03 Jan Hardwood flooring trends for 2018: From hardwood engineered flooring to porcelain planks

Happy New Year from all of us at Kuhn Flooring, your full-service flooring destination, with gallery flooring displays in Coral Springs and Lighthouse Point serving South Florida communities from Pompano Beach to Boca Raton and Palm Beach. We hope 2018 is off to a good start for you and your family.

We’re excited about the year ahead – and about the flooring trends that design experts are predicting will lead the way in 2018. There are some interesting possibilities you may want to consider if you’re looking for residential or commercial flooring solutions this year.

According to The Family Handyman, we’ll see a new generation of contemporary parquet hardwood floors in 2018. “Parquet hardwood floors are made of solid wood pieces arranged in geometric designs or unique patterns. And it’s seeing a revival floor trend as homeowners look for ways to draw attention to the rich, natural wood,” the website reports.

Another patterned hardwood floor also caught the attention of the experts at Family Handyman magazine – hardwood floors with varying widths. “Choosing boards with varying widths gives the floor a fresh, one-of-a-kind look,” the website says. “It’s also a style that hearkens back to historic homes, built when builders made use of every part of the tree.”

While these particular design trends will certainly elevate the look of your Florida flooring, but they aren’t for the do-it-yourselfer. If you’re looking for a truly distinctive option for flooring in Boca Raton or Delray Beach, the pros at Kuhn Flooring will be happy to discuss the options with you.

The Family Handyman’s list of top trends for 2018 includes a number of other takes on wood flooring, including:

• Wide Plank Flooring

Wood flooring remains very popular, but trends are pushing toward wider plank floors. With floor trend boards often a foot wide or even broader. This works well for cabin styles, but can lend a mature, authentic look to many different home styles.

• Gray Wood Flooring

Gray wood floors are increasingly common and are a 2018 floor trend. They provide a unique, clean look that fits well in modern houses that need to brighten up.

• Porcelain Planks

These are porcelain planks that are designed to mimic natural wood grains. Porcelain planks (tiles) are an attractive and durable floor trend. And they allow you to use wood-look flooring in the bathroom or other space prone to dampness. 

• Distressed Plank Flooring

Distressed wood planks have many good qualities. They’re often eco-friendly, reclaimed wood materials. And they make an ideal floor trend fit for both modern and farm-style houses.

• Ebony Wood Flooring

Ebony floors are extra-dark hardwoods (often achieved through ebony stain) that provide a rich, solid appearance. And this floor trend pairs well with lighter walls, colorful rugs, and plenty of windows. 

The experts at HGTV note that, “Most flooring manufacturers are jumping on the green bandwagon, adding lines that boast high recycled content and raw materials obtained from sustainable sources.” Wood flooring certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which comes from forests that are managed with strict standards of sustainability and environmental responsibility, and nontoxic cork are a couple of their favorite examples of this trend.

“Hardwood continues to grow and it is the preferred surface in most rooms,” the Flooring Girl says on her blog, which features a full article on 2018 Hardwood Flooring Trends. As to what styles of hardwood flooring are trending this year, she says we should be looking for:

• Cool colors – dark browns, gray, light (without the yellow), white washes
• Wide planks
• Matte and satin finishes
• Environmentally friendlier finishes

At Kuhn Flooring, the premier flooring company for Palm Beach County homeowners, we offer an exciting selection of hardwood floors, including variable widths in both satin and hand-scraped fishes. We also offer a beautiful range of affordable laminate floors that can introduce a surprising array of textures and tones to flooring in Pompano Beach and other area communities.