You’ve made the smart decision to beautify your home with hardwood flooring. That is one of the best home-improvement investments that you can make. You’re getting a floor that’s beautiful, durable and long-lasting, easy to care for and that adds value to your home.

As you know, there are many species of wood available that make wonderful floors. Have you chosen one yet? No? That’s OK—that’s what we’re here for.

Here’s a little run-down on some of the most popular hardwood species used in the flooring industry.

Red and White Oak are the most common species used for hardwood flooring. As a matter of fact, you’ll notice that when talking about general hardness of wood flooring, red oak is used as the standard by which other species are judged. That being said, white oak is actually a bit harder than red oak (1360 versus 1290 on the Janka hardness scale). In its unfinished state, white oak has a bit of a greenish cast, where red oak casts a little bit pink. Both species take stain beautifully, and the stain penetration is very consistent from one part of the tree to the next. Oak is grown mostly here in the United States.

Maple is another North American species frequently used to create beautiful hardwood flooring. It’s rated 1450 on the Janka hardness scale, making it harder than white oak. Because of the hardness, a maple floor doesn’t take stain as well as an oak (that is not to say that it can’t be stained), and different parts of the maple tree are different colors. Boards can be culled from the different parts of the tree to produce floors with very consistent natural colors, from almost-white to a rich reddish-brown.

Brazilian Cherry is an exotic species from South America. Brazilian Cherry is not a cherry at all, but actually Jatoba, a rich, warm, red wood that is one of the hardest woods used in hardwood manufacturing. Coming in at 2350 on the Janka hardness scale, Jatoba is 80% harder than red oak, making it one of the most durable, dent-resistant floors available. Jatoba is sensitive to light, so expect to notice a color difference in exposed areas, as well as an over-all darkening of the floor once it’s installed. Boards milled from different parts of the tree (called sapwood and heartwood) tend to be different colors, which adds to the overall beauty of the species.

Are there other species available in hardwood flooring? Absolutely. Domestic species such as hickory, walnut, ash, birch and cherry are still good, solid basics even as exotic strains like amendoim, ipe, kempas, teak and tigerwood surge in popularity, and we’ll touch on them at a later date.