Timeless Looks Coming Back
Hardwood continues to be a strong flooring option. While greyish tones of wood flooring have been the strongest choice in the last several years, designers and homeowners are going back to warmer tones. These warmer tones are perfect for the new warmer colors that have been chosen as colors of the year.
These warm hardwoods will work perfectly with Dutch Boy’s Garden Patch, which is a paler version of Pantone’s very popular 2017 Color of the Year, Greenery. They will also work well with Ace Hardware’s Pineapple Cream Granita (a muted yellow), Sherwin-Williams’ Cavern Clay which is the color of the deserts of the American West, and Pantone’s Living Coral. It is a definite statement color.
One of the hottest trends is having wood flooring laid in patterns like herringbone. Another is blending wood flooring and tiles into each other, especially using hexagonal tiles.
In previous years, scraped wide planks have been the “hot” wood flooring surface choice. While wide planks are still chosen over vintage-style thin planks, the current trend is towards brushed texturizing.
Wood-Look Luxury Vinyl Gaining Ground
Wood-look luxe vinyl planks are gaining ground because they are waterproof. Manufacturing improvements have led to the end product looking more and more like real wood. Floorte’s Bella Plus looks like real aged, recycled wood. It is available in an assortment of looks, including silver gray and warmer colors like natural cedar.
Laminate Becoming More Water Friendly
Because natural hardwood is expensive, laminate has been a strong choice for those wanting a wood floor. However, laminate, like hardwood, is water sensitive. That is why luxury vinyl has been gaining ground. But, laminate manufacturers have started responding to the increase in luxury vinyl purchases. They have begun producing a laminate that is either waterproof or water resistant.
Tile Stays a Strong Flooring Choice
Another way to have an easy-care, waterproof wood-look floor is with plank porcelain tiles. Marazzi has a plank-style tile called Harmony that can easily pass as warm cherry wood. While it is made as a floor tile, more and more designers are using this style of tile for walk-in showers to give them a rich spa look.
Tile choices are also changing. Over the last several years, homeowners have chosen white subway tile and Carrara marble, following designer’s lead. But now, they are asking for more color, even rich bright colors like red, yellow, and pink. Interceramic offers high gloss colored tiles, some with patterns, like on their Dots. They also provide graphic decorative accents.
Carpet Still Number One Choice
According to Floor Covering Weekly, carpeting still leads as the top flooring choice for new floors, however, its percentage of the market is dropping. It dropped from 49.6 percent to 45.4 percent of the market. It has grown, however by one percent as a replacement flooring option.
Like with wood, texture is king with carpet. And like with tile, there is an increased interest in color. Homeowners are also asking for sustainable carpeting, choosing recycled nylon or natural wool. Tuftex and Karastan provide an array of both traditional styles, perfect for custom area rugs, and more modern styles, which include geometrics and arabesque patterns.
Start the New Year with Updated Flooring
Let the staff of City Tile help you sort work through all of the new styles and colors available in both soft and hard surface flooring.
Some of our featured flooring samples:
