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by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers®
The perfect flooring can seem elusive when you want something that fits your design aspirations without taking a toll on the environment. The demand for eco-friendly flooring has been on the rise, though, and that means there are more options available than ever before! If you’re on the lookout for an attractive hardwood floor, why not consider bamboo? This ligneous grass is a fantastic green choice for a number of reasons, and it also produces beautiful boards in any color and style you could possibly want. Not convinced? Here’s why bamboo flooring would be a great addition to your interior!
The Benefits of Bamboo
The primary appeal of bamboo is how extraordinarily efficient it is. Trees take decades if not centuries to grow to harvestable size, and they leave stumps behind once they’ve been cut down. Bamboo, on the other hand, grows so quickly that it is considered old-growth in just four years, and it sends up new shoots on its own. Highly renewable stalks are shredded into fibers and pressed into boards to create the look of traditional wood flooring that homeowners want. Bamboo is an amazing natural resource and your choice of it won’t take a toll on the environment, your conscience, or your design.
The advantages of bamboo flooring go well beyond the environmental factor. Natural bamboo has a Janka score higher than that of red oak, meaning it has a higher hardness rating than the most common hardwood used in American homes. Strand bamboo is much more popular and readily available, though, and it has a Janka score twice that of red oak. It’s hard to imagine that a grass could yield a floor more durable than a tree, but that’s exactly what this means. Treated with high heat and pressure, strand bamboo is dense enough to withstand plenty of human and animal foot traffic in your home, and it promises many years of good looks on top of it.
Virtually Limitless Possibilities
Are you looking for a light, medium, or dark tone for your floor? What about something pristine or distressed? No matter the color or style you want, you’re sure to find at least a few bamboo options that you’ll love. Natural bamboo has a light golden color similar to some varieties of ash or white oak, so manufacturers can stain it to almost any hue. Consider bamboo flooring an eco-friendly and highly durable canvas that can be painted to your exact requirements!
Fortunately, there is a vast variety of prefinished bamboo floors out there that takes the guesswork out of acquiring the best look for your home. For the character of just about any species of wood that you might like, you can find a comparable bamboo version, and that even includes tricky high-contrast patterns. Bamboo flooring has a subtle grain-like texture that varies from straight to wavy and lacks knots, so it mimics the quality of coveted straight-grained woods and select grade planks. So, no matter what ambiance you’re going for, know that bamboo can deliver it with a sophisticated finish.
Bamboo as an Investment
If you think that bamboo would be the perfect flooring for your home, you’re not alone. It is a great choice for the long term, so be sure to check out some warranties if you’re on the fence about committing. You might think that such beautiful and durable floors must come with a high price tag that matches their quality, but the cost of bamboo is typically comparable to, if not less expensive than, the cost of hardwood. When you consider how quickly bamboo grows, it’s no wonder why! Its renewable nature is good news for the environment as well as for your wallet.
Depending where you live, bamboo flooring could even help with resale. Green building is serious business nowadays, and if you anticipate having buyers who put environmental consciousness high on their list of priorities, they will definitely show interest. While the appeal of hardwood is irreplaceable for some, bamboo is steadily growing in popularity and addresses a lot of the practical concerns that everybody considers—there’s no reason to think that buyers won’t see the upsides. And due to its affordability, you know you’ll be able to recoup its cost.
There are so many bamboo flooring options to discover, so find your local Lumber Liquidators store to see them in person! You’ll probably be surprised by the sheer number of choices, but you’ll love that there are that many different looks available with the same amazing level of durability—something you can’t expect when you’re shopping for hardwood.