Winter Flooring Trends
The most popular floors this season are all about two things; style and sustainability. While the styling trends will feature art deco and mid-century inspired modern looks, the raw materials of the flooring choices for your home will be organic, ecological and full of natural texture.
Leading the flooring trends this winter is Bamboo, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional hardwood. With a hardness rating that beats ever-popular oak hardwood, bamboo is the strongest and best quality hardwood flooring available on the market. There are many different finishes to choose from, each helping you achieve the perfect base in your home décor. Strand woven bamboo flooring, the most sustainable option available, features a contemporary look with flowing grain fibres with little variation. Another contemporary and modern option in bamboo flooring is vertical grain, which is a long and linear grain. Horizontal grain gives a traditional look and feel with a knuckle pattern that is naturally repeated in the planks. If you are going to a rustic or natural appearance in your flooring, look for a hand-scraped bamboo option which features hand-applied texturing affects at random. The biggest colors in bamboo this season work in almost any palette and include coffee, gun metal and tiger.
If you have kids or pets and are looking for durability and sustainability in flooring, Cork is a very popular option this winter. Cork is harvested from the bark of trees, which grows back every nine years and can be harvested again. This makes cork one of the greenest flooring materials available. This fashionable flooring option comes in nearly any color you can imagine, stands up against high heels or sharp dog nails and insulates against sound and temperature change. It is also a soft and joint-friendly option for your home. Color trends in cork flooring this winter will stick primarily to neutral colors, but we will be seeing more and more metallic options coming in to the color choices. Metallics like copper and molten silver will help give that urban art deco wash to floors in modern spaces.
If choosing a traditional hardwood or tile installations, the winter color trends are moving away from the dark palettes we've been seeing for the past year.
Instead of espresso and ebony, more décor palettes will feature mid-tones such as warm caramels and cool greys. For ceramic and porcelain tiles in particular, the current trends are moving away for distressed and rustic looks to clean lines on polished, square and urban looking tiles.
Linoleum and sheet vinyl is continuing to regain popularity through this Winter season due to advancements in imaging, wide range of color and pattern choices, affordability, ease of care and the sustainability that this flooring touts. Imaging that mimics golden worn leather and brushed concrete are among the most popular looks this winter.
If you are looking to add a little warmth to your home, you may be considering carpet. Carpet has many great sustainable options this winter with many being made from recycled materials, many using sustainable fibres and some even being made from vegetable-based polymers. Neutral tones continue to dominate the market, and broadloom weaves and highly textured rugs remain the top choice.
After you've laid your beautiful new floor, keep in mind that this winter’s design is all about complimenting contrast of textures. A stream-lined hardwood floor is made softer and more interesting with a medium shag rug in a contrasting color. A cold ceramic tile floor can be accentuated with a boldly patterned area rug. Take a cue from the flooring and look to compliment it; never hide such a strong design statement!