Flooring covers a large portion of your home and can affect how each room looks. It’s important to keep up with trends so you can make sure your house is always on-point.
Light floors have been popular for a couple of years and aren’t going anywhere. They hide minor scratches and reflect light to make rooms feel larger. On the other hand, concrete polishing flooring is brilliant against wear and heat.
1. Wide Plank Laminate
If you follow any quality interior design blog or pick up any home magazine, you’ve seen them: floors with long, wide flooring planks. While some flooring trends are strictly related to color, widths are becoming a major focal point of modern floors as homeowners seek a more open and character-rich look.
Wide plank laminate offers a more rustic or weathered style that complements both traditional and contemporary designs. The wider planks allow more of the wood grain and natural markings to show, creating a floor that’s less like a blank slate and more like a work of art. These wide wood planks can be sanded smooth and more contemporary or they can be distressed or even reclaimed to bring a more rustic or weathered look to the room.
The longer and wider floor planks also offer a more expansive feeling to the room. They play a visual trick by elongating the space, creating an illusion of openness and helping achieve a calming, more clutter-free impression. The wider planks tend to use fewer joints than narrow strips, which can help create extra clean and clear spaces that work well for small apartments or big family homes.
Wide planks come in many different colors as well. Lighter shades, such as blonde, greige, or gray, can brighten up an entire room while earthy tones like beige offer a versatile shade that’s compatible with any style of decor. Other on-trend shades include blues and greens, which add a sense of nature to the room without being too bold or overpowering. For a truly unique look, try mixing a few shades together for an ombre effect that brings a little bit of a variety to your floor.
2. Whitewash and Gray Laminate
While darker hardwood floors still have a place in modern homes, many homeowners are opting for lighter shades. Whether you want to create an airy and bright space or a cozy and warm atmosphere, light wood flooring is a versatile choice. Darker hues like rich browns and graphite are popular because they create a sense of depth and work well with traditional furnishings, while light tones like natural hues and whitewashed or gray-washed finishes make spaces appear brighter and more open.
If you’re not into the idea of a natural wood color but still want to go with a light-colored option, you may want to consider a wood floor stain that has an orangey or honey tone. Honey-toned wood floors can easily be paired with both classic and contemporary furnishings, and they look beautiful when combined with crisp white walls. Other colors of stained wood can also work well with a variety of different decor styles, including pastels and brights like aquas or greens.
Whitewashed wood flooring is a west coast trend that’s quickly spreading across the country, and it’s easy to see why. This beachy look is perfect for creating a relaxed and peaceful environment, and it pairs perfectly with the casual, laid-back style of coastal living. Whitewashed laminate is a great way to capture this style without having to worry about the upkeep of real wood, and it’s also a more cost-effective option for those who are renovating their home on a budget.
While hardwood floors are often thought of as a timeless and elegant design option, laminate is a great alternative that offers the same versatility and durability that wood does. The new generation of wood-look laminates offer a realistic and high-quality finish that’s virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, and they can be installed in areas where moisture, heat and heavy foot traffic are common.
3. Realistic Laminate
The goal with laminates these days is to have them look as close to real hardwood floors as possible. Many brands have now achieved this and, even better, are able to replicate the natural characteristics that make wooden floors so attractive, such as grain, texture and knots. This is thanks to their wear layer and the “print” layer. The wear layer protects the laminate from stains and everyday wear and tear and is the reason your laminate floors will still look good 10 years from now. The print layer, on the other hand, can give the laminate a range of textures and finishes, such as reclaimed, hand-scraped, and rougher wood-looking scrapes and knots.
The best way to achieve the rustic look with laminate is to choose a dark plank with lots of natural colour variance and knots. This creates a floor that is extremely versatile and works with both modern and traditional decor styles. Choosing a wood-look laminate with an embossed or distressed style is another way to get that rugged, country feel in your home. This looks particularly good when the laminate is paired with country style furniture and décor, which is also a growing trend this year.
If you prefer a more unique flooring option, consider herringbone or chevron patterned laminate floors for 2023. These are a great alternative to tile flooring and are sure to bring personality and character into your room, especially when teamed with a neutral color palette.
The minimalist trend is continuing to grow in popularity this year, so it makes sense that neutral shades would be on-trend in laminate and vinyl. Light tans and browns with hints of gray or white will continue to be popular for a clean, classic look.
4. Patterned Flooring
A beautiful floor is a great way to create a focal point in any room. Adding pattern to the floor can have an even more dramatic impact. Whether it’s herringbone, chevron or other geometric designs, these flooring patterns are an excellent way to make a statement.
Patterned floors are not just for wood – tile and even vinyl can also be used to create an intricate parquet design. These patterns can be very subtle, with just a few small blocks of color or they can be much bolder by including multiple colors and varying the size of the block. Parquet patterns can be quite tricky to install and require very precise cuts as well as laying out the individual “compartments” (like tiles) in a specific pattern.
If you want your floor to stand out, it’s best to choose a lighter shade for the design or opt for a more neutral shade that won’t be too bold and clash with the walls. Darker shades of patterned floors are starting to have a moment though and can look stunning as long as you keep the rest of the room simple.
A patterned floor is a great choice for a bathroom, kitchen or dining room. It can be confined to just these areas or, if you really love it, you can extend it throughout the home. You can even mix materials by pairing a patterned vinyl design with solid hardwood planks or tile on the walls. The combination of textures will make your home feel sophisticated and elegant.
5. Whitewashed Hardwood
Changing your hardwood floors to white is a simple way to revamp the look of your entire room. Whitewashed hardwood creates a clean look with natural wood grain patterns that work well in modern, farmhouse or Nordic style homes. The light color also makes the floor easier to keep clean by hiding dust, dirt and pet hair. This is especially important if you have children or pets in your home.
Whitewashed hardwood floors are a popular flooring trend for 2020 and beyond that can make your home feel fresh, airy and spacious. You can find a variety of styles for this look, from wire brushed to etched to soft and matte. They also come in a wide range of plank sizes, including 5 inches and wider, to make your space feel bigger.
While any wood can be whitewashed, darker woods may not show the effect as well. They can have reddish or orange undertones that overshadow the whitewash and make it look dirty, while lighter woods, such as maple or birch, are more suited to this process. Pine is another good choice, as it’s knotted and can benefit from the whitewash by softening its color.
In most cases, you’ll need to have your hardwood refinished in order to have it whitewashed, which isn’t ideal if your floors are already worn down. However, you can also find prefinished hardwood that has been whitewashed in the factory, which can save you some time and money. Just be sure to choose engineered wood so you can sand and refinish the product again in the future.
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