If you choose hastily, your new floor may leave you with regrets on down the road. Flooring, if chosen incorrectly, will haunt you, your family, and your guest for years to come. Do you or your family members have allergies? Do you enjoy allowing noxious fumes to linger in your home like a business deal gone south?

Green floors are a flooring option that is both environmentally friendly and one that comes with few regrets. Let’s take a look at a few of the flooring options in order to evaluate which options are the greenest ones for your home.

Vinyl
While it is true that vinyl floors will not need harsh chemicals for cleaning this common flooring option, harsh chemicals are used in the construction and the installation. This can mean that you will be feeling (and perhaps even smelling) the effects for years to come as the chemicals break down over time.

Carpet
Another common option is carpet. Carpets and rugs, especially ones that come from Asia, can also contain chemicals that are emitted into the air. These chemicals can be especially irritating for those people who have allergies or who are sensitive to certain smells. Additionally, you will need to replace carpeting after the padding has worn down or when the fibers become too dirty to be cleaned. Shipping from overseas also gobbles up lots of fuel, which means carpet made overseas is less green than its domestic competitors.

Cork Flooring
This flooring option is at the top of the green flooring list. Cork flooring is created by harvesting the bark of the cork tree and processing into a flooring sheet or tiles. Don’t worry though, the bark of the cork tree will be replenished in another nine years, allowing for another harvesting. Cork trees themselves can live for around 200 years, giving farmers many years of cork bark. Cork floors are also made from used wine and champagne corks, which might otherwise be thrown into a landfill. This flooring option is completely renewable and a great choice for those who want to mind their eco-conscience.

Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring is yet another brilliant green flooring that has been making a big splash on the luxury flooring scene. Bamboo is a type of tall grass that matures in only five years. The grass stands are woven together to create a strong and durable floor with a smooth, glossy finish.

To speak with one of our design consultants, please call us at 1-800-764-1633.

Other folks are making a concerted effort to recycle glass, paper, aluminum, and plastics at home. Many cities are even getting in on the act, offering free recycling programs to residents. You can also find many compost piles in homeowners’ yards. This compose is then put to good use in home gardens, with many consumers choosing fresh ingredients from right outside their doors – whether it’s in a home garden or bought from the local farmer’s market.

Perhaps you want to do more for the environment. Have you been fortunate in life and want to somehow give back? Ensure that you are making the most environmentally friendly choice when it comes to decorating your domicile? Then you will definitely want to investigate green flooring options.

Green floors are both environmentally friendly and exquisitely beautiful in their own right. For those consumers who are choosy about what goes into their homes, green flooring is an excellent option that will have all visitors marveling at the beauty underfoot.

Cork flooring and bamboo flooring are both environmentally-friendly products that can be used residentially; both choices are functional, durable, and utterly renewable. Cork can be used where ever you desire a soundproof floor, such as in a basement or on a stairwell.

Bamboo flooring can take on the look of hardwood, so you may want to consider using this elegant flooring option in rooms such as a sitting room, living room, or dining room. Bamboo plants can be harvested about every five years and need no replanting. Cork is harvested from the cork tree’s thick bark, and this does not hurt the tree; it simply re-grows its bark, which allows for re-harvesting in another ten years.

If you want to make a statement in your home while still being mindful of the environment, choose green flooring – a statement in itself.

To speak with one of our design consultants, please call us at 1-800-764-1633.