New Market Trends to Floor You

After all these years of having hardwood floors that are mid brown and easy to clean, the word is that new, pale floors will be sweeping the market. These lighter floors have been popular in Europe and are just being introduced over here in North America.

Lighter toned floors do have their advantages, of course, one of them being that instant 'lift' of lightness and brightness that permeates the room. Another is that they might raise the value of shares in floor cleaning products! Yes, there is no doubt about it, paler floors need more upkeep and so is the extra maintenance worth it?

A spokesman for BuildDirect who has just returned from this year's "Surfaces" trade show said that the lighter influence which was from the European designs was 'everywhere'. However, this does not mean that flooring manufacturers are suggesting that we all switch to light oak wood!

There were many new innovative ideas on display that could be adapted to all types of flooring. Perhaps do-it-yourselfers could even adapt their present flooring to imitate some of the new looks that were on display.

This may not be too difficult because some of the most popular looks that were demonstrated at the exhibition showed flooring that had a faded or distressed appearance. Of course some of us had trendy floors without even knowing it as we already had this distressed look!

But on a more serious note, whether the flooring was of ceramic tile, wood or vinyl, the latest trade show exhibited all of these mediums in light colors, or faded colors. Some of the finishes had a gray-washed effect or a white-washed look, reminiscent of the old scrubbed floors of a farmhouse.

For those unfamiliar with the look of white-washed floors, it means that there is almost a dusting of gray or white color over top of the wood, but that the wood is still visible beneath.

In the old kitchens the wood would already have faded to a weathered gray color, and the left-over whitewash that was applied to the outside brickwork was often watered down and slopped over the floor to 'freshen it up' each spring.

Laminate floorings will be following the market trend and anticipate the early launching of new products to meet the expected demand. Wood grain porcelain tiles are also becoming popular and they are easier to maintain than real wood tiles.

The whole idea of flooring is changing as more and more people are becoming more adventurous and even applying flooring to the walls and ceilings! The introduction of light weight products such as cork and bamboo has meant that it can be applied anywhere.

Stone is also being used on the wall and slate flooring and porcelain are often used on walls, behind fireplaces and stoves and on chimneys. Applying cork to the walls in any room is a mild form of insulation as cork will hold the warmth in a room. It has often been used on office walls and offers one large cork board on which to pin up memos!

Newly built homes are the ones where the latest in market trends first appear, so with the expectation of this new look of white-washed or gray-washed floors, should we anticipate that the minimalist look may disappear?

White or gray 'washed' floors are reminiscent of the old country farmhouses in Provence, France. There the large wooden table in the middle of the room is scrubbed daily and matches the bleached look of the wooden floor. Does this mean that the French country kitchen look will be creeping back?

Marketing strategies