Natural Cork : not just for wine bottles

Someone asked me yesterday if consumers still purchase cork flooring and the answer is definitely yes. Natural Cork is a material that has been used for various products since the 1600's. Although it is not considered a traditional flooring alternative, there are many examples of this type of flooring still in use today. The 2010 HGTV Dream Home is one of the most recent examples of the resurgence of cork as a practical design option. In addition, cork is a naturally Eco friendly product with a rich history spanning several industries and uses.

Most people today are familiar with cork as stoppers for wine bottles. Dom Perignon invented the first cork stoppers to seal his champagne bottles in the 1600's. This discovery quickly spread throughout the entire wine industry and led to the development of the first cork stopper factory in Spain in the 1750's.

Today, cork flooring is an environmentally sound alternative to other more traditional flooring choices. Since cork is harvested from the bark of the cork trees rather than the actual lumber these trees can survive multiple harvests and have an average lifespan of 170 years. Some of the other benefits of cork versus other flooring products include the ease of installation, which is similar to laminate flooring, durability, and natural scratch resistance. All of these characteristics make cork a natural and stylish option for today's consumers.