As a contractor, it is important for you to be up to date on flooring trends. You need to know what to expect from your clients. You also need to know what type of flooring options they can find in flooring warehouses. Trends help dictate the type of flooring that is available. Knowing ahead of time can help you curate selections for your clients, ensuring that they pick a floor you can source and install.
Laminate
For years, laminate flooring offered an affordable, good-looking option for people who wanted the look of wood floors. Laminate is durable, easy-to-care for, and affordable. People are also choosing luxury vinyl plank (LVP) for their floors. While LVP is a little more expensive than laminate, it is more durable, higher-quality, and waterproof. VLP can even be embossed, giving it the texture, and not just the appearance, of a solid wood floor.
Engineered Wood
Solid wood flooring has been the benchmark for timeless durability for years. However, engineered flooring is becoming increasingly popular with homeowners. Engineered wood floors are more sustainable than solid wood flooring, which makes them a great choice for eco-conscious consumers. They work with underfloor heating. They also have wider and longer planks than traditional solid wood floors.
Hybrid Flooring
Do you have a client who is set on hardwood floors, but who does not have the lifestyle to maintain hardwoods? Consider suggesting a hybrid floor. With a real wood layer on top of a solid core backing, these floors give you the look and feel of hardwood, but they are scratch, dent, and water resistant.
Barn Floors
There are a couple of trends that we think of as “barn flooring.” Wide planks, distressed woods, or other “rustic” elements give these floors a more casual feel. They go great with a farmhouse aesthetic. You can also find them in a variety of different materials and price points.
Parquet Floors
On the other end of the style spectrum are parquet floors. While barn floors offer a casual, rustic charm, parquet floors lend an upscale look to any space. Parquet floors involve arranging smaller slats of wood in a repeating pattern. The design possibilities are endless, which means you can use parquet to give your customers a truly unique flooring design.
Colors
Flooring colors depend on the rest of the home’s interior. However, expect customers to ask about lighter flooring options. White, gray, greige, and pale woods are becoming increasingly popular. People are also opting for matte and other low-gloss finishes. Of course, some customers are always going to want the classic appeal of gleaming dark hardwood floors!
