Elisabeth Stubbs

The ABCs of Flooring

From Wood and Carpet, to Tile and Luxury Vinyl Plank

BY ELISABETH STUBBS

Let’s learn more about my favorite floors as we continue with the letter T. (If you missed Part 2 last month, visit https://aroundacworthmagazine.com.)

Elisabeth Stubbs is one of the owners of Enhance Floors & More, one of Atlanta’s toprated flooring dealers, located in Marietta.

Yakima

Tis for tile — luxury vinyl tile (LVT), that is. Most people think luxury vinyl comes only in wood looks, but there are lots of great tile looks as well. Some of my favorites are COREtec Stone,

TRUCOR Tile and Pergo Tile.

LVT is not as cold as real tile; it’s much more comfortable underfoot, waterproof and you don’t have to grout.

Uis for Urban Terrace. This real hardwood floor by Mohawk is one of my go-to floors, as there is a color that works for most everyone. It’s available in maple, birch, oak and natural walnut, all in the popular 5-inch width.

Vis for Villa Pointe — possibly the most beautiful maple hardwood floor you will ever see. It is one of the thickest engineered woods on the market, superbly crafted by Karastan, and it is 7½ inches wide. Engineered floors are a thinner wood floor, made in plies, with the actual species of wood on the top layer. The bottom layers utilize other species of wood for stability. It is composed of 100% hardwood. Most engineered wood floors can be sanded at least once.

Wis for wood — hardwoods, of course. Site-finished hardwoods are installed raw (unfinished) and sanded, stained and coated with polyurethane in your home. This allows you to select the stain color and the gloss level of the floor. Conversely, prefinished hardwood floors are fully manufactured and finished in the factory. A prefinished floor offers a quick and more convenient installation, but you have fewer choices in stain color, etc. Site-finished and prefinished floors are available in solid and engineered wood. All solidwood floors can be sanded numerous times.

Xis for Xanadu. The gorgeous wool carpet by Stanton is great for rugs, staircase runners and wall-to-wall installations.

Yis for Yakima, a nice wood color in the Thatcher line of laminate vinyl plank floor by Mohawk Flooring. This style is one of the few luxury vinyls made in America.

Zis for zebra. Not a real zebra — a faux zebra print by Karastan. This design captures nature’s true spirit of the wild and inspires adventures in decorating. Never fear; it’s nylon, so it’s very durable. The design is great for rugs and staircase runners, too.