We all walk on it every day, but don't often think of it. It's underfoot, and, for many of us, out of mind. But just because you trod on it every day doesn't mean you shouldn't pay pretty close attention to the materials that make up your flooring. Here are a few tips to find the best green material for the job.
Bamboo has become a very popular green material lately. The fast-growing grass (that's right—not wood!) has garnered much green cred for growing so quickly—it can be harvested after growing for just 4 or 5 years—and is often grown without the need for pesticides, and can regenerate without seeding. Flooring is one of its more popular uses.
Combining the performance and look of carpet with the utility of modular tiles, carpet tiles are a flexible, and increasingly green, flooring option. They can be used anywhere you'd want area rugs or carpet (some are even designed for outdoor use), can be installed in minutes, and can be replaced one at a time, as necessary.
One of the most popular and widely used materials for flooring, carpeting is an inexpensive option, relative to most other flooring. And, while the industry has been working to green itself over the past years, it doesn't have a great reputation for sustainability, so there are a lot of considerations to vet before deciding on green carpeting. Let's dig in to it.
Previously relegated to your garage or patio, concrete flooring has become increasingly popular choice for interior floors. It's perhaps the most durable option out there for flooring, and, thanks to better and more sophisticated technology, concrete flooring can be made to look like just about anything your heart desires.
One of the most comfortable, beautiful flooring choices available, cork is a renewable, sustainable resource that, when managed correctly, can continue to produce materials for flooring (and other cork uses) for hundreds of years to come. Harvested primarily from the cork oak tree (Quercus suber), cork is renown for its sound and vibration dampening properties, which makes it an excellent selection for flooring. It's usually available as tiles, offering options both as glue-down and floating flooring.
Though it looks nearly identical, engineered wood flooring is built differently than solid wood flooring. Instead of one solid piece of wood, three to seven layers are stacked and glued or laminated together with heat and high pressure to create a product with similar (or more consistent, in some ways) performance to solid hardwood floors.
Though it's sometimes mistaken for your grandma's vinyl flooring, "true linoleum" is a flooring material that's been around for more than 100 years, though it's style has been updated for the 21st century. The rolls of sheeted flooring can be designed to match any decor, and are as durable and green as any flooring material out there.
Perhaps the original eco-friendly flooring available, rammed earth floors— or "dirt," as it's sometimes more commonly known — have recently undergone a bit of renaissance as they've begun to re-enter mainstream consciousness.
Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular, durable choices for flooring. Going with reclaimed woods, that have had a previous life as a tobacco barn in North Carolina or railroad trestles in the midwest, is not only a green way to go, but they can offer entirely unique, character-rich floors that tell the story of a previous life.
Made of a variety of materials, including ceramic, glass, and stone, tile flooring offers a wide mosaic of colors and styles. Because it's made from such hard materials, it's a super-durable option, used most often in high-traffic areas like the kitchen.
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