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Top Five Hardwood Flooring Trends for 2020

As we get closer to the New Year, it may be time to start planning home renovation goals, and hardwood floors are one of the biggest returns on investment for home upgrades, with homeowners recovering 106% of the cost of installing hardwood flooring when they sell. We’re already seeing trends hitting the flooring market as we close out 2019, so we’ve pulled together the top five hardwood floor trends we expect to see in 2020. Think reactive looks, light brown floors, wide planks, European white oak, and maple hardwood floors.

Featured Floor: LIFECORE Anton Fresh Aire by Jewel Marlowe for the One Room Challenge

Reactive Hardwood Floors on Trend for 2020

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Featured Floor: LIFECORE Anew Gentling by Stacey Ann Blake of Design Addict Mom for the One Room Challenge

Our predicted 2020 hardwood floor trends are all about varying degrees of contrast and rich color, which is exactly what the organic reactive process brings to life by naturally darkening and highlighting the grain patterns of each plank. There’s a reason our reactive hardwood floors were featured as one of the top 20 best new home building products by This Old House. The process pairs old world knowledge about tannins with new techniques to pull out truly unique colors from the wood and bring a stunning, sophisticated look to any design.

2020 Design Trend: Light Brown Hardwood Floors Are In

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Featured Floor: Anew Gentling by Wheelhouse Design

Designers are turning to light brown engineered wood floors for a more European look. This 2020 hardwood floor trend can work to balance out darker paint colors and design elements—like the deep navy Sherwin Williams’ named as their 2020 color of the year—or serve as a foundation for light, bright colors more in line with a French countryside or apartment feel. We expect to see more of this use of an authentic wood aesthetic to really level up the sophistication of home design.

Designers Turn to Wide-plank Engineered Flooring

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Featured Floor: LIFECORE Abella Moderna by Erika Ward for the One Room Challenge

Wide-plank hardwood floors have been on trend for a few years now, and we expect this to continue in 2020. The wide plank wood floor trend makes rooms look larger and more open. No matter your design sensibility, wide planks offer something for everyone. In modern homes, they can lend a contemporary feel, and for older homes they can complete a rustic, authentic look.

A Big Year for White Oak Floors

hardwood flooring design trends 2020
hardwood flooring design trends 2020

Featured Floor: LIFECORE Adela Rich Request by Magnolia Design & Construction (founded by Chip and Joanna Gaines and part of The Preserve)

When it comes to hardwood species, we predict oak floors are going to be big in 2020. Not only does oak offer durability and affordability, but European white oak especially offers a smoother grain for a more modern aesthetic. Smaller growth rings combine with the wavy grain patterns to allow for better contrasts between shades for floors that really standout.

Stunning Maple Hardwoods Ring in the New Year

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Right up there with oak hardwood floors are Maple hardwoods, a species we expect to see a lot of in 2020. With a fine grain made up of both curly patterns and uniformly straight lines, it offers a distinct, sophisticated look. Plus, North American maple scores the second highest of non-exotic species on the Janka Hardness scale at 1450, making it a great long term investment.

Low VOCs are Always on Trend

Whether you prefer oak or maple hardwoods or tend to have a more rustic or sophisticated design preference, healthy hardwood floors are always on trend. At LIFECORE we manufacture all of our products using our proprietary ZERO-ADD process for no added formaldehyde. Combined with our low VOC UV-hardened finish, it’s easier than ever to get hardwood floors that are as healthy as they are beautiful.

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