Top Flooring Trends for 2021

Making the right flooring decision can significantly impact the final aesthetics and functionality of your home. With such a wide variety of flooring options to choose from, how do you pick the right products? 

In this article, we’ve curated the emerging flooring trends so that you can make all the right choices for your home décor.

Stone floors

If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s that hygiene should be a top consideration when doing up your home interiors. High traffic areas like the foyer, living room, and kitchen should be easy to clean, and stone floors are quite the easiest to sweep and mop daily. 

Stone floors are durable, resistant to moisture, and are available in many different colours, styles and finishes to match your décor sensibilities. As stone floors are completely natural, each slab or tile will have unique veins, spots and blends of colours and no two floors are ever the same!

On the flip side, stone floors are a tad more expensive, but they will last for years and years, making them well worth the price you pay. Also, while hard stones are impermeable, softer stones like marble require extra care as they are liable to stain with spills of citrus or any acidic liquids. 

These are the trending options in stone floors:

Marble: Timeless and elegant, marble is a premium stone that is prized for its beauty and style. Italian marble is popularly used in upscale homes and villas and can be polished to silky smoothness. While it is very easy to keep clean, marble should not be subject to spills or standing water as it will discolour. The surface of marble should be sealed to render it waterproof, especially if it is used in the kitchen.

Jaisalmer stone: Much loved by advocates of sustainability and natural living, Jaisalmer stone comes in stunning shades of warm yellow and is a derivative of natural limestone. This stone is available as large slabs and can be cut and polished to the size you require. It is harder than marble and lends a lovely colour and warmth to your home interior. 

Kota stone: Kota stone comes from Rajasthan and is a non-porous, moisture-resistant stone that is more cost-effective than granite or marble. It is available in shades of grey through brown and lends a rustic, earthy appeal to any room. As it is non-slippery, it is very well suited to exterior paving, but it is a lovely option for rustic, low-cost interiors as well. Shahbad stone is similar to Kota stone but is mostly found in shades of grey.

Granite:  One of the hardiest and most durable of all-natural stones, granite is ideally suited for home interiors and can be used as flooring, wall cladding and for kitchen or bathroom countertops. It is completely stain proof and moisture resistant and does not get scratched or chipped at all. The cost of granite varies according to the colour, with black or grey granite being the cheapest and green, red or white being among the more expensive varieties.

Slate: Soft and smooth, slate is another popular grey or black stone that is used in interior and exterior flooring. The textured surface gives these floors a very rustic, rugged appeal that can be enhanced with clear varnish on the surface. Slate should be sealed, like marble, every two years to prevent deep stains and damage.

Engineered wood floors or wooden laminate floors

While real wood floors are not environmentally sustainable, engineered wood flooring gives the look and feel of wood but at a fraction of the cost. It is manufactured using several plies of wood that are laminated together, with the top layer finished with a thin layer of veneer. 

Wooden laminate floors have the top surface finished with laminate instead of a veneer. They will lack the natural appearance of real wood or veneered wooden flooring but are far less expensive.

Light coloured wood finishes like oak, cedar or ash are trending this year, as they open up your rooms and make them appear more spacious.

Ceramic tiles and vitrified tiles

Ceramic floor tiles are extremely durable, cost-effective and easy to lay and maintain. They are great choices for almost every room in your home and are available in a wide range of finishes, textures and colours, and even in patterns that can match your décor. 

Vitrified tiles are more durable and are of a much higher quality than ceramic tiles. They are made by fusing silica and clay and have undergone an additional process that renders them very hard, impermeable and non-porous. These tiles are stain-resistant and have a glazed texture. They are available in the widest variety of colours, patterns and textures and can even be found in stone and wood lookalike finishes.

Pick your flooring materials carefully. Make a list of all the trending options, and narrow down your choices based on your lifestyle. Think carefully about the style and theme, your budget, and the functionality and durability that you are looking for. If you can, ask for samples so that you can lay them out in your room and get an idea of how the floor will look once finished. 

This article is contributed by Dipti Das, AVP-Design, HomeLane.com.

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor)