Wide Planks and White Oak: The Shifting Landscape of Hardwood Flooring

What Are The Top Flooring Trends For This Year?

Hardwood flooring design has undergone remarkable transformations in recent years, with today's trends reflecting both technological innovation and aesthetic evolution. As Hunter Ross explains, these shifts aren't random—they're driven by designers constantly seeking fresh ways to create beautiful, distinctive spaces that stand apart.

Remember those hand-scraped, rustic oak floors that dominated North Texas luxury homes regardless of interior style? That era has given way to something entirely different. Today's hardwood flooring landscape features dramatically wider planks—growing from traditional 2.25-inch boards to standard 7.5-inch planks and now expanding to stunning 9, 10, and even 12-inch widths that create a canvas-like effect in homes. This expansion has been made possible by engineered hardwood's superior stability, allowing for these impressive dimensions without sacrificing performance.

Color preferences tell an equally fascinating story of change. The once-ubiquitous gray floors have virtually disappeared from the market, replaced initially by light, beach-inspired white oak tones. But in a surprising twist, medium to darker brown floors are making a comeback, with rich nutmeg shades returning to favor. Alongside this color evolution, we're witnessing the rise of single-surface homes, where one flooring material flows throughout the entire space. This design choice isn't just aesthetically pleasing—it's psychologically sound, creating environments that feel more balanced and peaceful by eliminating disruptive transitions.

Looking toward the future, Hunter highlights groundbreaking products from companies like Boss Floors and Biellon that combine the authenticity of real wood with click-lock installation systems and unprecedented durability. These innovations promise to revolutionize the engineered hardwood market with products that are nearly waterproof, highly resistant to scratches, and much faster to install. For homeowners seeking to transform their spaces with the latest in hardwood flooring technology and design, call 972-525-0026 for a free in-home consultation.

To learn more about Wood Floors of Dallas visit:
https://www.WoodFloorDallas.com
Wood Floors of Dallas
159 W. Main St., Suite 200
Lewisville, Texas 75057
972-525-0026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Wood Floors of Dallas podcast, where
we bring expert insights onhardwood flooring design and
craftsmanship, hosted by HunterRoss, owner of Wood Floors of
Dallas, with over 20 years inthe building product industry.
Whether you're a homeowner or ageneral contractor, we're here

(00:27):
to help you create amazingspaces with honor, quality and
expertise.
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Styles change and flooring is no exception.
Let's dive into the tophardwood flooring trends shaping
homes this year.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Hunter Ross, owner of WoodFloors of Dallas Hunter.
How's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Very good, sofia, happy to be with you.
Awesome, and it's great to.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Very good, sophia, happy to be with you Awesome,
and it's great to have you back,hunter.
So flooring trends evolve everyyear, but let's talk about
what's making waves in theindustry right now.
What are the top flooringtrends for this year?

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yep, that's a really good question and I think the
best way to answer it is goingto be to just discuss a little
bit about how these trends comeabout.
So, over time and over history,people get kind of used to what
they have and they they have adesire to upgrade or make it
better Right.

(01:40):
And so designers really drive alot of these trends.
They're asked constantly how tomake my space prettier?
What can I do to make it better?
What is everybody else doing?
What should I not do?
So that's where these trendscome from.
They're really design focused.
Some trends come from newtechnologies, but most trends
come from, over time, designerswanting to be able to create

(02:03):
interesting new spaces thatdon't look the same as everybody
else, right?
So in history, for instance inNorth Texas, we used to have
tons of solid hardwood that washand scraped and very rustic.
It doesn't matter whatever thedecor of the rest of the home
was.
If you had a really nice house,you had a hand scraped,
beautiful hardwood oak floor.

(02:23):
Probably typically it was amedium to a dark brown.
So over the past number ofyears, those floors have faded
out and what's really beenpopular in the past year and a
half, few years is wider planks,and so right now, wider planks
are still very popular.
The average floor a while ago,when it came to the width of a

(02:46):
plank, was about two and aquarter inches wide.
Then it went to five inch.
Now the staple is seven and ahalf inches, and we're really
talking about engineeredhardwood.
One of the benefits toengineered hardwood is that it
can be wider and wider becauseit's much more stable.
So when we had the advantage ofhaving a much more stable

(03:06):
product, like with engineered,we allowed to go bigger and that
the beautiful planks ofhardwood, just it, just it looks
prettier when it's in the home,right, you can see more of the
natural beauty of the of thewood, and so that's really taken
off and that's been going for acouple of years now.
Another thing that was in stylethat is completely not in style

(03:26):
or on trend anymore is gray.
Gray floors were everywhere.
Now you cannot, you won't findanyone putting a gray floor in.
If they they're doing it,that's probably because they
bought the gray floor at adiscount.
That's why they chose to do it.
Where are we at today?
So light colors, think, thinkbeach, right.
Think very light colored whiteoak.

(03:48):
That has been a staple forabout a couple of years now, and
one interesting thing that I'veseen turn over the past few
months is that people are goingback to more darker floors again
.
So that's really on trend rightnow is the medium to nutmeg
colors and the darker colors areactually coming back and, of

(04:11):
course, the white oak is stilllike the staple the wide plank
white oak.
Another thing that is reallyhappening right now is, instead
of doing a seven and a half inchwide plank, manufacturers are
coming out with even largerplanks.
So now we have eight inch, nineinch, ten inch, twelve inch
wide planks and if you see someof these floors installed, it

(04:33):
looks.
It looks like a canvas, itlooks like art, because the
having these huge wide planks,it's just there's.
It's very hard to describe thebeauty until you see one
installed.
So the uniqueness of the wideplanks is definitely really
moving and trending right nowand the planks are getting
larger and larger.

