Hardwood Floors Oct/Nov 2019

2020

3% Unsure

Christopher Keale, Owner of T &G Flooring in Denver, Colorado, said that while wood-particle composite and other laminates remain more popular in commercial settings than in homes, he expects LVT andWPC creeping into homes as the quality of those products improves. “It will take market share. Is wood still the most desired thing? Sure, it is. It’s still the most luxurious, but WPC is going to eat into it. I don’t doubt that at all.”

“I’m very concerned. I don’t like the national debt,” said Paul Stringer of wood floor manufacturer Somerset Wood Products, in Somerset, Kentucky. “And the way housing costs are getting so high, I think with the election coming up there could be a lot of turmoil. And that can make it hard for people to buy things like wood flooring. But if the economy slides, wood flooring could take the brunt of that. That worries me a lot.”

33% No

64% Yes

Has competition from wood-look products had a negative effect on real wood product sales?

Forecast: Lighter Style The style trends in hardwood floors that manufacturers, distributors, and retailers see coming in 2020 can be summed up in four words: wider, longer, lighter, and natural. “A few years ago,

everyone.”The appeal of shiny floors appears to be dulling, as well. “Matte sheen is increasing in popularity as people want a natural, ‘organic’-looking floor,” said one survey respondent. One trend that most respondents felt is all but over is hand-scraped finishes. Those “will become more unpopular as homeowners discover the difficulty of cleaning,” one respondent said, explaining why more than 54 percent of respondents expect demand for that finish to drop in 2020. “Textures are still in demand,” one survey respondent said, “however, preference for the type of texture is evolving.” Consumers want a “lighter degree of scrape” that provides dimension, but doesn’t change the feel. Among species, oak is king – particularly white oak – and domestic species continue to be in higher demand than exotics. “Domestic hardwoods continue to hold their share because of cost, availability, and quality,” one survey respondent said. When it comes to the impact of

shades, reminiscent of the 1980s. “It was gone for a while, and now it’s making a comeback.” The drawback of white – its tendency to show stains and wear and tear – likely will prevent it from appealing to families with young children or big dogs, he said. “But when you’ve got this modern minimalist design where everything is very clean looking… there are definitely more white floors than there were a few years ago.” One survey respondent said homeowners want products that look great with less maintenance. “Gone are the dark smooth, shiny finishes that caused so much grief to

people were looking at 4-inch-wide boards. Now there are a lot of people who won’t even consider that. It’s 5- or 6-inch-wide, minimum,” said Scott Tarpinian of Berlin Flooring in Boulder, Colorado. “Dark colors, which were very big until recently, are kind of fading. No pun intended,” he said. He added even the greys, which have been soaring in popularity, seem too dark for some customers, who are turning to white

The style trends in hardwood floors that manufacturers, distributors, and retailers see coming in 2020 can be summed up in four words: Wider, longer, lighter, and natural.

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