5 Rustic Wood Flooring Ideas: Get a Weathered Look With Reclaimed Wood

Rustic and weathered looking hardwood floors have been a popular style among homeowners for a number of years. In cottages, farmhouses, bungalows, and in homes with a rustic-modern decor, a distressed wood floor can really enhance the overall style.

But not every rustic hardwood floor is going to give you an authentic look that will blend in with your interior design. Many brushed and antiqued types of flooring are given a more subtle appearance, so they don’t really stand out the way you intend them to. With reclaimed wood floors, however, you can easily capture the rustic appearance you want, with a natural wood floor that’s filled with character, interest, and history to match.

The Problem With New Cut Rustic Wood Floors

Today, nearly every type of flooring manufacturer offers a rustic flooring option (even laminate and engineered wood flooring providers). This may mean a wire brushed floor or gently distressed wood to give it an older appearance. Some of the hardwood floors may have been finished to match the texture, while others are given a dark color over the textured finish, making it appear even more subtle.

And while these hardwood floors are beautiful, they often lack the impact that many homeowners are looking for in a rustic floor. This is because the floors are being produced with a certain level of control. The wire brushing or texturizing of the natural wood floor is done evenly over the boards. There’s very little in the way of variation, which is not what you would expect to find in a real rustic floor.

A floor that has naturally weathered or distressed wood will do so with a lot more variation. Areas that saw more foot traffic will be a different color or will be smoother. Areas that saw more sun might be a slightly different color, areas that were walked on with boots or that had salt or grit tracked in will have a different texture. This is what makes the floors so beautiful over time; they weather and patina in a way that adds interest to the floor.

Instead of a homogenous color and texture, you get some differences, sometimes within one board, sometimes within one area. This is a large part of the appeal and why authentic rustic floors are so popular.

Reclaimed Wood Flooring

Reclaimed wooden floors can offer you more of that look, texture, and style. Reclaimed wood is taken from barns, outbuildings, and other structures, many of which are over 100 years old. The buildings are abandoned or condemned, and the solid wood has been in use, naturally weathering and developing a patina for years. The solid wood may have saw marks, nail holes, and wear marks that developed naturally through use.

This high-quality wood is reclaimed, cleaned, denailed, and milled into new boards that can be used for a variety of purposes, including hardwood flooring. Reclaimed wood flooring shows all the character and interest of the original wood, some species of which are difficult or impossible to obtain today.

Reclaimed wood floors can be subtle or dramatic. They may be single origin wood, or they may blend different woods from a variety of sources and tree species. This gives you the ability to choose the level of character you want for your floor.

Rather than needing to settle for a subtle, homogenous floor, you can have a floor that’s got real character and history.

Use Reclaimed Wood to Recreate These Rustic Wood Flooring Ideas

Reclaimed wood can give you a variety of looks, many of which can help you achieve the design or style you’re after for your home or business. Rustic wooden floors can be used throughout a home, from the living room to the kitchen floor. Take a look at these design ideas to see how you could incorporate reclaimed wood flooring into your home or business remodel.

1. Wide Plank Floors

Wide plank antique wooden floors show off their rustic style perfectly. The wider plank lets you see more of the natural grain and patina of the floors, as well as more of the character. This wide plank flooring blends in well with the other rustic wood in the room, helping to create a cohesive interior design.

2. Light Flooring

Many new cut rustic wood floors have a dark color to them, and while that can be beautiful, it isn’t always the best match for a room. Sometimes a darker floor can hide some of the character of the wood, which makes a lighter rustic wood floor a better choice for showing off the true beauty and antique nature of the floor. White oak flooring or pine flooring are two great wood flooring options when looking for a lighter wood species. 

3. Natural Patina

You can’t replicate the natural patina of weathered real wood. This floor is a great example of the kind of color variation you can only find in reclaimed wood. It’s this variation that really makes the floor stand out, without needing to add a lot of extra refinishing, texture or wood stain to the equation.

4. Varying Plank Sizes

Sometimes it’s possible to add a little extra character to a floor by using planks in varying sizes. This rustic reclaimed wood floor shows off its character to its best advantage by mixing different widths. The narrow and wide plank flooring piece together into a mosaic that’s got additional charm.

5. Natural Character

Sometimes the most effective rustic hardwood flooring styles are the ones that let the solid hardwood’s true personality show through. Knot holes, grain variation, and other character marks can make a beautifully rustic statement all on their own with no additional texture or stain required.

Get the Perfect Rustic Wood Floor

Reclaimed wood flooring is naturally rustic in style. The antique and textured nature of the solid hardwood flooring makes it the ideal fit for many interior designs. Consider reclaimed wood flooring the next time you want to achieve a rustic look to get the ideal style for your project. Whether you’re looking for wide plank flooring or narrow flooring options, we have a variety of rustic flooring products to fit your design needs. Contact an expert at Elmwood Reclaimed Timber to get started planning your next diy flooring project.