Urbanfloor Blog - Page 3 of 32 - The Latest Hardwood Flooring Trends

Industry Report: Residential Flooring Trends Are Evolving

Apr 12, 2016

residential flooring trends

Flooring industry experts who study trends have noticed some welcoming changes beginning to occur in residential homes. We initially featured a post on hardwood flooring trends for 2016 based mainly on speculation, but the industry experts have chimed in with their own personal experiences and here’s what they are reporting.

Lighter Colors Making a Bold Return

Many design experts have noticed homeowners incorporating the use of lighter colors in their home. Specifically white. They’re seeing two different uses of white in homes:

1. White-on-white rooms for a captivating, smooth, and crisp experience.
2. White used as a way contrast the darker furniture and décor within a room.

No matter which way you decide to utilize white, one thing is for sure: it’s the most neutral color that often works well no matter the situation. A great choice for first time homebuyers.

Other lighter colors such as beige are slowly making a return as industry floor experts notice it’s prevalence currently in Europe, meaning it will make it’s return back to the U.S. soon enough.

Grey Still A Strong Force

As our hardwood flooring trends report mentioned, grey tones were expected to be popular. Sure enough, they continue to very prominent in the industry. The reason being because grey is a color that appeals both to contemporary and traditional homeowners – a very large market.

The main thing to note here, however, is that it’s the warmer toned grays that are picking up pace this year and are expected to maintain that growth throughout the year.

The Finishing Touch

Lastly, industry experts are reporting the importance of texture as an aspect to keep in mind. This is mainly because people want to touch and feel the product. As a result, we are seeing surface texture and gloss changes. Hand-scraped is subtle, but other textures such as wire-brushed are picking up pace. As for gloss, people are moving more and more away from high gloss finishes to more of a rough finish such as matte.

View Matte Hardwood Floors by Urban Floor

Announcing Urban Floor’s Newest Products of Hardwood Floors!

Mar 31, 2016

We’re already 3 months in to 2016 (almost 4!), but we aren’t slowing down here at Urban Floor! We’re excited to announce the newest addition that we have added to our wonderful collection of solid and engineered hardwood floors. For now, we’ll refer to it as our “2016 collection”, because the new floors have all been added to other existing collections based on certain flooring characteristics.

Our 2016 Collection Features New Products

This 2016 collection features of a mix-up of various types of hardwood floors from our existing collections.

Birch Denali – featured in our Mountain Country collection, this new floor doesn’t involve any machines. Completely hand scraped for a modern and stylish design.

Birch Bronco – also featured in our Mountain Country collection, this engineered hardwood floor is stained with a neutral, light brown that’s great for adding warmth to any interior space.

Birch Betula – featured in our Urban Lifestyle Smooth Series, this 5-inch wide plank floor contains 7 layers of strong matte finish. It is one our most attractive products.

Birch Mulberry – featured in our Urban Lifestyle Smooth Series, this matte finish engineered hardwood floors comes with one of the most unique stains we’ve ever created.

Birch Cedar – featured in our Urban Lifestyle Smooth Series, this engineered hardwood floor is a great choice for complimenting any room.

Santos Mahogany Natal – featured in our Urban Lifestyle Downtown Series collection, this flooring choice is one the hardest we offer and also happens to be one the most unique with it’s grain patterns and reddish tones.

Moscato – featured in our Chene collection, this floor utilizes European oak for durability and a light shade for a neutral look & feel that will compliment your décor very well.

Cabernet – featured in our Chene collection, this floor is packed with deeper tones for a bold statement to any room.

Valentina – featured in our Villa Caprisi collection, this light grey floor is expected to be very popular given the hardwood flooring trends of 2016.

The Use of Hardwood Flooring in Commercial Settings

Mar 18, 2016

commercial hardwood flooring

Hardwood floors are a versatile option, expanding heavily into the homes of many happy homeowners. However, they play a large role in the commercial business scene as well. Buildings are seeing the monetary benefits alone from switching to hardwood floors. In a nationwide survey, real estate agents agreed that building structures with wood floors sell faster and for more money than those without wood floors. The increase in value can be up to 10% more!

Hardwood Floors Also Raise Value of Residential Homes

We’ll help you understand the use of hardwood flooring in a commercial setting in case you ever find yourself in a position of making an informed decision.

Commercial Wood Floor Specifications to Consider

Improved air quality – the EPA has already recognized the allergy benefits to hardwood flooring by minimizing trapped dust, dander, and other allergies. This is why commercial businesses such as hospitals and schools prefer this choice.

