Making Better Real Estate Decisions

For decades, most new homes automatically featured wall-to-wall carpeting, and some of the more high-end construction featured green-timber hardwood flooring. However, home buyers have become more particular in recent years, preferring eco-friendly flooring to synthetic carpets and green timber. Following are five fabulous flooring options that are being found with increasing frequency in new home construction:

Polished Concrete

Modern homeowners love the easy care properties and attractive appearance of this flooring material. All it really needs is to be kept swept clean and an occasional mopping with warm water to keep it looking its best. Many homeowners love to use a combination of polished concrete and area throw rugs created from natural fibers such as wool, cotton, and linen.

Bamboo

Beautiful, sustainable, and distinctive, bamboo flooring shares many characteristics with traditional hardwood flooring. It's slightly more resistant than hardwood to damage caused by humidity and dampness, making it an excellent choice for those who live in areas with high atmospheric humidity.

Granite

Granite has made quite a splash as a counter top and table material in recent years, but it's also an excellent flooring option. Low maintenance and extremely durable, granite tiles are a perfect flooring choice for those who want to infuse their indoor living space with an elegant ambiance.

Cork

Cork flooring is a great choice for those who make using sustainable resources in new home construction a priority. Only the bark of the cork trees are used in the manufacture of this product. Removing the bark does not harm the trees, and it grows back in several years. Cork flooring resembles hardwood flooring but is softer—making it perfect for use in rooms where household residents are frequently on their feet, such as kitchens and crafts rooms.

Repurposed Hardwood

Now that many buildings that were constructed in the early part of the 19th century are being torn down, there is plenty of repurposed hardwood available on the market. This wood is attractive and durable, and it gives home interiors an individual look. This wood came from the dense hearts of old growth hardwood trees and therefore has a whole different appearance and texture than flooring made with green, second and third growth timber. Because of its high density, it's less likely than newer wood to sustain water or humidity damage, and it generally has warmer tones and more intricate grains.

No matter what your flooring preference, you've got plenty of fabulous options to traditional wall-to-wall carpeting. Contact a group like The Gresham Group for more information.