Top 10 Hardwood Flooring Trends 2021

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Trends are constantly changing. They change from year to year and bring momentum to every industry - including the parquet industry!

To keep up with trends, it is vital to analyze the market at an early stage. So you can find out in which direction trends are moving and whether (and how) you can even be at the forefront.

Recognizing and even helping to develop hardwood flooring trends is very important to us. We want to present the most modern and progressive hardwood flooring fashion to you so you always know what is hot and currently brings you the highest ROI (return on investment).

Well-chosen, contemporary flooring increases the value and attractiveness of a property enormously.

After an extensive market analysis, we proudly present to you our "Top 10 parquet trends for the year 2021":

10. Natural wood colors (natural look)

9. Smoked oak

8. Bamboo parquet

7. Industrial parquet

6. Parquet in bathroom and kitchen

5. Oak planks

4. Skirting boards as a design element

3. Ecology and environmental awareness

2. Customizable parquet

1. The top trend in 2021: ???

Are you ready for our full ranking in detail? Let's start the countdown to this year's number 1 among the hardwood flooring trends.

10. Natural Wood Color (Natural Look)

Nature and its colors are becoming more prevalent indoors. Wood and natural textiles are a clear trend in 2021, not only for floor coverings but also for furniture and decorative items.

Everything should be and look as natural as possible. Accordingly, pastel tones are fashionable for textiles - not over-saturated colors that indicate excessive dying. Sand and off-white tones, which suggest natural cotton, are the big sellers this year.

This trend isn't significantly different for parquet. The demand for white-oiled floorboards is falling, while that for naturally-oiled parquet is increasing.

An oak wood floor with a natural oil finish.

By using so-called "natural oil finishes", the wood retains its natural color and feel. It looks elegant and "tamed" but at the same time left with its original look as if it were still raw wood.

A natural oil finish makes the connection to nature in your own four walls not only visible but also palpable.

9. Smoked Oak is Growing in Popularity

Do you know how elegant, warm brown oak wood looks? Do you know why the branches and annual rings of oak often stick out so firmly and thus fully express the character of the wood? Only smoked oak has these attractive characteristics.

Oak planks that lay in a smokehouse turn dark brown over time. In addition, some aspects of the wood become darker and more vibrant in color faster than others.

The branches and annual rings take on the darker shade more quickly than the rest of the wood fibers - this is how the well-known "smoked look" is created.

Smoked oak in its purest form - also with a natural oil finish.

Smoked oak is not only visually beautiful but also very interesting because of certain improved properties. It is a little more robust and stain-resistant than unsmoked wood. Therefore, it requires less aggressive surface treatments to withstand demanding loads.

Smoked oak looks very natural and is therefore gaining in popularity, as already described under #10.

If a parquet made of smoked oak gets treated with ecological parquet oil, it looks (even more) modern - more about this trend in #3.

8. Bamboo Flooring is on the Rise Again

From a biological point of view, bamboo is not wood but grass. Nonetheless, it has been used to manufacture "wood" flooring for a long time.

Many do not know that bamboo is even harder than oak, making it very suitable as a floor covering. Bamboo parquet was already popular in the 1970s and 80s. But since then (unfortunately or fortunately), it has been forgotten.

Nowadays, bamboo is experiencing a "revival" again. Even if we do not register any increased interest here at Ryser Böden, we know of the increasing global demand - primarily because more and more bamboo products are flooding the market every day.

However, it will be a while before flooring made of bamboo truly finds its way back to Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

Since there are hardly any European bamboo parquet manufacturers, we, as bamboo flooring sellers, will have to be patient. From our perspective, it makes no sense to import bamboo from distant countries and unnecessarily pollute the environment due to freight forwarding - even if bamboo is generally considered ecological.

7. Industrial Style Paired With Industrial Parquet

The well-known and modern industrial style, which consists mainly of exposed concrete and brick elements with dark gray-colored and rustic wooden accents, has been in trend for several years.

Industrial parquet is a perfect match for this (interior) architectural fad, both visually and functionally. The upright, rowed mosaic pattern brings a kind of visual robustness and strength to a room like hardly any other floor covering and thus goes exceptionally well with the industrial look.

This trend in industrial parquet is growing increasingly noticeable since last year, so by now, it can no longer be neglected.

Industrial style wood flooring has a modern look.

The demand for this is steadily increasing - even if mainly only from architecture offices and not (yet) from private customers.

6. Parquet in Bathrooms and Kitchens

In our last year's report on the parquet trends for 2020, we described the popular technique of uniform laying of parquet floors in all rooms of a property (at that time in 10th place). This is nowadays hardly a fad but rather a custom.

However, not everyone wants to have parquet in kitchens and bathrooms. Many customers do not yet fully trust a wooden floor when it comes to water or oil stains. However, this distrust is now entirely unreasonable and has been for a few years already.

People are beginning to realize that parquet floors can actually be very suitable for bath and kitchen areas - but it always depends on the execution - more on this topic in another article.

Two trends in one: industrial style plus wooden flooring in the kitchen.

In any case, parquet is becoming increasingly common in bathrooms and kitchens. This is mostly because more and more advanced surface treatments are being developed for wooden floors.

Well-engineered, high-quality parquet oils make it even easier for parquet enthusiasts to have a wooden floor installed even in rooms that were previously deemed "unsuitable".

5. Oak Planks are Still a go-to

This trend will inevitably persist in 2021. Even if customers are increasingly interested in other parquet woods and formats, they still often resort to the classic oak plank 1-strip.

As in the previous year, oak is the most popular wood for hardwood floors. Oak is a robust type of wood that is very suitable for flooring. Oak parquet - especially in a one-strip plank pattern - is a timeless eye-catcher.

