Hicksville, N.Y.—With the hardwood segment becoming increasingly popular among architects, designers, dealers and end users, many flooring manufacturers are offering a growing number of choices in both design and application. Whether it be the rustic, distressed look; glueless flooring systems, or the use of darker, more exotic species, the category now has something for everyone. “Hand distressed wood is timeless and a beautiful choice of floor covering,” said Jane Henderson, vice president of marketing and advertising for Patina Old World Flooring. “It is surprisingly easy to clean and maintain. Inevitable nicks and dings usually blend into the finish or are easily touched up to restore the soft sheen of the finish.”

 Patina, a manufacturer of hand distressed plank and parquet flooring, specializes in reproducing the look of vintage European floors. The product is sold in a wide range of standard colors and a variety of wood species, with the option of custom colors and patterns, along with borders, medallions, nosing and stair parts. “The flooring is prefinished in our factory, using new lumber, allowing for the flexibility to supply virtually any length or width material,” said Henderson. “Each individual board manufactured by Patina is made by hand, using a special hand scraping technique to create a unique surface for each piece. Engineered plank of excellent quality is now available with Patina’s special finish. The same hand scraping techniques and finishing methods are used on the engineered plank as on the solid product to create the same authentic aged look.” California-based Junckers Hardwood is another company offering the “antiqued” look to its customers.

Sandra Bayless, the mill’s sales and marketing coordinator, said, in response to the need of an antiqued floor at a reasonable price point, the prefinished solid hardwood manufacturer has created the “Olde World Collection.” Carved from its Variation style of flooring to give added weathered appeal, the Olde World Collection offers two colors: Saddle, a rich dark brown and Harvest, a golden honey. All floors are available in a commercially rated urethane with a durable stain finish designed to give optimal wear resistance. Selected flooring is available in a deep penetrating oil.

Like many other manufacturers, Junckers now offers easier-to-in-stall systems. “Our complete line of solid hardwood flooring can be installed with our patented ‘floating’ clip system or traditional nail-down method,” said Bayless. “When using the clip system, the Junckers floor can be installed directly over vinyl, concrete, tile and some carpets to virtually eliminate the time and expense of demolition.” Bayless noted, Junckers, which recently added five species to its product offerings—Ash, Brazilian Cherry, European Red Oak, Maple and Beech—realizes that expanding its selection for both residential and commercial applications is vital in today’s competitive hardwood flooring market. “There are more options for the consumer than ever before.”

BR-111, with its manufacturing plant located just outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, is one of North America’s largest producers of exotic hardwood flooring. Having just opened up offices in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area, the company is taking advantage of the growth in popularity of dark er, more exotic species among American consumers. “We are poised to inventory more than two million square feet of the industry’s finest exotic hardwood flooring for distribution in U.S. markets,” said Ricardo Morales, BR-111’s president.

Just like their smaller and foreign-based competitors, larger companies like Mannington Mills has seen the trend toward darker, more exotic among American consumers and have answer ed the call. Recently, Mannington launched its Trade Winds collection of four exotic woods—Andino Cherry, Island Chestnut, Magellan Oak and Canelo Teak—available in five SKUs. “We continue to differentiate ourselves in hardwood flooring,” said John Himes, Mannington’s marketing director for wood and laminate, “while expanding our specialty dealers’ business. “This new Gold Series line,” he added, “has received many favorable responses from our dealers throughout the country.” The collection features seven-ply engineered construction and Mannington’s 7-Step UltraWear Plus finish with ScratchResist.

Earlier, Mannington entered the distressed look arena with its American Rustics collection. Sunshine Wood Flooring is one of a growing number of companies offering bamboo products to the American market. With a total of three factories producing solid wood floors, engineered products as well as bamboo, its floors are made with high quality timbers and bamboo using a state-of-the-art system from Germany together with the latest processing technology from Japan, noted a spokesman for the mill. While some companies have gone in the opposite direction of the usual oak products by offering darker exotic species or, in a growing number of cases, bamboo, several manufacturers are developing products in between the two extremes.

In an effort to offer consumers a rustic look without a distressed finish as well as an alternative to oak without getting too exotic, Bruce Hardwood has recently launched Birchall and Country Natural. Different From Oak Available in solid strip and plank, Birchall is a Northern Birch designed to offer the consumer something different. “Northern Birch is a comfortable selection for consumers who want something different from oak, but aren’t in the market for a truly exotic species,” said Michael Lyons, Bruce’s product manager. “Birchall also offers the design flexibility of alternating plank and strip products to create a custom look or add accents stripes within a room. “Country Natural is an exciting new variation in maple hardwood flooring,” he continued. “This new color gives the consumer more decorating options with a rustic maple floor. The wide engineered planks are a hit and this variation will provide a country casual atmosphere with a smooth finish.

In addition to Bruce, whose parent company— Armstrong World Industries—is primarily a resilient manufacturer—-flooring companies like Shaw Industries and Mohawk Industries have gotten into the wood flooring mix, providing their customers with a growing number of selections. One of the latest from Mohawk, Natural Inspirations, is a longstrip hardwood product featuring a glueless installation system which is a mechanic’s dream, noted Bob Weseman, vice president of Mohawk’s Hard Surfaces division. Natural Inspirations utilizes DuraLoc LS, a horizontal locking system designed to virtually eliminate seams.