When it comes to your floors, you can choose from so many materials, colours and styles that it can be tough to know where to begin. Do you want to go classic or something more modern? Traditional hardwood, durable vinyl, or great-value laminate?
Here we will take a look at some of the top choices for flooring today to help you make that all-important decision and decide what you will be walking on for the foreseeable future.
What is the newest trend in flooring?
There are new and exciting trends in just about every material this year, with carpet making a comeback, vinyl and laminate getting more and more luxurious, and hardwood getting a more rustic and even more natural look.
If you miss the days when every room was carpeted and felt warm and comfortable underfoot get ready to be thrilled with the softer, recycled and environmentally friendly options available. Patterned carpets are in, and those with multi-tones and plenty of personality are topping the favourites.
If carpets aren’t for you, they can’t take the wear and lifestyle that you put your floors through, or you are just looking for rooms where carpets aren’t that suitable, you can always go for wooden floors.
Similarly to carpets, there is a big push at the moment for greener floors, with repurposed wood being used instead of newly cut down trees. Bamboo is especially wonderful as it is so fast-growing, making it less damaging than many of its ilk when it comes to the environment.
Wood can of course be terribly pricey, so many homeowners choose to go for the much improved and wonderfully realistic-looking laminate and vinyl flooring options instead. With laminate floors, you can choose from the kind of look that you want the decorative layer to have, while the core and underlay help it to feel as well as look natural.
One of the best parts about opting for laminate, vinyl or hybrid flooring is that, as well as getting a product that is almost indistinguishable from the original wood look at a reduced price, you can also choose from an incredible number of options at fantastic places like DIY Floorboards.
Vinyl and hybrid flooring has the added benefit of being waterproof, durable, and long-lasting, making any of these amazing floor types an excellent choice for a house with plenty of foot traffic, or where spills and dampness may well play a part.
What flooring does not go out of style?
In general, the type of flooring that you would say would never go out of style is wood. There’s a reason why people love taking up their carpets, stripping back whatever is covering up their original floors and giving it a revamp.
Real wood floors are stunning and timeless, but they can also buckle and warp over time, become creaky, and worn down and require a great deal of upkeep and maintenance. Choosing a substitute like high-quality laminate or hybrid flooring can give you the look of real wood without the headache or the cost.
The massive improvements in the design and printing technology used to produce the decorative layer means that pretty much anything you can picture, you can have as a floorboard. You can get very nearly the exact type of wood, colour, gradient and anything else that you desire for a truly perfect floor.
As well as being the superior option when it comes to moisture-rich environments like the kitchen and bathroom, luxury vinyl floorboards also stand the test of time – both in terms of how they are received and how long they last. Vinyl floorboards can last decades even in a household with pets and children, which further makes their affordable price tag (in comparison with real hardwood floors) seem even better value.
While there are definitely some materials that are more likely to never go out of style, if you pick the wrong colours or patterns then that ‘never’ could soon turn into quickly.
What colour floor is timeless?
When you are choosing a colour or colour palette for your floors, you can’t really go wrong with something neutral. The current trends of extremely pale or very dark floors do look dramatic and utterly gorgeous – now. But it is tough to know if they will continue to be so popular in a few years or even a decade.
Grey floors are a great choice as you can so easily match your furniture and furnishings to them. They are versatile, go with so many colours, and look fabulous too, but again, they are not yet proven to be a timeless choice, so select grey at your own risk.
You really can’t go wrong with natural wood colours when picking out your new floors. You can still go for lighter or darker woody colours depending on your personal preference, just maybe stay away from the almost white or black ends of the spectrum if you are looking for longevity.
There are so many gorgeous woods and colours to choose from, including mahogany, ironbark, spotted gum and bamboo. With almost endless shades and grains, there is sure to be something for everyone in this type of flooring.
Natural light brown, darker brown, reddish colours and golden tones will all look beautiful now and for decades to come, so for a safe and timeless choice, go for the kind of floors that reflect the wood you see in nature all around you.
Conclusion
The current trends are easy to get caught up in and can be ever so exciting, and some of them may well become the new normal including a focus on environmentally friendly flooring, but more often the classics are the best way to go.
Real hardwood floors or one of the wonderful imitation materials including luxury laminate, vinyl and hybrid flooring offer a stylish and timeless look that will last and last. Opting for a more natural colour will guarantee that your floor will never go out of fashion, a good thing since it will be around for decades to come.
