Accessorising Your Wood Floors

by Ruth Shann

Accessorising Your Wood Floors

You have just purchased your beautiful wood floor - it is now laid and looks fantastic. Now all you need is to accessorise the floor. The following suggestions will help you enhance your wooden floor.

1. Wood Doors

Change the interior doors to matching wooden doors. There are a large variety of wooden doors now available especially oak doors. There is a full range of veneered oak doors, walnut doors, cherry, beech, pine, pitch pine and white doors - almost any colour to match any wooden floor.

Bespoke doors are also available however these are more costly due to the individual manufacturing processes. The doors can complement a wood floor perfectly and come in a variety of finishes. A large number of oak doors are unfinished when purchased so they can be sealed to match the floor with either an oil or varnish - they can even be colour oiled to blend with a similar colour oiled floor. Oils are the most common finish for doors however varnish / lacquer is adequate. The majority of doors are veneered hardwood for both conservation and stability however there are a small number of solid wood doors available.

Most doors have an identical style in half hour rated fire doors which will pass all building regulations where 30 minute fire doors are required. A new line of supermodel doors also contain glazed fire doors which enable more flexibility with style and design.

External doors also come in various timbers - usually veneered again for stability due to the high exposure to cold, heat and moisture. A new front door is a perfect finish to the front of your house.

Wood doors range in style from Victorian style, 1930s style to the modern and contemporary - there is a door style to suit all tastes, colours and styles.

2. Skirting, Architrave and Door casings

The best way to complement a new wood door is to accessorise with the matching door frame, architrave and skirting. There is a large range of door casings, architraves and skirtings available to complement the wood flooring and doors you have chosen in many styles and timbers.

The most popular is the oak - there are both engineered and solid door casings. There is very little difference between the solid and engineered casings however joiners will often specify the types preferred or there will be a preference due to location (ie. In below ground applications) There are two types of door casings - rebated door casings and door linings which come with a loose stop. They are both suitable for all types of doors however where a fire rated door casing is required there are ready made door casings with the intumescent strip for the building regulations.

Architraves also come in both solid and engineered timber. Sizes vary from approx 45mm - 90mm or wider depending on the application. A standard size is usually around 57mm for most houses dating from 1900's. The style of architrave varies and matches most skirting board profiles. It is also possible to have architrave blocks - small squares on the corners - an older design now becoming popular once again. Styles of architrave include original designs such as torus, ogee and lambs tongue, plus other more contemporary styles such as pencil round (bullnose), chamfered and square edged.

Architraves are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors.

Skirtings can make your new floor look completely finished - they enhance the hardwood floors giving clean lines around the edges of the room - the floors look like they have been part of the home for some time. Once again, oak skirting is the most popular timber to blend with the oak floors.

Engineered and solid skirtings are available in numerous sizes. The engineered skirtings are veneered with a top layer of real wood and give the option of more types of timber such as walnut which is very rare in a solid skirting but more widely available in a veneer.

The standard sizes of skirtings range from 95mm to 220mm however the most popular ones are between 95 and 140mm. Often you will be guided by the size of skirting previously fitted as sockets and plaster will dictate the height. Styles of skirting match all the architrave styles - original designs like torus, ogee and lambs tongue along with contemporary designs such as square edge, bullnose (pencil round) and chamfered.

Skirtings are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors. Oak skirtings have often been used to complement light coloured carpets as well as oak flooring to break up the room between light floors and light walls - this is often done in bedrooms where people often want the comfort of carpet but with a hint of wood.

Window boards in the same timber as your floor will brighten up any window and make them look like new - as with the skirting, doors and architrave - the most popular ones are oak. The window boards can come in the original bullnose edging or with a square edge for a contemporary look.

The sizes of the window boards are available between 100mm - 350mm in both a solid board or veneered oak MDF board. The window sills are available unfinished or prefinished in a lacquer / varnish, oil or colour oil to complement the room.

These boards can also be used as stair cladding to clad over an existing staircase. The bullnose is perfect for the tread of the stair and square edge can be used for the riser - no need to rout out the existing overhang as the stairs can be packed first for the cladding to go over. A perfect accompaniment for all wooden floors.

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Make Your Stairs Safer With Carpet Stair Treads

by Ben Andrews

Millions of people are injured each year from falls in the home, but you can help prevent them in your home by using carpet stair treads. Protect your family from dangerous falls and slip related injuries. Stair treads are one easy and inexpensive way to keep your family safe.

Stair treads should be a must in your home if you have children or elderly adults living with you, as these two groups have the greatest risk for fall related injuries. For older adults, a fall can have devastating consequences if it breaks a hip bone or creates another injury. Of fall injuries, a significant number happen on a home's stairs and a study on insurance costs found that only car accidents created more insurance costs than fall injuries.

Many people overlook their stairs when they are making their homes safer. They install alarms and locks, buy mats for their bathtub, and put in smoke detectors. While these safety features are all important, protecting your family from falls is also important. We often take for granted that hand railing will keep everyone safe on the stairs, but this just isn't the case.

