Hot, New Flooring Trends You Will Love

Flooring trends are constantly changing to suit the needs of homeowners. This means that materials like ceramic and laminate floors need to not only complement the look and style of a room, they also have to meet the needs of families looking for a floor that will hold up over time with minimal maintenance. Both ceramic and laminate flooring are fairly low maintenance, good looking options, and new manufacturing methods make them more suitable for a variety of homes than ever before. 

Ceramic Flooring Trends

For a while, many homeowners were choosing to use porcelain tile over ceramic throughout their homes. Porcelain was thought of as more durable, as well as more contemporary. Ceramic has been catching up, however, offering homeowners a lot of new options for flooring in bathrooms, entryways, and kitchens.
 

Mosaics are one of the more popular choices for ceramic flooring bathrooms right now. Classic patterns including hexagons, octagon-and-dot, and penny tiles are merging in new color combinations for an updated look. Handmade ceramic tiles are also gaining in popularity for bathrooms, with a variety of interesting shapes and colors, along with subtle variation in glaze that brings additional depth to the floor.

Vitrified ceramic tile that has had its edges ground to a uniform size is a popular choice in flooring for entryways, mudrooms, and kitchens. This non-porous tile can be butted right up against the next, which leaves a very minimal grout line. Look for tiles with a variegated color and a matte finish, which can help hide dirt and offer a durable, non-slip surface.

Also popular right now is ceramic tile in a single color glaze that has some light and dark tones mixed throughout it. Like wall colors, gray floors in particular are very popular right now, especially those with a metallic finish, and those that don’t have a very flat finish to them.

Monocotura (or single fire) tiles are also beginning to make a comeback as many homeowners begin to shift toward natural colors and textures in the home. Monocotura terracotta is gaining in popularity for kitchen floors, as are glazed quarry pavers in a variety of colors.

Wood Flooring Trends

Wood flooring trends are currently running parallel to trends in engineered wood flooring, particularly in terms of color and finish. One of the most popular right now is the high gloss or piano finish. This is made by rubbing the boards with aluminum oxide to produce a very glossy top coat that will have you forgetting that this floor isn’t real wood.

Like many other wood flooring trends just now, handscraped boards are also extremely popular. The key here is to look for boards that have a truly handscraped finish with deep grooves in each one. Avoid the boards that merely have a slight ripple to the surface; they won’t give you the same look.

For color, laminate flooring that looks more like real wood is beginning to appear on the market with great success. In particular, exotic wood species like Brazilian cherry and tiger wood are extremely popular in laminate just now because they truly look like wood, and not like the plastic boards of 10 years ago.

Also popular right now is the hot new finish, “Greige”. A cross between gray and beige, this cool-toned floor follows the popularity of gray paint for the walls, for a sleek, modern looking floor.

Aside from finish and style, one of the hottest trends in laminate flooring right now is the waterproof board. Older laminate floors swelled up if they were exposed to moisture, which made it difficult to install them below grade or in areas that get a lot of moisture like kitchens and mudrooms. Newer laminate flooring is beginning to emerge that is water resistant or waterproof. This enables homeowners to have more choices about where they install their laminate flooring, which makes it a lot more attractive than ever before.

Update Your Flooring

Today’s flooring is meant to last, looking great for far longer than older trends and flooring types did. With more durable surfaces and new colors that look a lot more natural than they did previously, you’ll find ceramic and laminate floors for every room of your home. Consider updating the flooring in your home with one of these hot new options to give your entire décor a big boost.