TRADITIONAL FLOORING 

If wood floors are the standard, then stone creates drama and resilient floors offer long-term color and comfort.

You probably already know what material you’re after in a traditional floor. If not, browse through the floor remodeling & floor design idea subcategories:

Wood Floor: reclaimed and plantation-raised hardwoods and pine; wide planks; parquet

Resilient: modern rubber flooring is “resilient,” but don’t make the mistake of thinking that resilient flooring is non-historical. Linoleum—the real stuff, made of cork and linseed oil—dates to the 1860s.

Stone: marble, soapstone, slate, terra cotta, and limestone products

Finishing Products: varnish and urethanes, shellac, tung oil, penetrating sealers, concrete stain

(Please note that all tile, including flooring tile, is listed in the Wall & Floor Tiles category. Stone flooring, however, including mosaics made of marble instead of ceramic, are listed here.)

The standard for formal rooms public and private, wood floors suggest durability even as they convey understated beauty and depth. Thanks to reclaimed wood from abandoned factories and barns, remilled wide-plank floorboards are still available from specialty lumber companies. Strip flooring is made up of edge-matched boards in woods such as maple, oak, and heart pine. A new option—the engineered floor—can give the look of either strip or plank flooring at far less cost.

Slate and limestone create drama in foyer or bath. For practical durability and virtually limitless color choices, you can’t beat a resilient floor (linoleum, cork, rubber, or vinyl) in the kitchen of family room. An amalgam of ground cork and linseed oil, true linoleum is a great medium for inlaid or laser-cut floor patterns.

No matter what traditional flooring type you prefer, there’s bound to be a host of beautiful alternatives.