Making a fashion statement with flooring is one of the hottest and newest trends in home design. Today new options for materials, colors, patterns, and design have opened up a whole new world of choices for new homes and remodels as well. If there are two rooms in the home where flooring matters the most, they would be the kitchen and the bathroom. With the everyday traffic and wear that comes from cooking, bathing, and cleaning, these floors certainly take a beating. Concurrently, that traffic also means there will be a lot of eyes on your floors. Whether you’re hosting an office game night or having family over for the holidays, you’re going to want to make sure your new home’s floors will continue to floor your guests for years to come. 

New trends for 2020

Flooring trends don’t change nearly as often as fashion, or even other home decor, but we are in a period of evolution thanks to advancing technologies. We can now do more than ever before with lookalike flooring options and low maintenance flooring options. Wood flooring over the years has been a solid choice for homeowners, although the maintenance of wood floors is an everlasting process that requires continual care. Lookalike wood products have flooded on the market made from manufactured stone products and high-density composites. The encaustic decorative tiles have become more desirable. They are available in both the traditional concrete materials and are now becoming available in porcelain tiles that are thinner, more durable and less expensive.

Glass tile is still going strong. There are larger size glass tiles with some as big as 24×24 inches. There are many options of mosaic glass tiles that come in various shapes as glass tile liners and as field tiles.

Tiles continue to be larger and larger. 12×24-inch tiles are still popular, but there are tiles as large as 24×48 inches. They are available with realistic types of stone, such as marble, limestone, travertine, and composites too. Rectangle subway tiles are still popular and more options in more sizes will be available in 2020.

Traditional is Back

Black and white at the turn of the last century represented a huge sector in the kitchen and bath market. Ceramics and tile captured clean looks and provided excellent service life and easy maintenance.

Vintage has always been about nostalgia, bringing back the warmth and memories of decades past. In 2020, black and white tiles are making a strong comeback. It’s not the same old black and white tiles that adorn historic homes. Instead, it’s bold, graphic, and more luxurious.  More and more homeowners want a unique twist to the vintage flooring style. This includes smaller tiles with bolder graphic patterns. This perfectly blends vintage with contemporary for the perfect look and feel.

Checked kitchen tiles may seem like they are a throwback to popular kitchen flooring of the past, but there’s nothing wrong with timeless interior design standards. Retro-inspired kitchens are on trend and how much more retro can you can get than checkered tiles? 

This includes smaller tiles with bolder graphic patterns. This perfectly blends vintage with contemporary for the perfect look and feel.

Porcelain Tile

“Porcelain tiles are becoming increasingly popular because they require little to no maintenance and are extremely durable. These “large-format” tiles range from 16-by-36 inches to 24-by-24 inches and higher, resembling the looks of Calcutta marble or the grey and beige tones of other stones. And for those looking to stray away from wood but still love the look, porcelain is still a great way to stay on-trend.  While common in the kitchen, this large-format tile is dominating bathroom design, along with intricate patterns like chevron and herringbone.

Other 2020 Trends

  • Mosaics: For a luxury, high-end feel, Huh says many homebuyers are adding mosaics as accents, particularly in the bathroom. 
  • Concrete Tiles: These are very popular because of the colors and designs they come in. As long as clients accept that they will wear and discolor over time, these are beautiful on-trend products.” 
  • Radiant Heating: This luxury was specified by 45 percent of NKBA designers in kitchens and around 60 percent in bathrooms. With radiant heating in floors, electric is the most popular option with hydronic (warm water heating) coming in second, the NKBA trends report revealed. 

Conclusion

The general feeling going into 2020 is that no one is satisfied anymore with traditional materials. Homeowners want flooring materials that have been given special treatment to make them unique in design and texture. Whether it is fumed wood, blanched flooring, textured tile or wood looking tiles; buyers are looking for new and exciting options. Fortunately, 2020 delivers on quality, variety, style and so much more. It will not disappoint.