The Future of Floors

"With all of the new options and innovative materials available to homeowners, floors have become more than just a surface to walk on."

Most experts agree that materials used for floors will change slowly. Proven materials such as stone, laminates, carpet, tile and hardwood will persevere. There will continue to be a stronger movement toward natural materials that come from sustainable resources and are affordable, recyclable and easy to maintain. With “green” technologies ever increasing, the flooring industry will likely participate offering even more environmentally friendly options. “We may see two extremes, with high-tech synthetics made from space-age materials on one side, and indigenous materials like raw stone, concrete, grasses and reeds on the other,” says environmental planner, Paul Bierman-Lytle. More emphasis will be placed on surfaces that offer a measure of control over noise, light, glare, heat retention and other environmental factors. Indoor air quality and health will be important considerations in surface choices for people with asthma and similar breathing related problems.

With homeowners considering these new options, flooring manufacturers will continue to research and market new and unusual surfaces. Of course, like any other part of home design, flooring styles can be a bit trendy. While natural and green materials remain top picks for homeowners, it appears that any material can have a stake in the floors of the future. The following pages have a few ideas we keep hearing about.

What to expect by the year 2012

Alternative materials
Laminated wood products, recycled wood and locally-produced, indigenous materials such as lightweight, stamped concrete and tile will become viable alternatives to solid wood and stone.

Universal design
For aging baby boomers, surfaces will be all-user friendly. Countertops will be adjustable in height and have safer, rounded corners. Watch for skid-resistant, highly durable flooring and glare-free surfaces.

Living organisms
Genetic engineering will introduce materials that are living organisms, with surfaces that respond to environmental factors such as heat or chemicals.

New Ideas for Wood

Traditional woods like oak, cherry and pine have always held a significant corner of the hardwood market. However, in the past few years flooring companies have begun offering new species of wood and consumers are loving it. Two of the most popular wood surfaces in home decorating today are bamboo and cork. They are both durable, attractive and environmentally sound.

Used as flooring by Asian families for centuries, bamboo fits well into a green home building plan. The fastest growing plant on earth, bamboo offers 25 times the yield of hardwood, yet is much more renewable. It can be harvested without killing the plant and replenished with low impact on the environment. Its hardiness means no fertilizers or pesticides are required. When properly harvested, bamboo provides a hard, durable surface.

Bamboo can be purchased in natural blonde, which reflects its true color and grain, or it can be smoked to a darker, richer version. It can also be manufactured both horizontally, showing its characteristic nodes, and vertically offering a more even color and grain.

Cork is a comfy material made of millions of air cells acting as a natural cushion. It is considered a warm surface compared to tile substrates. Manufacturing technology has come a long way improving this product for use as a flooring material. It is non-absorbent and will not trap dirt or fungus, and it is rugged enough to withstand heavy traffic.

Made from the bark of the Cork Oak, it too is renewable because the tree does not have to be killed to harvest the bark. Cork is available in a range of colors as both planks and tiles. Like traditional hardwoods, it can be finished and refinished, stained, bleached, or painted. Its ability to be inlaid and installed as tiles makes it a designer’s dream when it comes to creating patterns and borders.

Other exotic woods now gaining in popularity include kempas, a reddish wood that looks much like mahogany, as well as two South American woods: Santos mahogany and cumaru. Kempas has a beautiful grain and is less expensive than mahogany.

In addition to trying new flooring substrates, home-owners continue to experiment with traditional wood. Hand-scraped and distressed hardwood floors that simulate old floors created before the invention of modern sanding methods provide a historical look that goes well with lowcountry style homes.

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New Ideas for Stone

Prized for its glamour and performance, many homeowners are using stone to create contrast. The good news is that new fabrication techniques have made stone more accessible to a broader market. No longer restricted to million-dollar mansions, stone is showing up in home designs everywhere.

Stone naturally presents a unique approach to flooring as no two pieces are ever identical, but consumers are going a step further by selecting different stones to use in combinations. For example granite framed in travertine is becoming a popular choice, and limestone mixed with slate is popping up in country style kitchens. Other commonly used stones are marble, quartz and soapstone.

For a truly natural look, installers are getting requests for large format stones. Price warning: large pieces can be tricky to install because they are usually thin compared to their face dimension and thus have a tendency to crack. Stones of varying sizes can give the same effect without the added cost for installation.

In addition to varying sizes, the future of stone will see lots of unique finishes. People continually want something new and different, so manufacturers have come up with techniques for distressing stone to create finishes that resemble river washed and leather surfaces. They can even achieve a European street-worn appearance by sandblasting the stone surface and then softening the effect with diamond brushes.

New Ideas for Carpet

Remember the sculptured carpets of the late 60’s when everyone rushed to cover their hardwood? The 70’s and 80’s brought forth an abundance of glorious shag, and the late 90’s ushered in the return of looped carpet like the ever-popular Berber. Today, much of it is returning from the past in a new mixture of texture and colors.

Carpet, still the most used floor covering in the nation, comes in a huge selection of color and ranges from natural, plush fibers to synthetic, industrial coverings. Man-made fibers have gained the largest percentage of the carpet market due to their improved durability, stain-resistant features, and affordable costs. However, natural fiber carpets, like wool, are becoming more popular due to their green factor.

Most homeowners are still opting for a balance between hard and soft floor coverings. People tend to prefer carpeting in bedrooms and low traffic areas. To meet the demand for “new and different,” manufacturers are experimenting with weave techniques. Frieze carpet is a synthetic that’s twisted to look curly. Resembling a miniature shag, the carpet has taken the market by storm. Similarly, cut-and-loop carpet patterns have grown in popularity due to their durability and unique look. Patterns like leaves and vines can be created in this latter version making it perfect for special areas in the home.

Lighter colors and pastels still dominate the carpet color wheel, but new retro colors like chocolate and kiwi are hitting floors too. If concern for stains is preventing you from purchasing a carpet you admire, you should know that most manufacturers are now using solution dyed fibers to weave their carpets and rugs. This process gives fibers extraordinary stain resistance.