Whether you’re renovating your house or building a new home, the use of wooden floors can introduce a dash of raw, rustic, yet contemporary appeal
A well-chosen floor can bring warmth and character to any space. After all, floors are the foundation of a beautiful space and provide the blank canvas on which you can paint the home interior.
Wood is gaining popularity in Indian homes. Perhaps they bring a sense of outdoors, indoors for today’s “modern nomad” who even though lives in the midst of concrete jungle but his mind and heart craves for proximity to nature. Whether it’s the rich tones of oak, the rustic charm of reclaimed barn wood, or the exotic allure of bamboo, wooden floors offer a diverse range of options to suit any design aesthetic.
Says Bengaluru based architect George E. Ramapuram, Managing Director Earthitects- “Materials, like solid wood, offer a softer and warmer feel underfoot, while others, like tile or stone, provide a cooler and more rigid surface. Each plank carries its unique grain patterns, colour variations and textures adding a distinctive character to your space, as no two planks will be alike.”
In India, there are three common types of wooden floorings – solid hardwood flooring, engineered wood flooring and wooden laminate flooring. According to Suresh Kumar Mansukhani, Country Manager- Indian sub-continent, Junckers, Europe’s leading manufacturer of premium solid wood flooring, “All wood is not the same. Every builder today claims to be giving wooden flooring in the bedrooms, but that is actually laminate. It’s the easiest, the cheapest option and cheaper than the tile I would say (starts at Rs. 30/sq ft till 200/sq ft) and has a paper laminate which gets damaged very fast.”
He can say with authority as his company has done wooden flooring for many prestigious projects such as the PM’s residence, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Supreme Court of India, and more recently the Central Vista. More recently, Junckers was appointed official flooring partner for the upcoming Olympic Basketball Tournaments 2024.
“You should buy something which has a moisture content of 8 to 12%. Also when you buy the product, it should be on a clip system, which allows room for expansion and contraction,” advises Mansukhani. In Delhi, it is recommended to have wooden floors with a two-hold clip, whereas in Mumbai three-hold clip (allows greater expansion) is essential like the one installed in the recent sea facing project of JW Marriott Mumbai.
Engineered wood, with a 3mm veneer may not be the best option and it is better to go for the higher grade 5mm or 7mm. Typically a 14 mm good engineered flooring with a 5 mm veneer on top, will cost you approximately Rs 600 to 700/sq ft. However the best is the solid wood which though expensive is durable. The Malaysian/Chinese variant starts at Rs 300/sq ft and the highest quality is upwards of Rs 900-3,500/sq ft for pure oak. Wood is good to be used in all areas, barring the kitchen (spices and oils can cause stains). Finally wooden floors serve as a timeless feature of interior design, bringing us closer to the natural world amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life.