Floored by Indoor-Outdoor - Page 2

Another material that can look natural is often referred to as vinyl, but Kern clarifies that it actually is made of several ingredients today. She more accurately terms it multi-layered flooring (MLF), identifying six layers topped by protective coating.

"Multilayered flooring provides a snug structured overlay to a slab and is also moisture resistant," she writes. "In short, MLF is stronger and more durable than its vinyl ancestors."

Furthermore, she notes, "Many multilayer flooring options are safe to install over embedded radiant-heat systems."

Okay, but there are plenty of Eichlers out there that have given up the ghost of radiant and now have alternative heating systems. What about that "gold standard" flooring?

Kern discusses a number of improvements and variations implemented in recent years with hardwood flooring, including larger and wider planks and assorted treatments like gray-tones, ammonia-fumed wood, and bleached wood.

"Inspired by Scandinavian style," states Kern in her story, "this softer, whitewashed look is created through a bleaching process that involves applying a chemical solution onto the surface of the wood to get rid of the wood's natural color."

With her preference for natural flooring, Glessner of course is a strong supporter of wood flooring for houses that don't have working radiant. Not every wood, though.

"The updates of having longer planks gives a nice feel," she concurs. "It really flows throughout the house."

Glessner says, however, that different types of oak flooring take on different hues when varnished. European oak, especially from her native France, "is actually wood that has a fair amount of texture…but light."

The designer points out that French oak also brings to mind that Scandinavian design look, as opposed to the redder American oak that, she says, shows a yellow hue when varnished. Most wood tones promote that desired synthesis between indoors and out, she says, "But not yellow. Definitely not yellow."

To learn more about the latest trends in home flooring, with an emphasis on the natural look and indoor-outdoor transitions, check out 'Grounded in Nature,' linked here as a sneak preview of the fall '17 issue of CA-Modern magazine.