Popular Flooring Trends for 2019

I love a good trend, as you well know, and I especially love spotting them long before they go mainstream. I actually get really excited and I’ve often thought that I would love to work as a trend forecaster. There is just something so exhilarating about looking into the future and predicting what design trends we will be experiencing over the coming months and years.

For the past few days, I’ve been looking into flooring trends, basically because I spend ridiculous amounts of time daydreaming about changing the flooring throughout our entire flat, bar the bathroom. I spend a lot of time looking at flooring, trying to decide what I will eventually go for, and then decide I can’t quite face the upheaval just yet. But, whilst searching, I have noticed some distinctive flooring trends that I would like to share with you today.

Grey Tones

Now we are all well aware that grey has been the neutral of choice in interiors for quite some time now (I first noticed it back in 2011). Its reign may have come to an end when it comes to wall colours (we’ve moved onto the new neutrals now, haven’t we?) but that doesn’t mean that it has lost its appeal when it comes to other areas of the home, such as flooring.

Grey wood floors are in fact growing in popularity, particularly when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms. The reason why grey flooring has become so popular is, undoubtedly, because it provides the perfect neutral base for the room. It’s a very easy colour to work with as flooring and there isn’t much that won’t work well with grey flooring. It also comes in both warm and cool tones so it’s very versatile.

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Dark Exotic Woods

Another trend that seems to be becoming more prevalent is for dark exotic wood flooring. Sustainable exotic species such as Brazilian Cherry, Teak, Iroko and Wenge seem to be on the up at the moment. Following in the footsteps of the trend for dark and moody hues used on the walls, homeowners are getting braver and bolder and are now opting for darker floors to make a statement.

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Reclaimed, Rustic, Distressed Wood

I don’t know about you guys, but I have certainly noticed a distinct move towards natural materials in the past few years. I’ve always put this down to our increasingly digital lives and the fact that technology is becoming a little bit overbearing and too present.

As humans, we are feeling a real need to get back to basics and back to nature and, for this reason, we will be seeing a lot more rustic and distressed flooring that shows signs of life. This type of flooring not only tells a story but it also gives us the texture that we are craving so badly right now in our homes.

Reclaimed wood, for example, often shows signs of wear and tear,
such as scrapes, knots, wormholes and even burn marks. This means that each individual plank often appears handcrafted, unique and rare. 

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Herringbone, Parquet & Chevron

There is no great surprise that herringbone, parquet and chevron wood floors are trending. Do they ever really go out of style? These types of floors are often one of the most sought after original features of period properties as they add historic interest. But now, thanks to modern technology, you don’t need to live in a period property with original floors to benefit from this popular look. Whether you live in a modern, contemporary, traditional or industrial home, you can get the look easily with new flooring that won’t break the bank.

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Different Planks

This is a relatively new look for me, but I have to say I really rather like it. Instead of sticking to one type of plank, this look uses a mix-and-match approach to really inject more creativity into the look. You can create a striped effect using different types of wood or different colour tones or you could even create an ombré effect using planks that go from darker shades through to lighter shades across the floor. The possibilities are endless but this approach allows you to create a more bespoke floor that shows a playful, more relaxed, approach to home design.

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Burnt Planks

I think this might be my favourite. Now I’m not sure it can be considered to be one of the top flooring trends…yet! I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of people adopting this kind of flooring, but my gut feeling is telling me that is going to become much more popular. After all, matt black is having a moment right now in bathrooms and kitchens so it’s not such a stretch to imagine that it could become a sought after flooring option. It’s kind of an extension of the dark flooring trend but with a bit of a twist.

You see these aren’t just black flooring planks, they are burnt flooring planks that have the wood grain texture of burned wood.  Burning wood is an age-old practice that has its origins in the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique, a method used to preserve wood.

I love the look of this flooring. Black is so luxurious and stylish and it’s not a colour that is often used on the floor, but I think that the opportunities to be really creative with this flooring are huge. You can use bright and bold colours in your decor scheme to create a bold contrast. Or you could opt for soft, nature-inspired colours to really bring the texture of the floor to life.

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I absolutely love the way that those bold paint stripes frame the wooden panelling above. Even though the floor and half the wall is black, the room doesn’t look dark at all. The white and those thin lines of statement colour really make the black flooring pop.

So what do you guys think of these flooring trends? Which one is your favourite? Would you be brave enough to choose burnt planks? Let me know in the comments below.