Get that distinguishing look with custom widths.
Carlisle’s custom width option gives you the diversity you need to design your ideal wood floor. Whether you desire the uniform look of a single-width plank or the aesthetic of a floor with randomly sized planks, the choice is yours. The right choice for you depends on room style, size, personal tastes and more. See how wider boards compare to mass-produced flooring, commonly available in narrower widths and shorter lengths.
Wood flooring width was once a practical matter, not a chosen element of design. The earliest homes up and down the Eastern Seaboard featured wood flooring widths ranging well over 2’. Cut from the largest accessible timbers, craftsmen of the day took advantage of the exquisite circumference of each tree to maximize the yield from each log. Creating longer, wider boards meant less cutting and provided for quick installation. Even though each board was a different width, cutting them down to a single, equal size was not a practical investment. For craftsmen in early-America, labor was at a premium and winter came quickly, and as a result, wider boards made your life easier!
Moving into the mid-19th-century, we saw rooms in the home begin to show single-width flooring. Often found in the parlor, or showcased in rooms meant for entertaining, 12″ boards became commonplace. The statement was simple.”I have enough money to pay to have all my boards cut to the same size. I can invest in design”
Today wood flooring comes in standard sizes often under 5″ wide. Typically wide plank is considered any board wider than 5″ – unless you work with Carlisle. As every floor is individually designed and crafted by hand, you can define the widths that are perfect for your style. You can even change the widths of planks depending on the room while retaining the design aspects of the floor. A beautiful brushed and whitewashed Hickory floor in random widths may be perfect for the game room, but a 6″ wide hickory is ideal for your dining room for a more refined look. The width changes but the cohesive feel of species and finish remains. And don’t forget, a wide board with short lengths looks like a brick. At Carlisle, our average length on most floors is 7′ and 8″ wide. Our boards range in length from 2-12′ to ensure you the reduction of seams by nearly 80%….see the wood, not the seams!
Put your stamp on your floor by defining the width that makes your design idea pop!
Still unsure about what width or widths work best for your project needs? A Carlisle Wide Plank Specialist can walk you through all of your options, showing you examples of each style and helping you select the perfect look for your floor.
