Give your home the best base with well thought out and practical flooring choices – here’s what’s trending
With pets, parties, children and probably the occasional scooter or pram traipsing across its surface, your flooring needs to stand up to the trials of family life underfoot. So, regardless of whether it’s going to be the perfect neutral backdrop, or a standout feature, knowing which flooring material will suit your lifestyle needs is top priority.
1. Hard flooring is increasingly popular, with more homeowners opting for this choice in the busiest areas of their homes while reserving carpet for just the bedrooms.
2. Colour selections for homes are now more subdued, with earthy colour palettes being most popular. To keep a scheme neutral but still interesting, textured wool carpet and timber-look flooring with unique graining and detailing is becoming the new go-to floor pairing for New Zealand homes.
3. Timbers are now cooling down, think ebony, espresso, dark walnut and beige blonde oaks, with a move away from yellow, orange and reddish timbers. Unique laying patterns, such as herringbone, chevron and parquet designs, are currently ramping up in popularity.
4. The resurgence of hard flooring has also seen a trend in rugs. Handmade, natural fibre choices in cream, off-white and natural non-dyed tones are current best sellers, with New Zealanders opting for more neutral, textural and chunky looks over colourful, patterned designs.
Colour choice
Getting your floor colour just right is crucial to how the rest of your home looks, feels and functions. Dark flooring will hide more dust and debris in between vacuums, but “go too dark and it will do the opposite, and every bit of fluff or dust will show,” says Siobhan MacLeod from Flooring Xtra. Dark flooring creates a pleasant and grounding backdrop for furniture, rugs and light-coloured walls to sit against, often adding an element of drama and elegance to a space. But, in smaller rooms, dark floors can shrink the space further. Lighter floors can help to open up a space, and because they’re not as dramatic as dark floors, they can be easily incorporated into many different styles of home. Bear in mind what undertone you want your floor to have. Lighter floors with a warm undertone can appear too yellow en masse. On the other end of the spectrum, lighter floors with an icy undertone can wash out a room. Find one that suits your style.
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