Nothing adds warmth and value to a home like wood floors. Over 90 percent of real estate agents in a national survey said that homes with wood floors sell more quickly and for higher prices than other homes without wood flooring.

Some people shy away from hardwood flooring because they believe that they're high maintenance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today's specially formulated finishes are as tough as they are beautiful. Only occasionally will you want to do a thorough cleaning with a recommended wood floor cleaning solvent, and it's well worth it to keep your wood floors in glowing good health.

Another concern many people have is that wood floors are somehow bad for the environment. Actually, wood floors are ecologically friendly. Recycled wood from old ships, barns and even old wood floors is highly prized for its "distressed" characteristics. Wood is also a good choice for allergy sufferers since its surface doesn't collect dust, dander and other allergens.

There are many types and styles of wood floors and many types of wood can be used in them. The most common styles are:

Strip - A floor made up of wood strips averaging 2" in width. Strip flooring is ideal for small rooms as it makes the room seem larger than it actually is.

Plank - Plank flooring uses larger wood boards ranging from 3" to 6" in width.

Parquet - This popular style is made up of wooden pieces that combine to create an attractive pattern. The simplest parquet pattern is a 6" x 6" checkerboard design, but there is really no limit to how complex a parquet floor pattern can become.

Wood floors can be protected by a transparent varnish that lets the wood's natural tint show through or they can be stained any color you like to complement any dcor scheme. Over 50 different species of woods are used in wood flooring, including familiar domestic woods such as Pine, Oak, and Maple as well as more exotic woods like Bamboo, Mesquite and Teak. All of these woods vary in hardness and wear resistance, so consider the traffic patterns where they will be installed.

With all the flooring options available to the homeowner to consider, wood flooring remains a very popular choice. They're more affordable than you might think, and they maintain their beauty and value as time goes by. As the expression goes, "It's the wood that makes it good!"

Liz Smith writes about hardwood floors and other flooring for homedoctor.net flooring