Rustic Flooring Options That Stand the Test of Time

This no-fuss aesthetic is sophisticated, approachable, and full of time-honored elegance.

Key Features of Rustic Home Design

Rustic home design is filled with natural, aged décor. Walking through a rustic home should feel like taking a nostalgic step back in time, when fine craftsmanship and pragmatic versatility met in delightful harmony. Rustic home design is unpretentious, evoking a sense of comfort, coziness, and grounded living. It plucks the rugged features of log cabins, farmhouses, and ranches, and refines them for a naturally beautiful atmosphere.

Wood plays a prominent feature in rustic home design—through flooring, wood paneling, exposed ceiling beams, long farmhouse-style dining tables, raw-edge furniture, and more. You’ll often see stones used for a juxtaposition of textures, along with raw materials, organic shapes, and silhouettes. Hardwood flooring is the foundation of every room, and it can anchor the rustic design aesthetic and elevate the atmosphere to new levels.

Endless Inspiration for the Floor of Your Dreams

GET DESIGN BOOK

How to Highlight Rustic Design Through Flooring

There are many ways to create a rustic hardwood floor that gives spaces a sense of Old-World charm. Here are some tips for creating period-style flooring.

1. Choose wood with character.

Centuries ago, wood wasn’t graded before installation. Instead, the entire timber was used, scuff marks and all—part of a practical pursuit to not waste any viable materials. This created a natural, unaltered design scheme that told the story of the original timber and the environment from which it came.

You can travel back to these days by selecting planks full of character marks, like knots, mineral streaks, and color variation. At Carlisle, our Original and Signature grades are full of these rich features for a truly one-of-a-kind floor. Certain Carlisle Collection floors can be customized to select these grades, or you create your perfect rustic foundation by building a custom floor.

2. Consider plank dimensions.

In a custom wooden floor, every detail can hugely impact the look and feel of the overall space. For example, picking out the width and length of your wooden planks can determine whether a room feels formal and refined or cozier and more traditional.

Historically, mixed plank sizes were installed because builders were trying to use all parts of the tree, saving costs and reducing waste. These days, mixing plank widths and lengths is a creative, impactful way to transform any wood and finish into the traditional style of your dreams—all while other parts of the tree are re-processed for other purposes. Long planks look less manufactured, offering an authentically vintage feel, while mixing and matching random plank widths adds handcrafted appeal to the space.

 
 
Many rustic floors mix plank widths and this is more commonly known as random width floors.  Random width floors are meant to recreate the original floors installed over 200 years ago when the settlers maximized the round log by cutting different width planks.  Often these ranged from 13-20″ wide in Colonial homes and were crafted from Eastern White Pine trees which were grown in that area.  Today, if you want an older looking floor choose random widths, but not a narrow width.  The most common range is 6″ -10″ and the right variation will depend on your space. Of course, you can always bring in an expert to determine the ideal plank dimensions for your home.

3. Add texture

Period homes often have solid wood flooring with distinctive details that reflect the antique tools originally used. Before machines milled floorboards, craftsmen would prepare the wood by drawing a plane across the edges to soften them.

Modern craftsmen can replicate this technique, using the same tools and processes that artisans used 200 years ago to texture or distress wooden planks. Carlisle’s hand-scraped planks add a sense of age and authentic character that summons the look and feel of a centuries-old floor.

4. Pick a lower-sheen finish.

Hark back to a simpler time, just through the finish of your custom wood floor. Floors were originally finished with wax—or nothing at all—so selecting a lower-sheen finish instantly makes your floors feel more time-worn and rustic.

Sheen refers to the level of glossiness on the wood. Hardwood floors are typically sealed with polyurethane, wax, or penetrating oil to protect them from damage. The type of sealant used to protect the floor has a certain level of luster or sheen, ranging from high-gloss to matte.

• High-gloss hardwood floors have roughly 115° luster, creating a super shiny appearance typically used in spaces like bowling alleys and gymnasiums.
• Semi-Gloss finishes have a luster level of around 45°, giving it a gleaming appearance while also hiding dust and dirt more easily.
• Matte-finish floors have a luster level of 20°, creating a duller and more natural appearance.
• Carlisle also offers Extra Matte finishes, which register from 6-10° and have virtually no sheen, lending a more organic look to each plank.

For a rustic wood floor, opt for a matte or extra-matte finish that will reflect very little light, recreating the look of original American floors.

Rustic Flooring Options from Carlisle Collections

Working with a Carlisle design consultant, you have the power to customize every aspect of your Carlisle floor to create the age-worn rustic floor of your dreams. By picking out the wood, plank dimensions, texture, and finish, you can guarantee you’ll spend hours appreciating each artisanal detail in your handcrafted floor.

Carlisle’s wide range of wood species and textures opens up a world of possibilities. There are endless combinations that will result in a stunning, rustic floor that’s especially striking in Cottagecore, Farmhouse, or Shabby Chic designs.

 
One of the best options for a rustic hardwood floor is to use reclaimed wood. Reclaimed wood floors are typically made with wood species that are common in centuries-old buildings, like Chestnut, Oak, and Pine. These planks come from recovered or restored hardwood, often decades or centuries old. The aging process imbues reclaimed hardwood with a distinctive natural character and a rich visual history displayed through unique color and texture.

Every plank of reclaimed hardwood has a rich visual narrative that is proudly displayed through unique color variations, saw marks, or even small cracks and splits. Before reaching your home or business, reclaimed hardwood is carefully processed and restored so that imperfections don’t impact longevity or function. Reclaimed hardwood adds rustic lived-in elegance to any home.

 
 
 
Of course, you can still create a rustic floor with other species of wood, like Hickory, by using texturing or distressing techniques to create a rustic look. Carlisle offers a number of techniques for texturing or distressing wood to create a finish that looks like it’s been lived on for generations.

Try “Hit or Miss,” which gives the appearance of reclaimed flooring by reproducing the distinctive swirls and kerfs produced in early sawmills. Or take a look at “Footworn,” which recreates the undulating patterns seen in very old floorboards, when craftsmen planed the wood smooth with original woodworking tools like Jack Planes or draw knives.

Creating a Custom Artisanal Hardwood Floor

If your floors could talk, what would they say? Elevate your flooring to new heights with the artisanal detail and artistic integrity only possible through Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. Express your creativity and add a unique story to your home through your flooring.

If you want more options for rustic flooring, head to our Flooring Quiz. It’s never been easier to find sophisticated approachability full of history. Your dream rustic hardwood floor is just a click away. Take our Flooring Quiz today.