If you are replacing the floors in your house, you may want to switch all your current flooring out for hardwood flooring. If you get hardwood flooring, you need to figure out what kind of wood to go with. Several tips you can look into will help you narrow down all the options out there to the one that will work best for you and your house. 

Natural vs. Engineered

One of the first things to look at is whether or not you want to use natural wood or engineered wood. The planks that make up natural wood flooring are that particular wood all the way through. So, if you are buying cherry flooring, the plank will be cherry wood on the top, the bottom, and all the way through. However, engineered wood is a composite. The top layer of the plank is a thin veneer of the wood you want. That veneer has adhered to plywood or composite wood. When the plank is installed as your floor, all the veneers will be up, so it will look like you have a cherry wood floor. 

Light vs. Dark

You also want to think about how small and dark the space is. If the flooring is going to be in a small, dark place, you might want to use lighter wood. A light wood can help reflect what available light there is and make the room appear to be both brighter and bigger. You don't have to match all the flooring for your house, so putting light wood in smaller spaces and darker wood in other rooms will be just fine if that's what you want to do.  

Pets vs. No Pets

No matter how much you love your pets, they are hard on your flooring and furniture. Even the most well-behaved dog has nails that will scratch up your wood flooring, especially if you choose to use softwood. And pets sometimes have accidents, which can damage your flooring. When you are trying to decide which wood you would like to use on your floors, you want to check to see what the most durable choices are when it comes to pets and high traffic. 

If you are going to replace your current flooring with hardwood flooring, you want to make sure that you choose the most suitable wood for your house and your needs. 

Contact a company like New York Hardwood Floors to learn more.