a natural stone for any budget."

The many varieties of tiles and stones include travertine, slate, granite, porcelain and marble.

Travertine is popular for its versatility and durability, and costs about $10 a square foot installed. Porcelain, at about $5.50 a square foot, is durable and resistant to moisture. Granite, at about $12 a square foot, is ideal for high-traffic areas because of its hardness.

Tumbled marble, processed to create rough edges and an antique finish, is currently popular, especially for large bathrooms, foyers and dens. Shiny marble, a more expensive option, is still being used for large entryways, living rooms and some bathrooms, occasionally with inset medallions or borders.

On the tile front, it also seems that bigger is regarded as better. The once ubiquitous four-by-four-inch square has been supplanted by tiles anywhere from 12-by-12 to 18-by-18.

Most tiles today can be set closer together, minimizing grout lines and resulting in less cleaning. Plus, tile allows you to get creative through the judicious use of accents boasting funky colors or even designs.

While some "do-it-yourself" homeowners may prefer to lay their own tiles, most dealers recommend professional installers who have the skill crucial to proper sealing and longer wear.

So, whether it's carpet, wood, tile or a combination, the array of flooring choices is so extensive that, whatever your budget, it's easy to put your best foot forward.

COMING TO TERMS WITH FLOORING

Bamboo. A grass that grows in warm, moist climates. Bamboo flooring comes from these thick-stalked plants and is as hard as maple. Can be dyed in variety of colors.

Ceramic Tile. Tiles made from clay materials that have been hardened and fired at high temperatures. Can be glazed with a shiny finish or left with a matte finish.

Concrete. A mixture of sand, gravel, cement and water that forms the basis for many Florida slab-built homes as well as driveways, walkways and patios. Very hard when dried and can be colored or embossed with a variety of decorative finishes.

Cork. Grainy, spongy substance pulled from inside the bark of living trees. Used for bulletin boards and sound baffling. Has many layers of sealants and hardening agents.

Granite. A hard, natural stone with a distinctive crystalline pattern. Polished granite is often used for countertops as well as for floor tiles.

Hardwood. Made from oak, cherry, hickory, maple and other trees that can withstand heavy pressure. (Pine, although used in many Victorian-era homes, is considered a softwood.) May reflect the natural shade of the wood or may be stained a different shade. Engineered or pre-finished wood flooring is a product made from fused layers of material including a top layer of sealed hardwood.

Laminate. Any layered, fused product is technically a laminate, although the term is usually used to refer to faux wood flooring with a clear topcoat. Easy to install and popular with do-it-yourselfers, but cannot be refinished when the original finish becomes worn or damaged.

Limestone. A porous, sedimentary rock usually formed from the remains of marine animals. Finishes can range from rough (which is naturally non-slip) to polished. Small fossil imprints may be evident.

Marble. A prized type of limestone with distinctive, vein-like patterns. Can be polished to a very high gloss and ranges in color from snowy white to black.

Mosaic. Tiny tiles of ceramic, stone or glass that can be laid randomly or in a pattern. Most are factory-mounted onto mesh backing so they can be laid in large sections.

Parquet. A patterned wood floor. Usually refers to floors covered with wood tiles made from strips of wood fused together or placed together on some type of backing.

Porcelain Tile. A type of ceramic tile made from refined clay fired at very high temperatures. Has a very low moisture absorption level.

Saturnia. Travertine cut against the grain for a different appearance. Also see Travertine.

Slate. Fine-grained, layered rock formed from shale and clay. Can be cut into thin sheets. Slate floors usually use tiles of different sizes for an interesting, random-looking pattern. Sealed slate is stain-resistant.

Travertine. A limestone cousin that comes in a wide range of colors. Gas bubbles that rise as the rock is formed. Often leave interesting textures and pitting on the surface. Sealants can leave surfaces smooth while allowing the textured appearance to show through.

Terrazzo. Chips of stone-usually marble-mixed with cement and applied to floors. Popular in the 1950s and 1960s, it is said to be making a comeback.

Vinyl. Synthetic, flexible floor covering that can be applied in sheets or tiles.