There are many other reasons why oak planks are still one of the top trends of the year. You can find out more about this in our article on oak parquet.

4. Baseboards as a Design Element

This is certainly not a trend that you would have expected, is it? Neither did we, but the signs are unmistakable.

Our customers are increasingly asking for baseboards that are not only classically white and inconspicuously small and simple. More often, they now ask for curved and elegantly decorated skirting boards to perfectly pair your floor to the walls.

Often the desired boards are even more than 10 cm (4 inches) high and curved at the top so that their design is reminiscent of noble French châteaus.

Elegantly designed baseboards are trending in 2021.

Though we predict that the times of simple, inconspicuous skirting boards are far from over, they face increasing competition. We look forward to being able to install decorated skirting boards more and more frequently.

What we are already increasingly offering our customers are solid wood baseboards colored to match the flooring. These are currently an absolute favorite.

Such perfectly coordinated skirting boards round off the image of a (primarily customized) parquet perfectly. Skirting boards that used to be something you just did or didn't install are now more often used as actual design elements.

3. Ecology and Environmental Awareness

We have already reached third place on our trends list for 2021. Unlike the previous position, it is clear to everyone why this one has made it onto our list: it is a global and omnipresent trend.

There has also been increased awareness of environmental issues in the parquet industry for some time now. Hardwood flooring should be as sustainable as possible. Make sure to choose local woods for your flooring endeavors.

Therefore, more and more companies are paying attention to environmentally conscious behavior and advocating sustainable raw materials and production.

We warmly welcome this trend because we've been riding this wave for a long time. Now more and more customers are jumping up and leaning in the direction of sustainable flooring.

Three aspects are particularly crucial to our customers:

The wood used for the parquet should come from Switzerland or Europe if possible. This prevents long, unnecessary transport routes that pollute the environment. At the same time, it strengthens the local/regional markets.

We suggest you do the same with the country in which you live.

If possible, the wooden floor should consist of reclaimed wood (antique/old wood), which has been refreshed. After all, there is nothing more ecological than upcycling a renewable material.

Solvent-free and environmentally friendly (even vegan) surface treatments and varnishes are increasingly preferred. Modern technologies ensure that their performance hardly differs from conventional products.

All aspects shape the trend of increased environmental awareness in Ryser Böden and the whole of Switzerland and the surrounding countries.

This is exactly why we as a company focus strongly on ecology and install European and Swiss products and use (where possible) environmentally conscious surface treatments. We also plant one tree for every square meter of wooden flooring we install.

2. Customizable Parquet

Yes, last year's trend # 1 has been pushed down to the second place. Nonetheless, it is an important one.

The will to constantly customize everything is important to more and more people - and rightly so! When you have the opportunity to get exactly what you always wanted, you should finally seize the opportunity.

What is hardly feasible with mass-produced goods works flawlessly with personalization methods. At least for small to medium quantities. In this way, you can modify the perfect product down to the last detail.

Oak parquet flooring can be designed and colored in a multitude of ways. There are endless possibilities.

Since last year, over 80% of our customers use this service! Thanks to our infrastructure and our trained staff, we can create samples on-site and then complete the finished floor of your choice. Who wouldn't want to benefit from that?

Mostly it is oiled oak parquet, which our customers request. The color of the planks should correspond precisely to the individual wishes (nowadays mainly in a kind of natural look, like in #10), and the feel/structure of the surface should also be realistic yet robust.

We hope and expect that this trend will continue or even intensify in the future. In this way, we can provide all customers with precisely the hardwood floor they have always wanted.

You can find out more about the many customization options in our corresponding article.

1. The Top Trend in 2021: Angular Installation Patterns

Who would have thought? Angular patterns are at the top of the trend ranking this year! In our last report, they were only in 7th place.

The demand for herringbone and chevron laying styles rose significantly late last year - more than any other trend on this list. Previously, only a few customers wanted an angular installation pattern, but there has been a fundamental rethink over the past few months.

Now herringbone patterns and noble chevron parquet flooring are super popular. They are an excellent match for modern interior design, and this is probably why they are becoming increasingly desired - albeit unconsciously.

Chevron Flooring is the #1 trend in 2021

An angular laying pattern gives every room an elegant and sublime look. You automatically feel comfortable and a little "in the lap of luxury" when you're the owner of a chevron or herringbone parquet. It is therefore hardly surprising that this trend is snowballing nowadays. After all, more and more people are spending time at home.

GOOD TO KNOW: HOW DO WE MEASURE PARQUET TRENDS?

Finally, we would like to explain to you how we are able to create a ranking list like this:

Are we just estimating our expectations for the coming year on what we deem suitable, or are we basing our future visions on concrete, analyzed data? Well, a little bit of both.

On the one hand, we know which types and forms of parquet we are currently selling and laying the most in our company. So we see and understand the demand (at least in our customer segment and in our region) perfectly.

On the other hand, through our 40 years of experience in the industry, we have made many connections, which constantly provide us with new information about sales and customer requests.

In addition, we use analysis tools on our website (like all others), which allow us to analyze general user behavior. This helps us to quickly find out which elements on our website are the most popular and seem to be more in demand over time.

Finally, we should say that we also conduct extensive internet research on the subject. There are simple and reliable tools that can help, such as Google Trends.

We take a snapshot from these four data sources and create a (partly subjective) trend curve. We ask ourselves: "What is currently in the greatest demand, and where is this demand heading?"

We compile our list from a combination of the answers to both questions. Voilà! This is how we create our top 10 parquet trends for you year after year.