What is the first image that pops in your head, when someone says wooden flooring? Try and close your eyes! Maybe you are imagining the beautiful compositions of parquetry that look like real art underneath the feet with all those luxurious patterns and appearance. Or maybe you imagine the dark chocolaty shades of brown, the rustic golden look, or the stylish almost black hint? No matter what colour, construction, or pattern comes to your mind, you are most probably imagining gloss, a lot of gloss! For the past decade glossy hardwood flooring used to be a top trend, while, in fact, there were hardly any other options, besides what – semi-gloss? But not anymore, because there is a relatively new kid on the block and matt real wood floors are just coming to steal the spotlight!
While it is definitely not anyone’s cup of tea, more and more people prefer matt wood compared to the pretty complex to maintain in good shape and appearance high gloss. While matt finish is pretty forgiving and will hide your secret scratches and stains with loyalty and a friendly attitude, matt floors get even more popularity from the fact that they give something that many people are lusting after and they didn’t have the chance to get until this very moment – natural, completely natural look!
Yes, it is right that high gloss surfaces are breathtaking and eye-catching – there is something really magical and even hypnotising in the way you can see your reflection every time you have a brief peek at the surface underneath your feet. However, high gloss won’t forgive you anything – not a single dust particle, not a single scratch and not a single stain. Besides being pretty hard to maintain and requiring all the attention in the world, high-gloss finishes are also pretty complex to achieve and come on serious pricing too. They require refinishing more often and they won’t suit any possible style and interior design under the sun!
In a nutshell, the gloss comes from the amount of light that is reflected off of the surface, where the high-gloss or semi-gloss finish is applied, usually measured from a 60-degree angle or the angle at which you are most likely to view the floor while standing. Typically, a hardwood floor’s sheen level is measured by its lustre, ranging from 0 to 100%. The lustre is the amount of glow that is seen from reflected light. While high-gloss finishes show an amazing percentage of 75 and above, semi-gloss and satin-gloss finishes will take you from 30 to 50, and matt finishes are the only option that has the least amount of shine with lustre ranging from 1 to 20%.
Everyone has their own preference as to what they prefer as a finish and style. However, there is something really comforting in the almost raw look of the matt-finished wood floors and the forgiving of this type of sealing. It not only gives the illusion of wood, that has been just taken from the forest and installed right away, but matt finishes also age beautifully and won’t require thorough maintenance every single day! In addition, matt finishes are more child- and pet-friendly too! So, next time you are considering a refinishing and re-coating service, simply keep in mind that gloss is not your only option out there!
