The width and length of your wood planks will affect the shape and size of the room. Every choice you make about your hardwood floors, from species, grain, color, and dimensions will impact the end aesthetic. Each decision should be made with care so that you get hardwood floors that complement the room, the home, and your style. For now, we’re going to focus on the aesthetic impact the width has on hardwood floors.
Choosing Plank Size
Wide planks are great for big rooms to keep everything in proportion.
There’s a big push towards a wide plank flooring trend. However, wide planks aren’t going to work for every room and every space. Wide planks tend to feel luxurious and grand, widening a room, making space feel bigger and more spacious. Narrow planks can have the opposite effect, making a room feel too busy. You cannot force a perspective by merely choosing a wider or slimmer plank; you have to work with the room and the dimensions to find the perfect width to complement the room.
Complimenting the Shape of the Room
The right size of wood flooring is like finding the perfect pair of jeans that hug, support, and complement every curve, hiding imperfections and highlighting just the right areas. Hardwood floors should make every room feel beautiful and comfortable. No matter your decorative style, your home should feel peaceful and calm. You want every decorative decision to flow with the architecture and style of the home, including your floors.
Small, Narrow Rooms
If you have a room that is tall and narrow then using a wider plank can fill out the room, giving it a little more shape, as well as the illusion of more space. Wider planks will have fewer seems and joints and appear like a more reliable and smooth surface. Less is more when it comes to smaller rooms. The fewer planks, the more volume they will add to the room. Make sure that the planks are laid horizontally to the longest wall in the room. If you lay the floors across the narrowest wall, you will cut off the flow of the room, making it feel more claustrophobic and small.
Big Rooms, Narrow Planks
Narrow planks are great for long, slender hallways or smaller spaces.
Increase the flow and circulation of the room with slimmer floor planks in a larger room. Of course, if the room is big enough, wide planks can also work, you need to make sure that they are not making the room feel smaller, or cramped. Find a width that flows with the proportions of the room.
Mix and Match
For a very large room, you can create interest and intrigue by mixing and matching the width of your floorboards. Create a border with wider planks, or help draw the eye by laying a variety of widths in interesting patterns. You can also help direct the flow of the room with the installation pattern.
Talk to a hardwood flooring expert about the right width to complement every room.