31 May Flooring that can get you that “Vintage Look”

The vintage look is popular with many people, but obtaining antique flooring and furnishings can be exceedingly expensive. There are numerous options available for obtaining that vintage “stressed” appearance. A wide range of price points are available and will depend on the selected option.

Hardwood

You can have the hardwood flooring you want and the vintage look you desire with artificially distressed or hand-scraped wood. The process mimics the appearance of floors that have been in use for many years. Distressed hardwood will command a higher price point than ordinary hardwood since it takes longer to create.

Another option is reclaimed/recycled wood flooring from structures that are being demolished. Reclaimed wood is typically thicker and wider than modern hardwood and in many instances, it was made of different widths. Hardwood floors of the past were often constructed from oak, maple, pine or hickory. Another benefit is that those woods often feature knots and natural color variations that add character.

To create the vintage look with new hardwood, there are coatings and finishes that can be used to achieve the specified appearance. They require more work to maintain, but are often fairly easy to repair should scratches or damage occurs.

Vinyl, Laminate & Ceramic

Patterns and designs are everything when talking about vintage look flooring outside of hardwood. Vinyl is available in tiles and planks to imitate anything from checkerboard patterns to hardwood flooring.

Ceramic tiles are an excellent way to recreate a vintage floor using large tiles or with smaller tiles to create a mosaic. You can select from muted, natural colors for a “lived-in” look or choose from among some of the most enduring and popular patterns from a bygone era. Solid colors are also offered with pigmentation fluctuations to imitate the appearance of aging.