Bamboo offers Earth-friendly elegance, versatile style

"We can never have enough of nature." Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author and naturalist, "Spring, Walden" (1854).

Q: I have heard a lot about bamboo flooring, and I know it's supposed to have a green component. Can you tell us if it is indeed practical. How does it hold up? And is it environmentally friendly? Also, is it formal enough to use in a very traditional home? When I think of bamboo, I don't necessarily think formal or upscale.

A: Bamboo has been used as a structural building product in Asian cultures for centuries. Over the last several years, the popularity of bamboo as a flooring material has exploded, and has fast become the sweetheart material of architects, designers and builders for use in residential and commercial spaces.

What's remarkable about bamboo is that it is, in reality, a grass that has become a very workable flooring material.

Bamboo is very practical and is quickly replacing what we have come to consider as normal hardwood flooring. The beauty of the raw material is that you can literally watch bamboo grow. There are certain types that can grow up to 4 feet a day. That's why when you plant bamboo in your gardens you have to be very careful about the type you plant. Some are fast growing and others are easier to tame in a garden setting. I don't believe the kinds we can buy here for the garden are the same ones used for flooring, but they are close relatives. Bamboo used for flooring can replenish itself in six to seven years.

The bamboo plant is extremely well adapted to its environment, unaffected by poor soil quality and other outside influences. According to experts, it is not affected by harvesting. So, it becomes a replenishing resource. In that regard, it is totally environmentally friendly and also one of the most beautiful.

Bamboo is also interesting in that the drying process eliminates the natural moisture, starches and sugars. It is a boiling process and as it eliminates these elements, it also makes the finished product unattractive to unwanted pests such as termites. What an awesome benefit. Also, because of the boiling procedure and eliminating moisture, the finished flooring is less likely to expand and contract in changing temperature and humidity levels. All of these attributes make bamboo a long-lasting, easy-maintenance material.

The different colors of bamboo flooring come from the boiling process, also. Colors range from the natural blond to a darker brown. These wide color choices make it a good fit for any décor. There are obviously a few more steps to create the final product, but it is truly a sum of its parts and ends up being beautiful, sturdy and Earth-friendly.

Bamboo flooring will literally go into any room in the house and serve you well for many years. Price comparisons show that bamboo holds its own in the price wars, also.

I'm not sure if you are shopping for new floors or just information, but if you do decide to use bamboo in your home, I believe you will be very pleased. And it will look grand in your traditional home.

Carolyn Muse Grant is the editor of Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home & Garden section of the Review-Journal. Check out other decorating tips in Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine, which is published the first Saturday of each month. Send questions to cgrant@reviewjournal.com.