If I had my way, I would rip out ALL the tile and ALL the carpeting in my home and replace it with cork. I currently have it in just one room of my home and absolutely love it.
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| Lisbon Cork shown in my Parlor |
Here's a close up of the Lisbon Cork.
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| Cork Oak Tree |
Keep in mind, cork is still a wood. You have to treat it the same as you your other wood floors. Also, cork is a natural product just like granite. No two pieces will be the same. Look at all the depth in this Lisbon cork! Although I love this patterned cork, I wound hesitate to use it in a large room. It may be a little dizzying to see quite so much pattern when entering a room. Small room? Lisbon is a good choice.
When I lived in Pittsburgh, my 1926 home had “real, 100% hardwood floors”. Not laminated or engineered wood but solid, White Oak downstairs and Straight Grain Pine upstairs and I loved it. I apologize for the photograph - you can't really see too much of the flooring but it's all I have.
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| Paint: Gold Buff by Behr. |
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| Straight Grain Pine flooring and Ryegrass color by Behr in my bedroom |
Engineered wood is another option but to me, some of it looks just too fake. And, if you should need to refinish it, you can only sand it twice - 15 years apart and the very most. Real wood floors will out last us all. Engineered does have it's advantages though so don't rule out this type of flooring. It's great for high moisture areas such as basement (not the bathroom though) so it does have it's place in the home.
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| Santos Mahogany from BR11 |
Look how beautiful engineered wood can be. This is Santos Mahogany and I can honestly say, this is stunning! I've used it (wood, not the engineered) in a clients home and it Literally took my breath away. Here's a photo of it but you can't really see the flooring that well - sorry.
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| Window treatments, oversized pillows, flooring and area rug designed by Donna Frasca. |
Now cork on the other hand is not a strapping as wood floors but I will gladly give that up for it's visual beauty. Look at it! I'm in love :-)
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| Cork Colors by Duro Design |
I can go on an on and on about cork and flooring options! Too much fun. So Designers, if you are going “green”, and are looking for an innovative and “out of the box” option for your clients, look into cork.
Homeowners - look at these colors! Cork is soft on your feet (great for the little ones to crawl around on) it's gorgeous, easy to install and just down right beautiful!
If you need help choosing cork for your home, let me know - you know you'll be in good hands! Don't know where to find cork? To start, you can look at your local box stores such as Home Depot or Lowe's. There are so many other companies that sell it but that will be a good place to start. I bought mine at Lowe's. You'll love it!
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI, too, love cork flooring. Had it installed right over my tile floor in my kitchen because the tiles kept cracking (poor builder installation). I love the look, the comfort, and the easy maintenance of it. Would highly recommend it.
Mary, cork is an excellent choice for the kitchen. I would love to put it right over my tile too (I had a fracture crack and had to replace 5 tiles). With all the standing we do in the kitchen, cork is very soft for the feet.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Cork flooring seems to be very attractive. Awesome pictures! It has many advantages such as Comfort & softness, Health & beauty, noise reduction, easy maintenance & durability.
ReplyDeleteDiscount Flooring
Thank you for referring me to this post. I had no idea so many colors existed for cork flooring! Also, your praise makes me covet it more. Now if it just would not sun fade..... Kymberly
ReplyDeleteThe sun will fade anything from silk drapery to furniture, wood flooring and even cork. I since then install solar shades under my window panels to stop the UV from coming in - and it works!
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