Some floors like hardwood can last a century before you need to replace them. On the other hand, you’ll need to rip up your carpet every eight years or so.
What you choose to put under your feet is a serious investment. Before you put all that hard-earned cash into your floor, it’s important to know what materials, patterns, and flooring trends are right for your home.
Read on to find out what to expect when it comes to 2021 flooring trends.
1. Terrific Terrazzo
Architects first used terrazzo flooring in 15th century Italy. It was a cheaper alternative to mosaic floors. In the early to mid-century USA, it was the material of choice for all kinds of spaces, from butcher shop floors to the hallowed halls of the Guggenheim. Today, it’s popularity is on the rise once again.
So what exactly is terrazzo? The unique speckled or patchy look of terrazzo flooring is due to its mixed-material makeup. Builders lay concrete on a prepared flooring surface and then embed it with pieces of colored marble. You can get as creative or minimalist as you like when it comes to how many, how large, and what color marble pieces you use.
Combining different flooring materials is one of the new flooring trends. Designers are edging wood floors with ceramic tiles in contrasting colors. Floor layers are insetting rivers of copper into polished concrete.
2. Luxury Vinyl Flooring Trends
Vinyl flooring has come a long way since the garish oranges and muted browns of the 1960s and 1970s. Today’s luxury vinyl sector is offering consumers look-alike products that mimic ceramic tiles, marble, and hardwood.
Vinyl flooring is now available to homeowners in a wide array of patterns and colors. And at a fraction of the cost of the materials, it authentically replicates.
Aside from good looks at affordable prices, luxury vinyl offers homeowners a lot of practical benefits. It’s water- and scratch-resistant, making it easy to clean. It’s softer and more insulating than real stone or wood. And a flooring professional can install it quickly.
3. Germ-Killing Flooring
The COVID-19 crisis of 2020 is still fresh in our minds. Homeowners are looking for ways in which their decor can help make their homes cleaner and safer.
Manufacturers coat ceramic tiles in an antimicrobial glaze. The glaze is not only less porous than regular tiles (meaning no microscopic holes for germs to hide in), but it also contains germ-resisting minerals like silver, magnesium, and zinc.
You can treat vinyl, concrete, and cork flooring with a wide range of antibacterial and hypoallergenic coatings, too. This coating can come off, so be sure to schedule a recoat if you notice wear and tear.
4. Non-Slip Flooring for Aging Residents
With an aging society on the rise in developed countries like the USA, another health-related trend we’re likely to see in 2021 is slip-resistant flooring.
Once only available in dreaded dentist clinic-pastels, non-slip flooring is no longer that horrible stuff that graces hospital bathrooms. Manufacturers are responding to increased demand from homeowners and making non-slip flooring in a range of attractive colors and patterns.
Made of linoleum, rubber, or vinyl, anti-slip flooring is often installed in wet areas like bathrooms, where the risk of a fall is highest. But now people are using it in mudrooms and playrooms, too.
5. New Flooring Trends for Home Gyms
Gym closures due to COVID-19 have ushered in another home design trend in 2020.
Unable to get their fitness fix outside the house, gym-goers are installing home gyms. Whether you're converting a basement or a spare room into a home gym, you’re going to need high-impact flooring that can support the weight of heavy sports equipment.
Look for thick mats and tiles made from rubber or foam and lay them over vinyl or an easy-clean synthetic carpet.
6. Tiles That Look Like Stone
Many homeowners struggling with the financial fallout from 2020 will be looking to cut costs in 2021.
Stone flooring can be expensive, so manufacturers are developing limestone, marble, granite, and concrete alternatives made from ceramic tile. They’re cheap, strong, and look like the real thing. There are even onyx-look tiles made from recycled glass.
Choose large-format tiles over small to make a bold statement. And even if you’re not into the stone-look tiles, be sure to choose a matt finish tile over one with a sheen. As 2021 floor trends predict, shiny tiles are on their way out.
7. Light-Colored Hardwoods
Named the most popular interior design look in 2020, the “Scandi” (short for “Scandinavian”) trend is set to continue into the new year. This means that anyone installing hardwood floors in 2021 should look to the lighter, or blonde, end of the color spectrum for inspiration. Think white oak, maple, and birch.
Hardwood is among the most expensive of all the flooring options. But don’t despair. Many flooring specialists offer to finance. Or consider choosing engineered hardwood (with a slice of real wood on top of a supportive layer) or wood-look laminate (with a photographic top layer coated with a protective film) flooring instead.
8. Sustainable Flooring Materials
Sustainable flooring uses materials and processes that put as little demand on the ecosystem as possible.
Cork is harvested from living trees. The bark that is cut off to make cork flooring will grow back in around three years. Bamboo is light and tough as steel. Because bamboo grows so fast, it can be harvested quickly, making it one of the most sustainable 2021 floor trends.
You could also go the upcycled route. Deck out your home in refurbished gym flooring, discarded wine barrels, or wood collected from house demolitions and salvage yards.
9. Carpets Made of Natural Fibres
After being stuck inside for so much of 2020, people are looking at ways to bring the outdoors in. Natural fiber carpets add an earthy aesthetic to a home.
Sisal, coir, jute, seagrass, and abaca all come from plants. When woven into carpet or rugs, these materials are tough, inexpensive, and eco-friendly. Wool carpet is stain-resistant, takes up natural dyes well, and is incredibly durable. Just be sure the product contains 100% wool shorn from free-range sheep.
Creating a cozy carpeted home for yourself? Embrace the happy colors and bold patterns set to trend in 2021. If you’re remodeling a house for sale, consider carpets in neutral colors. They’re more appealing to buyers.
Why Work With a Professional Flooring Company?
Whatever flooring trends you choose for your home, it’s important to hire the right company to help you through the material selection and installation process. Professional flooring installation companies like National Floors Direct offer the best deals, the largest selection of name-brand flooring, and fast, reliable service.
Keen to get your home up-to-date with 2021 floor trends? Contact National Floors Direct for an estimate.
