I attribute this title (BLAME IT) on the new year health and fitness craze which rolls around every January, makes my yoga studio feel like ten pounds of sausage stuffed into a two pound bag, and has me agreeing to participate in an office-wide Whole30 challenge.  I can’t be trusted with what is coming out of my mouth, (not literally – obviously) when all I can focus on is what I am so desperately missing going in.  Ok, enough of that whining – wait a minute – did somebody say WINE?  That is what I am missing most, a nice glass of wine to end my week.

The Parisians love a herringbone pattern and so do I!

Bother – I should have to hit the floor just for that diatribe.  What got me thinking about hard wood again was an article I wrote back in the fall that was just published in Multi Housing News on the subject.  All these months later I realize that I gave some pretty good advice. (that’s the Whole30 talking)  You be the judge – link to full article here. https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/the-beauty-value-of-a-new-wood-floor/

Pickled and laid at an angle – trés calm et chic.

Here are 10 reasons I think hard wood isn’t a hard choice at all.

Painted Hardwood – also a favorite.  So clean and sleek in its high gloss finery.

1.  You can lay it in the most beautiful patterns – my favorite is herringbone, it’s so very French that way.
2. A solid hard wood can be refinished again and again over the years.  The harder woods – like Hickory and Oak can be sanded and stained as many as 20 times.
3. It’s sustainable – see reason #2.  There is nothing more “green” than reusing materials instead of replacing them.
4. The grain has an elemental beauty – even laid vertically or horizontally it pops.
5. Wood floors are one of the better materials to use in a kitchen if you cook a lot – they’re easier on your back than a ceramic tile or stone.
6. There a little like an egg; you can bleach it, pickle it, stain it, varnish it or leave it au natural.
7. It’s pet friendly, kid friendly, and klutz friendly – (like me when I am cooking or like me and Minnie at Christmas dinner when we exploded the Pyrex dish after placing it on the hot stove – the hardwood survived – our dinner didn’t).
8. It ages gracefully, building character and beauty even as it shrinks and expands.
9. It brings warmth to a space.
10. It’s kind to those with allergies as it doesn’t trap dust.

Warped, warn and wonderful – yes please.

Those are the hard facts as I see them.  One last point – it feels like the best thing in the world to lie on after an hour of hot yoga.  I can’t imagine anything feeling better than that.

Happy Saturday.