Five Flooring Trends:
with Luke and Jas
Welcome to part one of our two part flooring series covering everything you need to know when making the right flooring selections for your home. Selecting the right flooring for your needs can be a little overwhelming, especially when it can change the entire look and feel of your home. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you, sourcing the right information from experts in the industry.
In part one, we catch up with our friends, Luke and Jas, to find out their top flooring trends that are appearing in Australia’s newest builds right now. In part two of our flooring series, we’ll deep dive into the finer details with the experts at Trevor’s Carpets, Western Australia’s largest supplier of timber, luxury vinyl planks, hybrids, laminate, vinyls and of course carpets.
So, let’s explore the current flooring trends on the market with Luke and Jas.
Extra wide planks
Wide plank wood flooring delivers arguably one of the most impressive, luxurious looking floors. It’s suited to larger, free-flowing spaces, so it’s often seen in contemporary design. Imposing wide boards can truly accentuate a big space and create a real talking point of their own.
As a qualified carpenter, Luke has over 15 years experience in installing flooring, and he’s seen a lot of flooring trends come and go! He says, “In my opinion I would always opt to glue these boards down directly on the slab over having them floating. I also can’t go past European Oak! Having said that, no matter what material, colour, or texture you opt for, you can expect to see a large number of wide plank products on the market this year. In fact, these products will soon be so popular that they’ll begin to make thin and narrow plank floors look outdated.”
Chevron/Herringbone
Parquetry style laid flooring is back and it’s not really surprising considering its popularity at many points throughout history. The herringbone pattern was first used on roads for the ancient Romans after architects found that bricks laid pointed in the same direction as the flow of traffic were more stable and lasted longer! These days, herringbone and chevron are more about style than functionality but that hasn’t affected its popularity.
The visual impact of herringbone and chevron patterns add the drama and wow factor. This is why it’s often used in entrances and hallways. The pattern tends to create a flow through the home that draws the eye in alternating directions and creates a visual point of interest on the floor. It can also create the illusion of space when used in a small room or hallway, which can’t be replicated with any other flooring. Be warned, this type of flooring is time consuming to lay, so expect to outlay more for your tradie to do the job. But if you ask me, it’s worth the investment in the right home.
Jas says, “Let the floor be the hero and pair down the rest of the room’s features. Otherwise you might find the space is overwhelmed with detail.”
Ultra Matte/Satin water based finishes
Ultra matte, water based polyurethane and oiled finishes have become the most popular finish for flooring in recent years due to their authentic and modern appearance. Many people are also put off by the plastic, shiny feel to some lacquered urethane finishes of the past.
As well as the benefits of matte floors from an aesthetic perspective they also have the ability to hide scratches and damage which makes them perfect for high traffic areas where you want to hide imperfections. Water based polyurethane is becoming an increasingly popular choice. An important advantage is that water based polyurethanes do not contain any toxic fumes.
Hybrid Flooring
Luke says, “Once this game changing product entered the market it took over almost 50% of my installations. It’s a composite flooring that isn’t quite laminate and isn’t quite vinyl plank. It’s stuck smack-bam in between the two and has the underlay already glued to the bottom of the board.” This technology was first created to make composite decking, and the product eventually made its way into indoor flooring.
“Hybrid is waterproof, comes in a wide board and looks as good (well nearly!) as the real thing. Plus it’s a lot less noisey (hollow) under foot even though it is still technically a floating floor.” – Luke
Light and bright flooring colour tones
Lighter shades and tones of flooring really open up a space and create a natural, modern look. They’re ideal and almost essential for smaller plan homes. Light, bright and airy floors can make rooms feel more spacious and can also enhance the way the sunlight bounces off the floors and back into the room. This makes them the perfect option for Scandi or coastal homes.
One of the other major reasons why lighter flooring is a popular choice is that it’s easy to keep clean. It disguises marks and scratches meaning less time cleaning.
Stay tuned for part two of our flooring series, with the experts at Trevor’s Carpets.
Keep up to date with Luke and Jasmin by following @lukeandjasmin on instagram.