(04:54):
Some other trends that arehappening is people are getting
away from doing.
With the advanced technology of, for instance, engineered
hardwood, for example, you'reallowed to put that material
anywhere in the home.
Now, for the most part, youwant to have a, like a laundry
room you want to have, you know,a larger bathroom like a master

(05:16):
bath.
You want tile in there, for themost part because it's really a
wet area.
But with the advancement in thestructure and finishes that are
happening on engineered hardwood, now they're so durable and
they're not waterproof, butunless you're pouring water on
the ground, they really stand upwell.
So what you're seeing is wherepeople used to have tile in the
kitchen or in entryways orwhatever now the entire surface

(05:40):
is covered in one type offlooring.
You know, in this case,hardwood.
What that does is it cuts downon maintenance, really, because
instead of having to usemultiple different types of
products and multiple differenttypes of tools, you've got one
floor throughout your home.
It's easy to maintain.
Another thing is when it comesto just the aesthetic beauty of

(06:03):
it having one surface there's.
This is I'm not making this up,this is real.
This is it's feng shui.
Okay, some people don't believein it, but one surface there's.
This is I'm not making this up,this is real.
This is it's feng shui.
Okay, some people don't believein it, but it's real.
It's you could, it's psychology.
So when you walk into a spacethat you'd never been in or if
you walk into your home, forexample, and there's a lot of
different transitions offlooring materials.
There is proven science that ismeasurable that it causes a

(06:28):
little bit of like unease or alittle it's in in psychology
it's like a tiny bit of anxietyversus when you walk into a
space that has that's morebalanced and more even, and one
of those things is colors, uh,like, for instance, on the floor
, being across the entire floor,it actually puts your mind at
ease and it makes you feelcalmer and it makes you feel

(06:50):
more comfortable.
Now we're talking like littleamounts.
This is not something that'sgoing to drive you crazy if you
have two different types offloor, obviously, but anything
that you can do to balance yourhome's environment and really
create a more peacefulenvironment is something that's
really good, and so designershave been educated about that
and they're applying that toenvironment is something that's

(07:11):
really good, and so designershave been educated about that
and they're applying that to theprojects they're doing as well.
So you're finding in the trendsthat one surface is going
throughout the whole entire homefor the most part.
The other thing is or I guess,another trend that's happening
and it's been going on for alittle while now, but it's
really really happening.
Now trend that's happening andit's been going on for a little
while now but it's really reallyhappening now is you're seeing

(07:31):
carpet just disappear from homes.
Carpet traps dust and it trapspollen and dander and all these
other things and it's verydifficult to clean.
So you're seeing so tons ofpeople that are taking out every
single bit of their carpet intheir home and putting a hard
surface in, whether that be likea vinyl plank or an engineered
hardwood.
So that's happening a lot too.

(07:53):
When it comes to colorways Imentioned this earlier we were
just like in a light blonde,white oak for everything.
Now people are really digginginto more colors, even cabinetry
.
Instead of cabinetry being allwhite, people are starting to go
back with stained cabinets, etcetera, and so you're getting a

(08:13):
lot of opportunities to workwith new colors on your flooring
and people are being verycreative.
It's a lot of fun.
You've got mixes of like what Iwould call coffee and cream,
for example.
You've got some like colorsthat are multifaceted.
So, like in the green, youwould have a dark stain but then
the rest of the board would belighter.
So stuff like that is justcoming, becoming more available,

(08:38):
and a lot of people are puttingthat in their homes and a lot
of designers are really drivingall that.
So those are the kind of themain things I see right now and
I think that's going to continueto grow.
There is a new product that'scoming to market that people are
starting to learn about.
If you're talking about the nexttrend, what is the hottest

(08:59):
trend coming?
It's this.
There's a couple of products onthe market.
One is called Boss Floors andone of them is called Biellon.
Those two products are acombination of easy installation
with a click lock floor, andreally tons of click lock floors
are going in right now becausethey're just so much more
efficient and the costs are muchlower than doing a glue down

(09:22):
hardwood.
But those two companies arepioneering this new technology
that will literally take overthe majority of engineered
hardwood in the future.
It's just got too many benefits.
Basically, it's almostwaterproof, it's extremely,
extremely scratch and dentresistant and the installation

(09:43):
is just basically half the time.
The installation is justbasically half the time.
So you've got a product that issimilar in its construction and
its installation as, say, avinyl plank, but it's a real
wood veneer product.
So if you want to havesomething in your home that's
going to last a long time, bethe most durable floor that you
could get and also have theauthenticity of a real wood

(10:05):
floor, you need to look intothose two companies, because
that is the next frontier andthat is the hottest thing going
in engineered hardwood and woodflooring right now.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
Well, hunter, this was such a fun discussion.
Flooring trends can completelytransform space, and keeping up
with them helps homeowners makethe best choices.
Thanks again, and we'll catchyou on the next episode.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Awesome, Sophia.
Thank you so much.
Take care.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Thank you, you too.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
Thanks for tuning in to Wood Floors of Dallas podcast
.
Ready to transform your space?
Call 972-525-0026 for a freein-home consultation or visit
woodfloordallascom to learn more.
Work with honor, build withexcellence.

(11:00):
See you next time.