Natural Bathroom & Bedroom Focus: Top Tips for the Perfect Wood Floor
Bathrooms and bedrooms are often the only spaces in the home where you can totally relax, a personal sanctuary - a quiet and calm space where you can lock the door and unwind. And, whilst wood floors were not always considered a natural choice for bathrooms, they have become increasingly popular due to their warmth and natural appeal. Jeandre du Toit, of natural wood specialists Ecora, gives the following tips to ensure your bathroom floor is beautiful and designed to last.
1. Choosing the right wood
Jeandre recommends choosing engineered wood over solid wood, as the plywood base of engineered wood holds up well against moisture, but also looks great as the top layer is real wood. “Don’t forget to choose hardwoods such as oak, maple, walnut or ipe over softwoods such as pine.” she says.
2. Treating your wood
The right products are essential to ensure your floor is easy to clean, and lasts the distance.
“I recommend using an anti-slip lacquer such as Bona Traffic Anti Slip,” Jeandre says. “This product has accreditations as the best solution for commercial areas such as hotel foyers, where heavy traffic occurs. And my recommendation is to make sure you have the floor installed unfinished, and seal it on-site – this way you seal the bevel between the boards, and protect against water dripping into the sides of the boards.”
3. Keeping warm in winter
Nobody wants to step out of your bath or shower onto a cold surface, especially in winter. “I can empathise with our clients who want underfloor heating in their bathrooms,” Jeandre says. “And it is possible to have underfloor heating installed in wet areas, however, you do need to follow our under floor heating guidelines as over heating the wood will cause it shrink and hairline cracks may appear.
A flooring expert will be able to recommend tailored tips to look after your particular choice of wood, and these will include proper spacing between heating elements to prevent ‘hotspots’, and installing a floor level thermometer to ensure your floor never gets too hot.”
4. Maintenance
Maintaining your bathroom floor should not be any more and choosing the right products will ensure your task is made easier.
“I would recommend using a spray mop such as Bona Spray Mop,” Jeandre says, “As you don’t need to use water and it still cleans the floor really well. Also, put a good quality bath mat down as this will help protect the bathroom floor.”
5. Style
The options are endless when it comes to choosing the style of your bathroom floor. Jeandre discusses some of the more popular requests from her clients. “Your could opt for a soft, feminine, shabby chic style by putting down a floor such as Ecora’s Oak Brendon White, Primrose or Camden and pairing it with light floral pattern tiles,” she recommends. “This style would look great with a free standing bathtub and soft pink or blue accent tones. If you are looking for something more modern, products such as our Grey French Oak and Double Smoked Oak are great products to achieve a sleek look. Pair these up with Marble or Slate tiles, contemporary taps and big mirrors to create a masculine modern look.”