Ming Dynasty Bamboo Flooring: Function, Art Embracing Design

Ming Dynasty Bamboo floors are unique floors for unique people. Available in a wide variety of patterns and designer colors, these one-of-a-kind floors have been brought to the North American shores by the leader of bamboo flooring in Asia.

Ming Dynasty has divided its products into two major categories: hand-scraped and stained. Each hand-scraped board is painstakingly crafted by master artisans, ensuring that no two boards are identical. As no machines were used in the sculpting process, this floor is offered in limited quantities. Conceivably less than 1/100 of 1 percent of the population will have the opportunity to own this floor.

The stained variety, on the other hand, gives homeowners more variation to the usual two color options. Choose from bold, vibrant stains that can add character to any room. The robust tone of Burnt Mocha, the beautiful cherry hue of Red Cognac, and the uplifting tinge of green in Irish Moss are perfectly infused into the wood. =

The Strength and Beauty of Bamboo

Homeowners, architects, interior designers and builders alike have just one floor type on their minds at the moment: bamboo. It is one of the most dramatic, long-lasting and unique products in the flooring market today. More and more people are finding out the seemingly endless benefits of a bamboo flooring in both style and practicality.

But it is not only about the material, bamboo is also about style and innovation. You choose bamboo to be a flooring material, not only for its durability and stability but also for its environmentally friendly nature, plus the exotic and designer look without equal.

Bamboo has been used in China for over 5,000 years -- the earliest history of bamboo use in the entire world. In ancient China, bamboo was used for making books, food, paper, some of the greatest palaces the Emperors had and many other items. In the Jin Dynasty, a special book on bamboo was written in AD 265-316 in which many of China's bamboo species were recorded in detail. Ming Dynasty, the last native Chinese dynasty to rule the empire, spanned almost three centuries between 1368 and 1644. It was the first dynasty to use bamboo as bedding and for flooring. Some historians argue that Early Ming China was the most advanced nation on Earth at the time.

The Art of the Ages: Hand Scraped Bamboo Collection

With Ming Dynasty's Hand Scraped bamboo flooring, you can re-live the time of the Ming Dynasty when artistic carving and design was at its peak form. The bevels and curves flow smoothly throughout each plank. This unique texture is created by actual Chinese sculpting artists, many of whom have been carving floors for generations.

Ming Dynasty Hand Scraped bamboo floors allow flexibility in installation; it can be floated, glued or stapled/nailed-down. Made of solid bamboo, the Hand Scraped collection from Ming Dynasty also features:

  • Uniquely beautiful and high quality floors
  • UV-cured polyurethane with aluminum oxide finish
  • 35-year structural warranty
  • 10-year moisture warranty
  • 35-year finish warranty

Colour Scheme Guide

Color plays a vital role in the world in which we live. Color can either, irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your emotion or appetite. People are comfortable when colors remind them of similar things. For example, a soft shade of blue triggers associations with the sky and gives a psychological sense of calmness.

Color is even more powerful in interior design. The right colors in interiors help to achieve harmony between your furniture, flooring, window coverings and fixtures.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE

There are several mistakes people make when choosing the right colors for their home. Whether it be floors, paints, interiors or furnishings. Start by spending time walking through your home. Imagine your house empty with nothing left in it except for your floors. Say for your kitchen, choose the shade of brown to match the kitchen's tiles. And the couch pillows which can serve as the inspiration for the warm color in the living room.

THE MEANING OF COLOR

Understanding the meaning of color as well as the cultural use of color and how colors interact is important in conveying the message, and evoke the desired response. Colors create a physical and emotional reaction. It can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions.

The Meaning of Cool Color: Cool colors tend to have a calming effect. At one end of the spectrum they are cold, impersonal, anti-septic colors. At the other end the cool colors are comforting and nurturing. Blue, green, and the neutrals white, gray, and silver are examples of cool colors.

The Meaning of Warm Color: Warm colors convey emotions from simple optimism to strong violence. The warmth of red, yellow, pink, or orange can create excitement or even anger. The neutrals of black and brown also carry attributes of warm colors.

The Meaning of Mixed Warm and Cool Color: Colors with attributes from both the warm and cool colors can calm and excite. These are colors derived from a mix of a cool and warm color such as blue and red or blue and yellow. Typically considered cool, green is really more of a mixed warm and cool color.

The Meaning of Neutral Color: Neutral colors help to put the focus on other colors or serve to tone down colors that might otherwise be overpowering on their own. To some extent blacks, browns, tans, golds, and beige colors are considered warm. While white, ivory, silver, and gray are somewhat cooler colors. Yet these warm and cool attributes are flexible and more subtle than that of reds or blues.

THE BASICS OF CHOOSING A COLOUR
The basics of choosing a colour scheme will help you find the right colors to achieve your goals in any interior design.

WARM VS. COOL TONES

Interior designers refer to certain colors as being warm, cool or neutral. Basically, a warm tone is one that has red, yellow or orange tones. Cool colors include blues, greens, and violets. The term neutral is used quite often, but only applies truly to black, pure white and grays mixed using only black and white. "Taupe" is a generic term often overused to describe a hue of beige or tan. Beware, for there is no one definition of taupe, as there is an endless possibility of hues ranging from very cool to very warm undertones.

MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEME

Monochromatic color scheme is perhaps the most commonly used color scheme within residential interiors. Using several intensities of one color, a space can feel simple, calm and elegant. An easy way to develop a color palette is to look at a paint strip in a color you are drawn to. Use a variety of intensities within this one strip to achieve a monochromatic color scheme.

ANALOGOUS COLOR SCHEME

An analogous color scheme is one which combines several hues located next to each other on the color wheel. For example: red, orange and yellow or blue, turquoise and green. This can add more interest to a basic residential interior.

COMPLIMENTARY COLOR SCHEME

Complimentary color are those which are directly opposite in position and character on the color wheel. Complimentary colors can be used to accentuate each other or neutralized when mixed. For example: red apples will appear brighter when placed on green paper and bananas appear more yellow when placed next to purple eggplants. Complimentary color schemes can be tricky and are best used by introducing accents and accessories within a more neutral backdrop.

A color is affected by everything else around it; especially light, shadow and other colors. Light affects the tone, warmth and clarity of a color. A deep color in a dark corner tends to look black, while the same color in a brightly lit area can evaporate.

When choosing finishes within your home, always use different light sources when viewing your selections. Combine a grouping of your materials in order to see undertones often undetected on their own.