Easy to maintain – commercial businesses do not have the extra time or resources to pour into maintaining floors. Hardwood floor is relatively quick and easy to maintain, an aspect that appeals to businesses.

Installation – the most common sub-floor used in commercial projects is concrete. Wood floors can be successfully installed over concrete following the right procedures set out by a professional contractor.

Hardness – hardwood floors are made from different types of species. Some of which happen to be very hard. To measure hardness, we turn to the Janka scale of hardness. The higher, the better because businesses typically receive a lot of foot traffic and therefore it makes sense to have a hardwood floor with a high Janka rating.

Finish – there are a few finishes to choose from. But for commercial wood floors, it’s best to use an acrylic impregnated finish. We’ll spare you the details of what this is, but the important part is that it is injected directly into the wood to create an extremely durable hardwood floor.

Acoustics – sound control is also an important specification to consider for commercial wood floors, especially for multi-family structures such as apartment buildings or condominiums where strict regulations may be present.

Both businesses and residential homes continue to find the benefits that hardwood flooring offers. If you’re aspiring to be a business owner, take these specifications into consideration.

Urban Floor’s Composer Collection offers many aspects that would benefit a commercial setting.

Best Hardwood Floor Colors that Invoke Warmth

Mar 3, 2016

Winter season is still largely in effect, but we want to start shifting our focus over to warmer temperatures that will occur in the coming months – in California at least. When you think of warmth, there are really only three hardwood-flooring colors that coming to mind.

Top 3 Warm Hardwood Floor Colors

1. Red

red toned hardwood floors

Red is to be used with caution, because an intense shade of red will give off the wrong impression. Thankfully at Urban Floor, the hardwood flooring options we offer that feature red tones that do not feature a high intensity of red shade.

Red-toned Hardwood Floors by Urban Floor:
Maple Gunstock
Rochester
Rio
Steward
Santos Mahogany Natal

2. Orange

orange toned hardwood floors

Orange infuses very well with the natural colors of hardwood floor to invoke the feeling of warmth. Red is often thought of as the hottest color, but it’s actually orange that is technically the hottest color. Orange has a captivating ability to radiate energy and warmth to any space. Think of the sun, for example. Orange-toned hardwood floors work well for bedrooms.

Orange-toned Hardwood Floors by Urban Floor:
Empire
Birch Paprika
Maple Sunset

3. Yellow

yellow toned hardwood floors

If you’ve noticed, all 3 warm colors resemble the same colors you see in fire (minus the blue tip). Part of the reason we associate these colors to warmth are for that reason. It happens subconsciously, but it makes sense as to why you would feel these colors invoke warmth or make a room seem cozy.

Yellow-toned Hardwood Floor by Urban Floors:
Lazio
Taft Maple
Pierce Oak
Hickory Tumbleweed
Chardonnay
Roosevelt Hickory
Maple Natural

5 Ways to Make the Most of Small Spaces

Feb 25, 2016

maximizing small space tips Small spaces can be difficult to work with, often leaving you with a feeling as if you had more space to utilize. We’ve all been there and we’ve had to make the most of our space. Those who live in studio apartments know the trials of living in a small space. However, there are plenty of neat, little ways to make these living conditions a lot more bearable.

Tips for Maximizing Space At Home

Hidden Storage Opportunities

1. Elevate your bed so that you can place storage bins underneath.
2. Nestle your couch against a curved window so that you can place items behind it.
3. Utilize cabinets that do not extend all the way to the ceiling, placing items in between this small space.

Purge Unnecessary Items

A lot of people have difficulty parting ways with the items we have received or purchased over the years. However, you have to seriously challenge yourself to rid certain items that you honestly do not need. For example, you have a ton of wine glasses, but you never drink wine. Ditch the glasses. Or you have tons of clothes that haven’t been worn in over a year. Donate them to Goodwill. If you don’t constantly purge items, then items will accumulate quickly.

Buy Furniture Wisely

Looking to purchase an ottoman? Buy one that has a secret storage area. That end table you want in the corner, does it have drawers where items can be stored? Don’t just purchase a piece of furniture because it looks “pretty” – look for multi-functional pieces of furniture that maximize your space.

Less is More

The saying exists for a reason, because it holds some merit. Especially when you’re strapped on space. Be cautious of what you buy. Adjust your mentality to think it terms of “how often will I be using this item I am about to purchase?” This will help facilitate the right choices. You have to be honest with yourself. Impulse purchases are very bad for those with no space at home.

Routine Cleaning

By sticking to a habit of cleaning often, you will be forced to organize items and stay conscious of what items should stay and what items should go. Also, a nice, tidy house gives the impression of more space, even if it’s all inside of your head.

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