Increased demand over the last few years proves it: materials of natural origin are back in fashion. More and more people are bringing a piece of nature into their four walls – in the form of furniture, decoration or even floors. Because a natural floor offers the opportunity to perfectly combine environmental connectivity, high compatibility and current trends.
When it comes to natural living environments, many people immediately think of wooden floors of various colours. In fact, real wood parquet is one of the most popular natural floorings and is a true perennial that never goes out of fashion. The trade can offer a variety of floor coverings made of natural raw materials – and a natural wooden floor can be affordable even for tighter budgets.
Whenever natural materials are being considered for living spaces, wood is indispensable. Deciding in favour of a high-quality real wood floor brings with it a clear advantage: The natural product has a moisture-regulating effect, which contributes to a pleasant indoor climate. The epitome of parquet flooring is solid parquet, which consists of pure solid wood. It is often also referred to as single-layer parquet. The clear advantage over all other floors is that this parquet can be sanded again and again and its appearance can be renewed in this way. In theory, this kind of floor lasts a lifetime. However, this luxury comes at a price and is therefore more suitable for real parquet lovers.
An affordable alternative to solid real wood flooring is multilayer parquet, which also has a high proportion of real wood. In contrast to the solid version, however, this is a wooden covering layer, several millimetres thick. When you attach importance to a natural product, the decisive factor is what is concealed under the covering layer. You can make a particularly sustainable choice by opting for a parquet flooring with an HDF middle layer. This is because, for the production of such a floor, considerably less wood is needed than for the production of conventional parquet floorboards. At the same time, the HDF layer gives the parquet floorboards a higher dead weight, so that the floor vibrates less when it is walked on. This reduces the footfall noise that can often bother other house occupants. Important to know: Even multilayer parquet can be sanded several times.
Modern products such as the Lindura wood floor from MEISTER prove that a floor made of purely natural raw materials does not always have to be sensitive: The combination of a wooden covering layer with wood fibres, mineral components and other natural components gives the flooring a toughness that surpasses that of conventional parquet flooring. Anyone who values a natural wooden floor that can withstand a lot is advised to use ingenious material combinations such as these.
Very few people think of laminate flooring when it comes to natural floor coverings. It is usually made of wood, paper and melamine adhesive and is therefore made of 100 percent natural raw materials. In the past, laminate flooring was often considered an inexpensive imitation of parquet, but the modern versions of the often underestimated flooring are varied all-rounders. In addition to a wide range of surface designs, the flooring with its hardwood core offers significantly greater toughness than parquet and similar. For a floor of natural origin, nature lovers don't have to dig deep into their pockets – in this way, there's a larger budget available to choose the right furnishings, e.g. solid wood furniture.
If you would like a purely natural flooring, you can simplify your selection based on these criteria:
All components of the flooring consist of natural raw materials, from the covering layer to the middle ply and the sound-absorbing cushion.
It is also worth comparing the manufacturer's data: What is the proportion of natural raw materials? Environmental labels such as the Blue Angel indicate that the material is ecologically sound. If the material originates from sustainable forestry, it is provided with a certificate such as the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes).
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