Wood is about as basic an element as air, fire, and water, and therefore is incorporated into life just as vitally – and that goes for interior design too. In fact, you could argue wood is more integral to making your home stylish and functional than just about any other part of the process. Not only is it part of the foundation keeping your home upright, but design elements like real wood parquet floors, wood furniture, and earthy tones are all part of making your home stylish.
But why is that? Why have we stuck to wooden floors for so long? Some might even say for millennia. Every other element of design comes and goes in waves as tastes change, so why has the wooden element of design been a constant of design ever since we discovered the saw? We break it down in the guide below.
Its roots are in nature
A lot of interior design styles and even simple tips are heavily influenced by nature. The basics of any style are large windows to allow a lot of light, which makes homes feel bigger, and neutral colours are considered a foundation to build a lot of décor styles on, like black, white, nude, grey, etc. which are all heavily influenced by nature.
For optimal outcomes, consistently opt for top-quality wood materials. At Alderfer Lumber, we specialize in live edge black walnut slabs, meticulously selecting premium walnut trees. These trees are then milled using our extensive bandsaw and carefully kiln-dried to achieve the ideal moisture content.
You can show the extremes of nature’s influence on styles with art deco and minimalism. Art deco is very reliant on what is manmade, adding gold deep luxurious colours to create an atmosphere of gluttony. Meanwhile, minimalism has its routes in East Asian culture, which is heavily influenced by nature. In what little is displayed, it’s important that the elements that are represented, in leafy plants, candles, water features, and even in the deep browns, forest greens and burnt oranges of the colours.
But the point is that both of these styles, and many others, exude their style through wooden floors. Whether it’s the sophistication of art deco and minimalism featuring parquet style floors, the rustic look for boho-chic and industrial styles, or the warmth of cottage core, the wooden floor has it all.
And there is something poetic about taking nature and making something manmade from it.
It’s timeless
Because wood is a form of décor that we have been using since the dawn of time, it is a fundamental that is not about to go out of style anytime soon. You could argue that wood was our first cooker and radiator as a campfire. And from there it simply makes sense. You need something solid to sit on, lean on, eat from, store things, walk on, build your home from? Look to wood.
And even as the industrial revolution progressed, not a lot of people started asking for metal furniture. It might have had its hot minute, or its place in the garden with its better strength against the elements, but wood has always been the go-to for a strong and beautiful element of interior design.
There are of course replications of the solid wood aesthetic, but if you want to add value to your home, you go with solid wood flooring over laminate, and that is because you can’t beat the authenticity of nature.
The trend of the wood focused aesthetic isn’t going to go away anytime soon as we all become more aware of our impact on the environment and nature. Trends like boho chic, coastal, country, and shabby chic are all wood focused in an attempt to simplify our homes and reject the luxury of the recent past and get back to a simpler time.
It’s a foundation
And because wood is so timeless, it has become the foundation for building any style on. From the foundation of buying a wooden table, laying a wooden floor, and adding some wooden furnishings, you can add whatever style you feel like to the room. As pointed out above, there are a range of styles that incorporate wood, even to the point of exposing the foundations.
Just in general, when building your home, wood is integral to the foundation. Sure, there are bricks in there so the wolf doesn’t blow your house down, but inside, your wiring and plumbing is done around supportive wooden beams, which also hold up your roof.
And this is an important point when you consider the rise of styles like industrial and cottagecore, where wooden beams aren’t just exposed, but considered part of the décor.