Every year designers, contractors, builders, home buyers, etc. are all trying to figure out what the hottest hardwood flooring trends will be to help their clients select the best choices. Here at Urban Floor, we’re giving you what we believe what will stay in style and what may lose it’s shine (no pun intended, of course).
What’s In:
The “Timeless” Choice
This word is thrown around a lot in the hardwood flooring industry, but typically always refers to selections that invigorate a room with a classical appeal. Typical classic flooring includes oak flooring options, as well as other traditional wood selections such as walnut or maple. You could say that consumers feel more at home with these options.
Genuine Distressed and Hand scraped Floors
It’s more than just the type of wood used to create a timeless appeal. You need to factor in flooring aspects such as distressed flooring and genuine hand scraped options. We specifically mention “genuine” as opposed to machine-based because genuine is the authentic way of producing a “timeless” appearance.
These subtle, detailed aspects make hardwood floors appear worn down over time, which is what the “classic, timeless appeal” is. A vintage look, if you will.
A benefit to the worn down look is that these types of floors do not require as much effort to maintain and will look better for a longer period of time. They are very practical for the average American family.
Kitchen Flooring
This was a hit last year and we feel it will carry over into this year as well. While we do not condone hardwood flooring in the kitchen for a variety of reasons, we can still acknowledge the fact that more and more families are beginning to prefer this to tile flooring.
What’s Out:
Glossy Floors
Matte, or floors without as much shine, are quickly becoming the new standard for a few reasons:
1. Floors with more shine will reveal marks easier – therefore requiring more maintenance and cleaning to correct and of course no family has time for that.
2. Floors without as much shine are often described as warmer and more inviting than other options.
Narrow Planks/Strips
Gone are the days where hardwood floors were milled to specifications of no greater than 5-inches. Nowadays, 5-inches is the standard and this only seems to be increasing every year. This is why you will not see any boards less than 5-inches (with the exception of random width) in our flooring collections.
We speculate the reasoning for this is because wider planks have a tendency to make a room visually appear larger than it really is. Rooms feel more spacious. Wide plank floors work very well for living rooms, dining rooms, and master bedrooms.
In Conclusion
Trends come and go, some last, but most do not. This is all subjective preference based on our own experiences here at Urban Floor, as well as information we’ve collected from the industry.
Need ideas regarding designs and decor? Our Pinterest may be able to guide you in the right direction!