Hardwood Flooring Trends to Look Out For in 2016

Posted by Aaron Schaalma

As one of the most important elements of interior design, flooring can completely change the look of an entire room. While premium flooring can objectively increase your home’s value, the right style of flooring could make the difference between a home buyer falling in love, or giving your realtor the classic “We’ll call you when we’re ready…”As passionate as we are about hardwood’s durability and elegance, we like to take a moment at the beginning of every year to let you know what is going to be popular! Knowing what the market is loving lets you give your home the most updated look possible, and make it more attractive to buyers down the road.Here are the big trends to look out for as we move into 2016Dark hardwood flooring Dark wood floors will always be at the top of this list. Especially in our part of the country, dark floors manage to do the difficult task of providing both sophistication and warmth. In addition to being warm and inviting, dark wood floors contrast beautifully with light colored furniture and walls. Because the grain on a dark floor is hidden, it allows you to create extra texture with your furniture or decorative rugs. If you want a small space to appear larger, however, a high contrast between walls and floors will provide definite horizontal lines. These lines will harshly outline the room and could highlight it’s size. Another drawback to dark wood floors is their expository nature. The darker the wood floor, the greater it will show dust, footprints and scratches. This can mean some extra work, but for an inviting and distinguished look, nothing beats a dark brown or black wood floor. Wide hardwood planks Gone are the days of the 2 ¼” strip flooring. A trend that will continue to grow into 2016 is flooring with wide planks (up to 6”). Planks of this size make a room look larger, and when finished properly provide a more rustic aesthetic which correlates to other interior design trends. With their larger size, and smaller number of planks needed, each individual one gets to showcase its grain. When site finished, they create quite the aesthetic. hardwood flooring trends Narrow strip flooring may come around again, but we wouldn’t put our money on it being soon. Wide planks pair perfectly with the next trend, which has also been on the rise lately and is only expected to get hotter in 2016. Neutral and natural hardwoods While dark woods will certainly remain the favorite throughout 2016, we have to say grays and muted brown woods are giving them a run for their money. These woods bring a modern clean lens to the seeming unstoppable trend of vintage interior design. At home among both rustic and industrial aesthetics, you may have seen some wide-planked gray woods recently in a hip coffee shop, or boutique clothing store. These wood colors communicate the natural and sustainable side of wood flooring, and provide a blank palette to which to match colors warm or cold. Picture 1 This gray wood floor is the perfect choice for the modern and distinct sitting room pictured. Born in the USA Living in the United States means that we’re surrounded by a wide range of incredible trees. American producers have been manufacturing wood floors since colonization in the 17th century. The United States produces an amazing variety of hardwoods used in flooring like hickory, pine, birch, red oak, maple, walnut, cherry and other highly desirable materials. As many people are becoming more and more interested in supporting their friends and neighbors by shopping American-made, wood flooring has given them the option to do so while getting a superior quality product. With dark hardwoods being the most popular, and top of our trends list for 2016, shoppers can expect to have multiple options to both get the fashionable floor they want, and support American industry while doing so. State of the Floors 2016 In 2016 customers will have even more ways to educate themselves, shop for and buy flooring than ever before. Yet, one trend that only grows every year is the desire to work with great people doing great work. Hardwood flooring is no exception. Whether it’s tried and true materials like dark oak hardwoods, or the brave new world that is rustic gray wire-brushed finished flooring, buying the best floor for your home is the hottest trend in the market. And a trend we don’t see going away any time soon. For a personal consultation on your hardwood flooring options, contact us today.

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