Laminate Styles

Authentic Styling. Affordable Price.

For many of us, when it comes to picking a style of any product, we usually “know it when we see it.” Perhaps that describes you, too.

Fortunately, laminate flooring offers you an extensive range of designs to choose from. Innovations in technology and design have led to realistic texturing and rich coloring now giving laminate style and durability at a price that can’t be beat.

Enjoy Beauty & Durability
Because of the growing popularity of laminates, there is an array of traditional, rustic, and exotic patterns available. In fact, presses have improved to the point where the texture imprinted on top of the design looks more real than ever, especially with distressed wood or natural stone designs.

What’s New With Laminate? Laminate styling has come a long way. So, say goodbye to ho hum and hello to high style! As with other flooring products, laminate has also followed nature’s lead in design.

Wood
The warmth and beauty of hardwood is created through realistic graining, knotting, coloring and texture. From Oak, Maple, Pine and Bamboo to the exotics such as walnut, cherry, and eucalyptus there is a hardwood pattern to enhance every décor. The character of hand-hewn floors has become increasingly popular and is achieved through planks that are carefully hand-sculpted and glazed with the addition of worm holes, saw marks and deep surface variations. Time worn styling finished off with modern technology for durability.

• Colors range from light to dark
• Planks are most commonly available in 3 ½”, 5”, 7” widths
• Variety of edges such as micro-bevel, full bevel or planed
• Luster levels vary from low to high complimenting the pattern

Stone and Tile
The timeless look of stone and the popularity of ceramic tile have also been captured in laminate styling. Grout lines, rich color variation and gentle surface textures create an ultra-authentic look of stone and tile without the worries.

• Large format tiles- 12”, 16” & 17”
• Natural emulations of travertine, sandstone, ceramic tile and more

Quality is focused on the photography. The visual quality of the laminate partially has to do with the photography and the number of photographs per style, which is known as "screens". The more screens a product has, the more variation it can offer. And the more “authentic” the laminate looks.

Understand this about color. Like any floor, select the laminate color that will compliment the size of your room and the activities taking place in it. Lighter colors will make a small room appear larger, while darker colors will absorb the light and create a more intimate setting.

Avoid matching everything to the same color and style. Let your creativity guide you! Choose a color that either coordinates or contrasts with your cabinets and other furniture. Contrasts can make your room more interesting.

Laminate flooring types:

Glueless laminate flooring. No mess, glueless click installation makes these floors quick and easy-to-install.

• Available in planks and squares
• Thin, plastic underlayment is needed to seal out moisture from below.

This helps the floor float freely over the subfloor. Another option is to add a vapor barrier or noise reduction underlay before installing the laminate flooring.

Laminate flooring with attached underlay. These floors come with several different types of tongue and grooved locking systems and an attached underlayment to reduce noise levels.

Glued laminate flooring. These are the original laminate floors that do require a special formulated glue to be applied to the tongue and grooved areas for each plank.

Once the glue is dried the planks are almost impossible to pull apart. These floors are offered in both planks and squares.

Pre-glued laminate flooring. No mess, because the glue is already applied to the tongue and grooves which makes these floors quick and easy-to-install.

A thin, plastic underlayment is needed to seal out moisture and prevent the glue from sticking to the substrate.

Moldings are the finishing touch. Laminate moldings also affect the overall style and give your room a beautiful finished look.

Moldings are important because they cover the space that is allowed for the flooring to expand and move naturally on top of the subfloor, and they help with the transition to an adjacent floor.

Most manufacturers offer coordinating moldings for all styles and colors for any laminate flooring you choose.

However, be aware that moldings for laminates are slightly larger than their wood or ceramic tile counterparts.

Here, to familiarize you with various standard moldings, are some styles and definitions.

Remember that lighter colors will make a smaller room appear larger, while darker colors will absorb the light and create a more intimate setting.

A thin, plastic underlayment is needed to seal out moisture and prevent the glue from sticking to the substrate.

The Step Down Stairnose is a coordinating piece providing the proper transition for all the steps in your home.

Reducer Strip transitional piece used to connect the laminate with another type of floor covering such as vinyl, thin ceramic tile, or low-pile carpeting.

End Molding or Carpet Reducer is used as a transition from laminate floors to different flooring surfaces when the reducer does not allow enough height, such as on high-pile carpet or thick ceramic tile.

T-Molding is commonly used in doorways to join two laminate floors in adjoining rooms. It's also recommended when making transitions from a laminate floor to another floor that is approximately the same height.

Quarter Round may be installed wherever the laminate floor meets the wall or baseboard.

We recommend that you work closely with us to become familiar with the moldings and transition pieces. Ask to see samples if possible, so there are no surprises come installation time.