Stair tread should provide a non-slippery surface on your stairs. Whether your stairs are concrete, wood, or carpet, you can add additional protection to them. You can find stair treads made out of rubber, metal, or braided materials. You can also use carpet treads on wood floors to stop people from slipping on them.

You'll find that buying carpet stair treads is cheaper than installing full carpet on your stairs. The treads will also look attractive next to wood flooring. Look for treads that will not only look great but will also allow you to see the depth and width of the steps. This will also help individuals walk up and down safely.

In addition to the stair treads, encourage your family to turn on the lights when they need to go up or down the stairs. Many people try to navigate in the dark and either slip or they trip on items that have been left on the stairs. Using the lights will help you see any obstacles and help you see where you need to place your feet to safely make it up or down.

Installing carpet stair treads will help you keep your family and guests safe from unintentional falls. They are easy to install and will cost you less than fully carpeting your stairs. Don't forget to make your stairs safer as you add safety items to other parts of your home.


An often overlooked safety feature for your home is carpet stair treads (http://www.myflooringpro.com/protecting-your-floors-with-carpet-stair-treads/). Learn more about discount carpet (http://www.myflooringpro.com/discount-carpet/) ideas and solutions at My Flooring Pro (http://www.myflooringpro.com/).

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Stairs, Stairwells, Carpet, Tiles and Timber Flooring

by Slattery & Acquroff Stairs

Flooring in areas surrounding staircases should be practical and hardwearing, be able to shrug off dirt brought into the house, and be safe. But at the same time, flooring also offers a chance to make a statement about the whole house.

A floor particularly in the stairwell positioned in a homes entrance area should be warm, welcoming and in keeping with the style and decoration of the surrounding rooms. Stairways can often have the best floors in the house. The trick is to appreciate them.

Carpeting your staircase and landings reduces the noise and controls the dust. If you have a narrow set of stairs, a carpet runner could be used as an alternative as it still reduces noise, but because it is narrower than the staircase, it helps increase the apparent width. A vertical strip down the carpet runner can also help.

Pale carpets are not always recommended for staircases as they get dirty very quickly and cleaning won't bring out some stains. Carpet may not be a good option if you want to add to the light as carpet trends not to the reflective. If carpet is to be installed in a stairwell where you are required to add light, don't be tempted to carpet a staircase in a shade that is already dirt coloured such as muds and coffees.

The fact that staircases are a high traffic area means to a carpeted staircase requires consideration. The edge of a tread of a carpeted staircase needs to be round to prevent premature wearing of the carpet on the nosing line. Wear and tare is the menace of a carpeted staircase.

Stairs can benefit from changes of pace, colour and texture. Simple or plain carpets are better because wild patterns can be deceptive and cause you to trip, although they can be as decorative and distinctive as a wooden or stone floors. For example, you can put a different coloured strip of carpet from the rest down the middle that follows the direction of the walls or stair. Neutral colours set off brighter colours on the walls.

Flooring and a staircase can be brought together. The floor can be divided into chunks that has width and depth similar to a stair tread. A handrail can divide the stair and similar flooring like an abstract painting. Like wise the gentle curve of a geometric stair and the simplicity of the construction makes it perfect contrast for a very busy, colourful floor - this can be done with tiles, timber or carpet finish.

With multi-patterned flooring such as with encaustic tiles, the simplicity of the stair can be increased by picking just one or two shades from the floor and repeating them on the stair. If the size of a tile in proportion to the floor space is carefully considered the ever popular black and white tile never fails to look elegant.

A floor covering that is a contrast to the staircase helps make to stair safe. Any contrast between the materials or in the case of timber, direction of the grain aids the eye in distinguishing between the steps of the staircase and the staircase entry and exit points.

When considering timber flooring the wealth of choice is endless. A stairwell's floor can be individual design and styled to site a staircase. In the case of parquetry before you start selecting timbers, the possible styles you can consider are Lineal: "straight lines", Herringbone: "angled blocks", Double herringbone: "two blocks next to each other in same pattern as herringbone", Basket Weave or a Square on Square. All these designs can be altered by laying them in 45o angle or 90o angle having a stunning effect. Then you can consider Borders to add a decorative feature to the parquetry floor. The border could also use contrasting timber give greater effect. Often it can be best to keep floor treatments as simple as possible particularly in smaller areas, if a floor gets over complicated, the space will be spoiled. Therefore, if you have natural, good looking floors, don't bother to carpet them unless the noise is too much. If you must have carpet, go for a plain version in a strong wearing weave or in smaller houses a striped runner is good. If you leave the floors relatively plain, you can go crazy on the walls with colour and the stairwells lighting.

For more information regarding our range of products, staircase and balustrading options available, visit our celebrated web site - www.stairking.com.au

Slattery & Acquroff, for the best stairs, on time.

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