Choosing the right Hardwood width for your floor

4 min readMar 17, 2020

Spring is in the air and it’s time for a home reno project! If you’re considering a new hardwood flooring, here are some tips to help you with the choice of widths!

Choosing the width of the hardwood floor is just one of many choices you have to make in the decision process. However this is one decision that you are likely to have to live with for a few decades. You have to take into consideration your decor at the moment and what you might want to do in the future. The good thing about hardwood flooring is that it always seems to be timeless, unless you stain your floor green for St. Patricks day!

The Decor Decision Process:

As mentioned above, the width of the floor boards are only one of many components to consider. The texture, pattern and colour all play a role in selecting the best flooring for your home. Some wood species like Hickory offer colour variations that are hard to predict─which also gives it its charm.

Oak is a classic with more consistent but prominent grain, while Maple offers a more discreet grain. Depending on the wood you choose, the width of a board may emphasize the appearance of the grain and can be an element to consider. Wider boards offer a larger surface which is perfect for floors with more character and knots. While narrow floor boards can be more appropriate for a more refined wood essence and appearance.

Over the years we’ve seen growing interest for board widths of 4, 5 or even 7 inches wide, which have become very popular with contemporary style decor. At the Hardwood Flooring Store we have many species and products in these widths.

The narrower boards will always have their place and will forever be considered a classic─especially when laid out in the herringbone pattern─a look that will probably never go out of style.

Available at the Hardwood Flooring Store — Old World Herringbone $8.99 sq/ft

SIZE AND SHAPE OF YOUR SPACE :

Wider floor boards can be used in all sizes of rooms, smaller room doesn’t need to have smaller widths. Instead, using wider boards will give the impression of a larger space simply because fewer joints are visible.

7-INCH BOARDS VS. 3¾-INCH BOARDS.

And it’s the same for wider boards (5 to 7 inches wide), which can fill the space of a larger room better and adapt easier to scale.

BUDGET :

Larger logs are needed to make wider boards, this can increase the costs to produce this fashionable width. It really comes down to choosing what you like most. That’s why it’s often best to start your renovation plan with a choice of flooring material since a good chunk of your budget will go toward it. It is however possible to strike a balance between what you like and what your budget considerations will allow.

And you? Which do you prefer?