Since a floor is so much more to a home than just something you walk on, you may be considering green flooring. Your floor sets the tone and creates the character and style of your home. It covers a large surface area and believe it or not, there are health issues to consider. Green flooring isn't just the eco-friendly thing to do; it's about creating a happy and safe place to raise your family.

Regular floor materials can pollute your home. Binders, adhesives, substances applied to floor top surfaces etc. can all give off chemical vapors. When you are shopping for flooring discuss your interest in eco-friendly and healthy products.

You no longer have to cut down a forest to have an attractive and serviceable floor. Wood is wonderful and a good choice, but popular new materials are available that aren’t made of trees at all.

What makes a floor green?

One way is to reuse or salvage materials. If you're buying new, make sure that the flooring you buy is FSC certified, comes from a rapidly renewable source, gives off zero or low emissions, is produced locally, and is long lasting.

As for the materials themselves, you have a lot more options than you may have realized. Some of the most popular ones include wood, bamboo, laminate, linoleum, rubber, cork, concrete, tile, brick, stone and terrazzo.

Wood floors are probably the most popular flooring available and can be found in whatever hues and tones fit your decorating plan. The greenest options are antique floorboards or FSC certified products, and they are more expensive, but it's worth it if you want to create an eco-friendly green home. FSC certification ensures that the harvesting has been done from well managed forests and plantations. Be sure to check out your existing floor board covering. Many older homes have beautiful hard wood floors that are easily refinished.