Today, the hottest trend in hardwood flooring is not made from wood at all. Instead, bamboo—the invasive grass grown in Asia—has become the most exotic thing to hit the hardwood scene. In-the-know interior designers, "green" builders, and savvy homeowners are using this reedy grass to make a stylish and eco-friendly statement in their homes.

"Hands down, bamboo is the hottest trend," says Alison "Ali" Barone, a carpenter and designer for The Learning Channel's home design show, "While You Were Out." Barone, who lives in Greenwood Lake, has seen bamboo flooring become a national design phenomenon. "People love it because it's easy to maintain, hypoallergenic, and it also has a distinct look "

Homeowners who laid bamboo ahead of the curve can't say enough about it. Bonnie-Ben Pilar, an actress and Maine Coon cat breeder who lives in Grandview-on-Hudson, installed bamboo floors in her kitchen two years ago after hearing about it from a friend. (See photo.) Pilar was sold on the idea of grass flooring, especially in the kitchen, because she was told it wouldn't pop or warp as quickly as hardwood.

"Aesthetically, it's very easy to live with," says Pilar. "I have the light—'natural'—bamboo with the grain in the length, and I think it's just beautiful. What I love about the bamboo is that it doesn't feel too formal."

Flooring specialists agree. "Bamboo is a new and innovative product," says Mark Allardyce, vice president of marketing for Tacinelli Hardwood Flooring in Wappingers Falls, Newburgh, and Sarasota (Florida). "It's light, it's hard, and it's renewable. And because of its color and look, it fits a wide range of applications."

Bamboo has seized the market for a number of reasons. In "hardness" or stress tests, bamboo was "27 percent harder than red oak," says Allardyce, "and 13 percent harder than maple." Because it is an "engineered" product, stains, laminates, and polyurethane are applied in factories. Hence, exposure to emissions is minimal. Bamboo comes in two primary shades: "natural"(light blonde) and "carbonized"(honey yellow), but there are more than 30 custom shades available. And price-wise, bamboo ranges from $3.50 to $5 per square foot, comparable to hardwood.

While bamboo has been in the states for almost 30 years, it has only become popular in the last decade. Before, it was a used primarily by earth-friendly designers and decorators.

Unlike hardwood from trees, which take years to reach maturity, bamboo can be harvested after only five years—when the stalks grow to between five and seven inches in diameter. After being cut, the shoots rejuvenate themselves and can grow up to two feet on the first day. Bamboo also provides 25 times the biomass of a comparable stand of trees, making it a very renewable resource and attractive building material.

"The first time I saw bamboo was in 1989 or 1990 in an office in lower Manhattan," says Richard Miller, architect and owner of Richard Miller Architect in New Paltz, a firm specializing in sustainable building and restoration. "I was there for a 'green' meeting and I had never seen anything like it before. There was a glass desk in the center of this beautiful flooring. It was much richer than maple, and I said to myself, 'This really works. I have to have it in my house.'"

Five years ago, Miller got his wish when he laid more than a thousand square feet of the carbonized bamboo in his home. With two young sons and lots of foot traffic, he has been amazed by its performance and rich look.

To make tongue-and-groove bamboo flooring, the hollow round shoots are sliced, stripped, and then boiled to remove the starch. The strips are dried, laminated into solid boards, then milled into floorboards. The flooring is made of either two or three glued layers of horizontally laminated sheets or vertically laminated pieces. "Face-grained" (horizontal) is the more durable and is sold in both two- or three-ply; "vertical grained" is sold only in two-ply. Both are available in two-, three-, or six-foot planks.

"Bamboo is not for the traditionalist," says Barone. "But it's great for the person who wants their floor to be strong, durable, sustainable, and have a decorative stamp which will set them apart from their neighbors."